How to Build a Guinea Pig Cage With a Roof

The recommended̵2;and easiest̵2;way to build an indoor, roofed cage for guinea pigs is called the cubes and Coroplast͐2; (C&C) method. Cubes are coated-wire grids used with plastic connectors to make storage units. Coroplast is corrugated plastic used for making signs. The lid for a C&C cage is made of cube grids and a piece of regular wire shelving. The size of the cage is determined by the number of animals that you will put in the cage. According to Cavy Cages, a single guinea pig (also called a cavy) requires a bare minimum of 7.5 square feet of living space, or 10 14-inch square grids.

Things You'll Need

  • Coated wire grids
  • Tape measure or ruler
  • Coroplast
  • Heavy-duty scissors
  • Pen or marker
  • Straight edge for marking
  • Heavy-duty tape (packing or duct)
  • Razor blade or box cutter
  • Plastic cable ties
  • Additional grids (equal to length and half of the width of the finished cage)
  • Piece of wire shelving (equal to length and half the width of the finished cage)
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Instructions

  1. Building a Roofed Guinea Pig Cage

    • 1

      Snap the grids into adjoining connectors to form a cage perimeter of the desired size.

    • 2

      Measure the interior length and width of the cage. Ten grids should form a 2' x 3' interior.

    • 3

      Add 12 inches to both the length and width measurements from Step 2 to get the outer measurements for the Coroplast.

    • 4

      Measure and cut the Coroplast to the length and width from Step 3.

    • 5

      Measure and mark six inches in from all sides of the Coroplast. These are your interior dimensions.

    • 6

      Use a box cutter or razor blade to score the Coroplast along the interior dimensions you marked in Step 5, cutting only through one layer of the Coroplast. Do not cut all the way through.

    • 7

      Cut all the way through the coroplast, six inches in at each corner, to create a flap that will fold around the shorter side of the box you are making. In each corner you should have a square with two outer edges--a six-inch scored edge and a six-inch cut edge.

    • 8

      Snap the Coroplast edges away from the score marks to create a box. Wrap the flaps around each short side to form corners.

    • 9

      Secure the flaps with tape. Tape the outside of the box to prevent guinea pigs from chewing the tape.

    • 10

      Place the box inside the grid perimeter. You may want to place the entire cage on a large table or build a grid structure underneath for support and easy access.

    • 11

      Snap the additional grids into adjoining connectors to form a section the same length and half the width of the cage.

    • 12

      Attach the additional grid section to one side of the cage top using plastic cable ties or the plastic connectors already in place.

    • 13

      Use the plastic cable ties to secure the piece of wire shelving to the grid section on top of the cage. Leave the cable ties loose enough to allow the lid to open and close with the lip of the wire shelving hanging over the cage edge.