Cages
Guinea pigs need a large living area and the larger the better! They need plenty of room to exercise and to play. Most of the cages you buy at a pet store are tiny, and not adequate size for a guinea pig. During my research about guinea pig care online, I found an alternative to store-bought cages. They are called Cubes and Coroplast Cages (C & C Cages).
What are Cubes?
The cubes are usually 14-inch, coated-wire grids. The inner squares are 1 and 1/2 inches. These are designed for temporary or inexpensive storage for kids, home, and office use. There are several brands and multiple sources. Some versions have 17 grids in a box; some up to 30. They all come with at least the same number of connectors in the box; sometimes more. The average price is around $15 - $20 a box. If you have to have them shipped, you will pay a lot for shipping as a box is very heavy. Some boxes have more grids than others.
What is Coroplast?
Coroplast™, a plastic sign board, is the name of a special corrugated plastic available virtually everywhere. It is just like cardboard only made out of plastic. It comes in 4 foot by 8 foot sheets in multiple colors and is 4 ml thick. Coroplast is actually the name of a company and COROPLAST™ is also the name of their main product. Coroplast is usually available at any sign stores like SIGNARAMA
How do you make a C & C cage?
It's actually very easy to make a C & C cage once you have all the supplies. There are numerous websites that you can look at for tips on how to make the cage; my favorite being Cavy Cages, where you can find detailed, step-by-step instructions on Cavy Cages.
The final product will look something like the picture below (green cubes and light blue coroplast)! Much bigger than your typical store bought cage. Of course, you can customize it to whatever shape and size you want!
Bedding
You have a few good choices when it comes to bedding for the cage. A lot of people use Aspen or CareFRESH®. You should avoid using cedar as bedding as it's toxic to guinea pigs and other small animals.
The other non-traditional method is using fleece and towels as bedding. A lot of guinea pig owners are switching to this method, since it's more cost efficient and also more comfortable for their piggies. The fleece does not absorb urine but lets it soak through. With the cotton towels underneath the fleece to absorb wetness, the fleece top remains clean and dry for your piggies. But it is recommended that you still spot clean the cage a few times a day, whenever possible. More detailed information regarding fleece as bedding can be found here The Fleece Project - The Study.
Here's a picture of a fleece lined cage!
Whichever bedding you choose, it is very important to clean the cage throughly at least weekly. The smaller the cage, the more frequently it needs to be cleaned. Once you discard the soiled bedding, you can use a mixture of water and vinegar to clean the bottom of the cage and dry it before putting new bedding down. Same goes for people using fleece and towels. Once the fleece and towels are removed and put them to wash, you need to wipe the coroplast with the water and vinegar solution, before putting new towels and fleece down.
Aspen - Aspen is a hardwood shaving which does not have the problems with phenols associated with the softwood beddings such as pine and cedar. However, it can be hard to find and very hard to find in large quantities.
CareFRESH® - This is what I use as bedding for my pigs. CareFRESH® is made from 100% virgin wood pulp fiber, with no added inks or dyes and sanitized to kill bacteria, mold and fungus. CareFRESH® also provides superior odor control, which makes it ideal for rodents, rabbits, reptiles, hand-fed baby birds and exotic pets.