Website design By BotEap.comOne of the most important factors in ensuring your guinea pig’s cage is easy to clean is, ironically, also one of the most overlooked criteria in cage selection. If you want to be sure that the next cage you buy will be easy to clean and maintain, be sure to keep reading.

Website design By BotEap.comWhen we buy a cage for our guinea pigs, we consider many factors: size, color, durability, attractiveness, etc. These factors vary depending on our individual tastes and needs. But the bottom line is: we want to make sure that the cage we choose isn’t just good for the pig. but also good for the pet owner.

Website design By BotEap.comTo make cage cleaning an easy task, it is absolutely essential that your cage be equipped with large openings. If your cage is equipped with small openings, you will start having problems before you even begin the cage cleaning process.

Website design By BotEap.comBefore you start cleaning, you will need to get the pigs out of their pen and into another area. If you’ve ever tried to trap a guinea pig through a small opening, you’ll realize how difficult it is. To easily pick up your guinea pig, you need to use both hands to guide or channel the pig into your body, where you can gently capture it.

Website design By BotEap.comIf you have a small opening, you won’t be able to use both hands. Instead, you’ll have to learn how to execute something I call the “stir and grab” technique. In other words, the pig will crawl around the cage while you try to implement the one-handed grip. This is not an easy task and even after obtaining well At that, it may still require several tries to capture your pig(s).

Website design By BotEap.comNow is the time to clean his cage bedding. If you have a small, standard pet store cage; You will simply disconnect the top of the wire from the plastic tray and dump the small amount of sand into a waste container. Some pet store cages have lids that lift up to create a very large opening. Others have a very small door on the side. Either way, cleanup isn’t a problem because removing the top essentially creates a large opening for you to work with.

Website design By BotEap.comHowever, we strongly recommend that you do not place your cavy in a small pet store cage because it is too small to provide a healthy living environment for your pig. Therefore, it does not meet the win-win criteria mentioned above. In other words, it’s good for you (easy to clean), but bad for your pig (unhealthy living conditions).

Website design By BotEap.comIn recent years, largely due to the internet, people have become more informed about the humane and healthy living conditions of guinea pigs and many recognize that standard pet store cages are woefully inadequate in terms of requirements. Of space. While they may have been financially feasible in the past to house laboratory guinea pig test subjects, they do not provide ample space for our beloved family pets.

Website design By BotEap.comBecause of this, people have turned to C&C cages (cubes and Coroplast) as a much healthier alternative, and this is great for pigs. However, many of these C&C designs are equipped with small doors (about one square foot). Once again our win-win criteria are violated. This type of cage is good for the pig, but bad for human owners.

Website design By BotEap.comA large cage, such as a C&C cage, can hold up to 25 pounds. of bedding. You can imagine how long it can take to shed 25 lbs. of dirty bedding through a small opening. Then you need to clean the entire bottom with vinegar and water and replace 25lbs. of bedding – again, all through that little opening.

Website design By BotEap.comA great solution is to get a cage with a large opening. Full-sided cages are available that fold down like the tailgate of a pickup truck and can make cleaning the cage easier. very much faster, easier and less frustrating. The bedding can be easily lifted. And the large opening offers easy access for cleaning. Alternatively, the entire Coroplast container can be slid out through the large opening for very easy cleaning. And finally, putting fresh bedding is a doddle. No more endlessly shoveling small amounts through a small opening. The bedding can be poured directly from the bag.

Website design By BotEap.comLarge openings are a factor most of us rarely consider when selecting a new guinea pig cage. However, this situation must change if we are to save hours of time and frustration in our cage cleaning routines. Be sure to click the link in the resource box below to see several examples of large opening C&C cages.