One of the most important things that you can do to ensure your guinea pig’s health and happiness is to make sure your cavy has a nice clean home to live in, and that he has plenty of room to run around!

It isn’t difficult to please and house your pet cavy. They will be very content in one of the wide variety of guinea pig cages that you can find at your neighborhood pet store. They don’t require much to be happy in their home but they do have a few simple requirements: a secure cage so they can’t escape or another family pet can’t get in, a solid floor, the right kind of bedding material, a hideaway for privacy, and protection from extreme heat and cold.

As you will learn, or may have read in some of my other articles, cavies are very social creatures. They enjoy, and actually need, the company of other guinea pigs. If you are reluctant to keep two guinea pigs then you will need to plan on spending plenty of time with your pet to keep him from getting lonely and bored. If they get lonely or bored they will get depressed and may develop behavioral problems like chewing on itself. If you feel you might be willing to raise a couple of cavies then be sure to include that in your plans to pick a proper cage.

Size Does Matter

Where your cavy is concerned, the bigger the cage the better. Your pets need lots of room to romp around and get exercise, and the more exercise a cavy gets, the happier he’s going to be. Your cage also need to be large enough to accommodate space for their hideaways, their toys, their food bowl, and their drinking bottle.

Minimum cage area guidelines are the following: in between seven and eight square feet for a single guinea pig; approximately ten and eleven square feet when you’ve got two cavies; for every additional cavy in your cage you need to have between two and three additional square feet of living space. This amount of room will give your cavies plenty of space for romping. Without adequate exercise your furry friend will get fat, and overweight cavies are more likely to develop health problems.

Given ample space your guinea pigs will be really playful, running laps around the cage running after each other, leaping and hopping!

Guinea pig cages really should not be a glass enclosure of any kind, like for example a fish tank. These type of glass enclosures don’t provide adequate ventilation or fresh air, two things your cavy needs. More ventilation also means that the cage will stay dryer, and this is a healthier environment for your pet. Cavies can tolerate the cold better than they can tolerate heat, and a well ventilated cage will allow heat to dissipate easier. But you should be careful not to locate the cavy cage in an area that is exposed to cold drafts. Cavies are susceptible to respiratory problems, and if exposed to cold, drafty, and damp conditions they can quickly develop pneumonia and die. Lastly, avoid guinea pig cages with wire bottoms because your pet can get their toes and feet caught in the wire mesh.

A little hideaway house of some kind is an essential element of your guinea pig’s home. Occasionally guinea pigs need somewhere to hide out and enjoy a little “alone time”. Something as simple as a piece of plastic pipe will certainly get the job done more than adequately. Have a bit of fun arranging this hiding spot – your cavy is going to be happy!

It’s important to select the proper bedding material for your cavy cages. There are many type of bedding material available at pet stores. Just be sure you only buy products which are labeled as being bedding materials for caged pets, otherwise you could be getting something which seems to be similar, but may actually end up being unhealthy for your pet. I have found that the very best bedding material is a mix of shredded paper product and cut hay. It is advisable to line the floor of the guinea pig cage using newspaper, and after that arrange a covering of the mixed bedding materials. The paper will absorb urine and the hay will stay dry, and give your cavy something to nibble on!