Guinea pigs are small animals. However, they are one of the biggest rodents kept as pets. Therefore it´s alarming that cages marketed for guinea pigs are only slightly bigger than those meant for small rodents such as hamsters and gerbils.
What kind of cage should I buy for my guinea pig? How much space do they actually need? These are common questions that I think all new guinea pig parents ask. I sure did when I had my first two guinea pigs. I ended up purchasing A WAY TOO SMALL cage for them recommended by my local pet store.
I struggled with their housing issue a lot over the first year or so, but now I think I know a great deal about the Do´s and the Do Not´s about this subject. So, stay with me to learn more about guinea pig cages and about the space they need around them to live a happy and thriving life with you!
Table of Contents
Why Should I Bother About The Size Of The Cage?
Guinea pig housing is very fundamental issue. It actually dictates how happy and healthy life your guinea pigs live. This issue is also something that I´m very passionate about because no animal will thrive in a tiny cage – and yet new pet parents are advised to buy such cages.
Imagine living in a dressing room all your life, hour after hour, day after day, year after year – you´d be bored & depressed over time, right? That´s what happens to guinea pigs if you put them somewhere too small.
So, there are many reasons why you should bother about the size of the cage. Let´s have a closer look!
- Easy to clean: Believe it or not; bigger space is actually easier to keep clean because you can separate the toilet area from other areas (kitchen, bedroom, entertainment areas). Bigger space equals to less laundry as your guinea pigs are likely to learn to use the toilet. This is a big deal – anyone with a guinea pig knows how big issue the cleaning can be.
- Less waste: A bigger space means less hay wasted because you´re able to separate their food from the toilet area. As you may know, hay waste can be a big and expensive problem for guinea pig parents.
- Less health problems: A bigger space equals to more active guinea pig. Just like humans, adequate exercise on a regular basis can prevent health problems, such as diabetes, heart diseases, bladder infections, respiratory problems, bumblefoot…In the long run, more spacious enclosure will save your veterinary bill!
- Schedule: A bigger enclosure means that your guinea pigs have the ability to exercise, explore and rest according to their own schedule – not yours.
- Harmonious co-existence: As you may know, guinea pigs are social animals and they should never be kept alone. For this reason only, a bigger enclosure means less bickering and squabbling, and more harmonious co-existence with fellow mates.
- More quality time: Happy guinea pigs are more responsive to your presence, and you are more likely to build a lovely relationship with your piggies. A bigger space means that you spend less time cleaning and more time HAVING FUN with your precious pets!
Now that we know why the size of the cage is so important, let´s take a closer look at the size recommendations.
What Size Should The Guinea Pig Cage Be?
As stated above, guinea pigs need separate spaces for different activities:
- Kitchen area
- Toilet area
- Sleeping area
- Exercise and exploration area
There are minimum cage size recommendations for guinea pigs (source: The Humane Society Of The United States). These are meant to be guidelines – if you have space, make your guinea pig a favor and provide them a larger space.
- Two guinea pigs: 7.5 square feet (minimum), but at least 10.5 square feet (30” x 50”) is preferred. (Keep in mind that guinea pigs are highly social, so you should always have at least two guinea pigs who get along with each other.)
- Three guinea pigs: 10.5 square feet (minimum), but at least 13 square feet (30” x 62”) is preferred.
- Four guinea pigs: 13 square feet (minimum), but at least 30” x 76” is preferred.
Now that we know how much space your guinea pigs actually need, let´s have a closer look at the guinea pig cage options.
What Would Be An Ideal Cage For A Guinea Pig?
Basically, you have two choices when it comes to choosing the right cage for your guinea pigs:
- Buy a ready-made small animal cage
- DIY one for yourself (C&C cage/enclosure)
The ready-made small animal cages are unfortunately often way too small. They often utilize vertical space over horizontal space making them a poor choice for stout and short-legged guinea pigs, who usually prefer to stay on the floor space. Guinea pigs usually don´t get over-excited about climbing or jumping unlike other members of the rodent family, such as hamsters. Ramps and platforms at low heights are a good thing and provide extra variety to guinea pigs, but you need to make sure that there is enough space around them.
In fact, ramps providing access to upper deck take away from downstairs space and therefore upper levels shouldn´t count toward the minimum required square feet of space needed.
I have made a lot of research regarding guinea pigs´ ready-made cages. Unfortunately they are often too small, and something I wouldn´t recommend. This could work, if you´re have a chance to let your guinea pig roam on a regular basis.
There is one cage model that I recommend over everything: C&C cage. Actually, C&C cages are recommended by many guinea pig rescue organizations. This is something that you can easily DIY. C&C stands for “cubes” and “coroplast”. You can easily “snap” the wire grids together using connectors. Coroplast is a brand name for “corrugated plastic”, which is the waterproof material used as the bottom (or base) of the cage.
If you have space in your home, use the coroplast base to be the toilet & kitchen area for your guinea pigs and make a larger area using wire grids to form fun & entertaining exercise/exploration/sleeping area.
Few more things before we head on to the next thing:
- If you have small children or other pets in your household, such as cats, dogs, ferrets, bunnies, you need to put a lid on a cage.
- Remember that plastic tubs, glass aquariums and cages with wire floors are NOT acceptable as guinea pig housing!
Now that you know more about the different guinea pig cage options, let´s have a closer look at the actual place to put it.
Where To Place The Cage
To provide your piggies a happy & healthy life, you need to consider the following aspects when deciding where to put their cage:
Temperature: Guinea pigs have a bit higher body temperature than us humans (102°F to 104°F (39°C to 40°C)) (source). You need to keep your piggies out of unheated rooms, garages or other chilly areas in your home and also avoid drafty or too humid locations. They need to be somewhere where it´s evenly warm, from 65°F to 75°F (18°C to 23°C). Remember though, guinea pigs cannot sweat so you need to keep them away from direct heat sources (fireplace, wood stove, sun etc.). Direct exposure to heat may cause heat stroke.
Family time: Guinea pigs are highly social animals and they love spending time with their human family, so you should place them somewhere you can easily interact and engage with them. Never just “dump” your piggies somewhere and only visit them irregularly. Remember though, guinea pigs also need some quiet time during the day, so make sure they have a place to retreat.
Guinea pigs need daily playtime outside their cage even though they have an optimal-sized cage. I personally have two areas in my home for my guinea pigs: one upstairs in the office room and one downstairs in our living room. The upstairs cage is their “main house” and downstairs I take them to hang out with the rest of the family during the evenings. If we have guests I take my guinea pigs upstairs where they can relax. After all, guinea pigs are prey animals always ready to guard themselves, so you shouldn´t put them through unnecessary stressful situations.
Sensitive animals: Guinea pigs have a very sensitive hearing, so you shouldn´t place their cage near your entertainment system, TV, stereos etc. Also, if you have young children, make sure your piggies have a place to retreat. They may stress out if things get wild often.
To Sum Up!
I cannot overemphasize that guinea pigs need space to roam, explore and exercise. No animal is meant to live in a cage all it´s life. That´s common sense, right? Luckily you can easily build a good-sized DIY C&C cage for your piggies.
Piggies love being a part of the family, so stay consistent with your efforts into getting them to trust you. As you may know, piggies can be timid and apprehensive towards us humans at first.
I hope you find this article helpful and eye-opening. It would be awesome to hear from you! If you have any questions or comments whatsoever, please let me know in the comments below. I will be more than happy to help you out!
I´m always happy to help fellow pet owners make sure their animals are happy and healthy. For more information on guinea pigs and how you can be the best pet owner possible, make sure to check out my blog for more updates!
