There are lots of different types of homes that you can provide for your pet cavy. Depending on your space limitations you might keep your pet cavies in an “enclosure”, or a “cage” or in a guinea pig “hutch”. You can define these any way you like, but regardless of how you do so each of these differently described cavy homes will need to provide very similar features, all of which are essential to the health and well-being of your pets.

For this article I am going to refer to the cavy’s home as a guinea pig hutch for the sake of consistency rather than switch back and forth between terms. In reality I would utilize, as you probably would also, a different one of those phrases to describe the various models of guinea pig homes. I think the term “hutch” usually conjures up an image of a larger wooden “cage” that stands on legs and is usually for keeping pets outside. With that in mind, I do think that most cavy owners would likely agree with me that you should not house cavies outdoors irrespective of how nice, or how large the hutch is, due to weather and predator considerations. A hutch is certainly suitable as an indoor home for your pet cavies.

The Bigger the Better

The first and most critical thing to consider is the size of the hutch. Big is good, and the bigger the hutch is, the better it will be for your pet. This is because cavies are happiest when they’re able to run around and romp and play with their cage-mate(s). And this running around amounts to exercise that is very important to your cavy’s health. Without a good deal of exercising your guinea pig will get fat as well as depressed. Both of these ailments will cause additional health problems.

Your hutch should be big enough for two cavies, since they are social creatures and need to have company. The recommended area for two cavies is about 10.5 square feet. That may sound like a huge cage, but its actually only about 3′ x 3.5′ feet. This will nicely allow for food bowls, toys, water bottles, and their own personal hideaways (not only do your cavies need room to play together, they also need room to get away from each other and be by themselves).

Make sure your hutch has a solid floor and not a wire mesh floor. This will ensure that your cavies don’t injure their unprotected feet or limbs by stepping through the mesh. If possible avoid wooden floors also because they tend to soak up urine and then its hard to get out, its stinky, and unsanitary. A plastic-type surface is usually the best material for the flooring since it is easier to clean.

Bedding Materials

Your guinea pigs will also need to have “bedding” in their hutch. A lot of people utilize a mix of shredded paper and hay on top of a few layers of newspaper. But I’ve also been reading in the forums that many people are using cotton towels (as the absorbent bottom layer) with a fitted piece of fleece on top. The fleece wicks away the moisture/urine and it is absorbed by the cotton towels. Clean up is as simple as throwing everything into the washer.

You still need to include a hay inside the guinea pig hutch, for two reasons, both of which are very important. Guinea pigs love to munch on hay. The most popular variety for guinea pigs is Timothy hay. This hay is course enough that while the cavies gnaw on it it will help wear down their teeth. This is required for the reason that cavies’ teeth keep on growing all through their lives, and if there weren’t some way for the guinea pigs to keep their teeth ground down they would develop dental problems, meaning vet bills. The additional reason behind the hay is that it is a superb digestive system aid for your guinea pigs. Gastrointestinal health is important and will help avoid more veterinarian bills.