Let’s face it, regular guinea pig cages that you find in pet stores oftentimes just look bland, cramped and still cost a lot of money.
If you are into DIY projects or just really want to provide your guinea pigs with a better alternative, why not build your own cage to make them happier and healthier?
Below you will find everything you need on constructing and designing your own DIY guinea pig cage with exact sizes, materials, and what should be placed into it.
Can You Make Your Own Guinea Pig Cage?
Building your own guinea pig cage is the perfect way to provide your pets with a cage that is tailored to their needs.
While nearly any pet store has a supply of various cages, they often come with drawbacks. At a first glance, most of the options are not very pleasing to the eye and mostly consist of plastic and wire.
With you self-designed cage, you can choose any guinea pig proof material you want from linoleum to wood, wires or plexiglass.
Cleaning will be much easier for an open space with easy to wipe materials. No more disassembling or struggling to get into the last corner.
Store bought cages can also be super expensive even in smaller sizes. You can easily pay $100-150 for an adequately sized cage.
When working on a DIY project you have the freedom to decide exactly how much you want to spend, what materials to use, and how big you want it to make.
How Big of a Cage Does a Guinea Pig Need?
When looking for various guinea pig cage options, you may have noticed that some of them are only a bit larger than regular hamster cages.
Some owners even stuff their guinea pig in a bin cage that is way too small for them. Compared to hamsters, guinea pigs are much more active and need a large open space and graze freely.
Guinea pigs also should share their cage with a companion to make them happier and less likely to become depressed.
The humane society states the following regarding guinea pig cage sizes:
One guinea pig: 7.5 square feet cage (minimum), but more is better; generally 30″ x 36″ is a good size.
Two guinea pigs: 7.5 square feet (minimum), but 10.5 square feet is preferred; generally 30″ x 50″ is a good size.
Three guinea pigs: 10.5 square feet (minimum), but 13 square feet is preferred; generally 30″ x 62″ is a good size.
Four guinea pigs: 13 square feet (minimum), but more is better; generally 30″ x 76″ is a good size.
Humane Society of the United States
7.5 to 10.5 square feet is not even a single square meter which is a lot less than what we would recommend. But even this size will single out a lot of the cage options you will find in pet stores.
Keep in mind that when it comes to guinea pigs bigger is always better and rectangular-shaped cages work best for them.
If you have the space for it try providing your pets with a large open area in your living room or outside (in mild climates) where they can run around, explore and nibble all day long.
If you cannot spare a few square feet more, think about building several levels (much like a hamster cage design) with dedicated sleeping, play, and eating levels, although you should keep most of their space o one level.
Cages that are open at the top should have a height of about 25-30 cm to keep the cavies from getting outside while leaving the possibility for them to look out of the cage.
Guinea Pig Cage Ideas
Before going into all the different cages you could build let’s talk about some preparations that you will need to do.
Choosing the materials and measurements will help decide on a floorpan later on and will make it much easier to envision the finished product.