Review: Midwest Guinea Pig Habitat

Pros:

• Easy to set up and put together
• The PVC base is easy to wipe down and clean
• The Habitat has no lid, so it’s easy to reach down and pick up pigs

Cons:

• Would only suggest these cages if they’re kept on a table or floor. The bottom sags down when removing from my Multiplex
• Be mindful of pets that could jump into the cage and harm your pigs. The lid can also be purchased separately, though at the price I would just upgrade to the Midwest Guinea Pig Habitat Plus.

Overall I would highly suggest this cage to anyone looking to upgrade their pigs setup. There is an upgrade version with lid, ramps, and divider, but I feel with just the base model you are allowing your pigs a lot more floor space. You can also attach multiple habitats together to give your pigs even more room! If you go on over to Amazon they’re at the lowest I’ve seen them, other than when I got mine from Drs Foster and Smith.

Guinea Pig Housing – The Multiplex Edition

Depending on who you ask, or where you look, you’ll get a variety of answers on what is the most appropriate cage to house guinea pigs in. I personally don’t care what you house your pigs in, as long as they’re getting proper care and attention. A lot of pigs do just fine in cages that are “too small” and live long and happy lives.

Previously I had the boys in a single level 2×3 C&C cage, and the girls (not including the new baby) in a large store bought cage. One was on one side of the room, the other on top of the dog crates, but with adding another pig I had no place to put her cage, nor a cage to put her in! I had an idea of how I wanted to organize them into one area and I put it into action. I give you, the MULTIPLEX!!

I ordered the shelving unit from Walmart, it’s huge but I am head over heels for it. It holds all three cages, plus storage above and below. Everything else I ordered from Drs Fosters and Smith.

The Basics – Buy what you can afford and what you have room for!!

• Cage – I ordered the Midwest Guinea Pig Habitat. At 47″L x 24″W it’s one of the only store bought cages that “meets the requirement” for a pair of pigs. There is a Midwest cage that has a divider and top, that I suggest for people to use if they have cats or other animals that could get to them.
• Bedding – I have only used fleece in the past, but this past week I have been trying out Carefresh Pet Bedding. The large 60L bag was enough for two cages, but the third I had to use fleece.
•     Hidey Houses – Guinea pigs are prey animals, they seek comfort in having some place they can hide in. I have a variety of houses that I use with mine, the Pigloo; the JW Walk Up Barn has a larger opening for those plumper sized pigs *coughcoughPuff*; and the Lixit Igloo. The Igloo is good for shy and young pigs, they have a solid bottom and it’s easy to shoo the pigs in and lift the whole house out. Be mindful that you have some sort of bedding inside for the Igloo so they’re not sitting in their wees and poos.
• Food and Water – I ordered the 32oz Lixit water bottle. I LOVE this water bottle. It doesn’t leak and a full bottle lasts 3-4 days. I also really like to the Lixit Nibble food bowls. They can’t tip them, and it holds the 1/4 cup of pellets they get a day perfectly. HOWEVER, with the Carefresh this week they’ve been kicking the bedding into it since it’s so low. My fosters have a Super Pet bowl that has worked well with the fleece and I have some ceramic cat dishes I’ll try with the Carefresh to see which I like best.
• Hay Box – I use a small cat litter box, with an inch or so of Yesterday’s News topped with their hay. I’ve seen others use hay racks or bags, or just plopping a handful in the corner. Use what’s best for you and your pigs, but I find this helps to collect a lot of their wees.

If you have any questions about any of the items I’ve used, or why, please comment below! Don’t they look happy in their new digs?

Adopt a Resue Guinea Pig Month

Happy March! This will be the thirteenth annual National-Adopt-a-Rescued-Guinea Pig month. Please help and take part, whether it’s heading down to your local rescue or shelter and adopting a pig (or two), or donating towards their care.

We took in 73 Guinea Pigs last month, and though most were transferred to other shelters, I can say firsthand they do indeed live up to their names and can easily go through food, veggies, and hay like nobodies business.

Throughout the month we will also be sharing tips and tricks we’ve learned on how to properly care, handle, and love these little guys.If you do adopt this month, please share some pictures in the comments below! We would love to make a slideshow of all piggies saved to honor this month’s special event.

The Blog is Live!!

While there are still some things to “twheek”, this is hopefully the start of a new endeavor  of mine to share my love, knowledge, and experience about guinea pigs with others. While I am still new to pigs – only having brought my first pig home in June of 2014, I have jumped in full force and have no intentions of looking back.

A little about me – I’ve worked at an animal shelter here in Southern Maine for almost two years. I manage our small animal department, from scheduling intakes of animals needing to be surrendered to ensuring they all get the proper care, diet, and daily enrichment.

The real stars of this blog though, are the pigs. At this time I have five:

-Edward and Hiccup are 2.5 year old brothers. They were transferred to our shelter from Nevins Farm when we responded to a request for help taking in some animals. Edward looks like a poofy Teddy/American, while Hiccup looks like a Abyssinian/Peruvian (or Abyruvian) mix.

-Moxie is a 9 month old Abyssinian, transferred in from Nevins Farm as well. She was originally here as a foster, but we all know how that tends to work out. She is paired with Puff, a 4 year old American I kept after I fostered her and her sister, who passed away after a month of hospice care.

-The newest addition is a 2 month old Teddy girl, not yet named. She will be the start of my show string this year, and if that doesn’t work out she’ll remain a much loved pet. We’ll be adding another friend for her shortly.

And that about rounds it up for our first blog post!!

-Wheeks