Guinea Pig Cages – Make Your Guinea Pig Cage Comfortable
Having a guinea pig for a pet is a great idea, especially if you have young children around. Along with the fun of having a pet comes the need to make sure the pet has a comfortable space that is just for your guinea pig. Here’s a few ideas on making sure your guinea pig cage is everything it needs to be.
One of the first considerations should be something soft and comfortable for your pet to sleep on. You can invest in hypoallergenic cushions from the local pet store, but chances are you have an old tee-shirt that will do the trick nicely. The old shirt can easily be removed from the cage periodically and ran through the washer and dryer.
Carpet remnants are also a great way to line the bottom of your guinea pig cage, although cleaning will be a bit more of a chore. The real advantage to the carpet is that your guinea pig can sleep anywhere in the cage.
Making sure your guinea pig cage allows for easy access to water and food is also a very important factor. Invest in containers that will affix to the wire mesh of the cage, so they will remain stationary and will not be apt to spill the contents all over the cage.
Make sure the containers are situated in locations where it is easy for you to refill them as needed.
A strategically placed litter box is also a must. Just as with the water and food containers, make sure the litter box is placed in a position where you can easily empty and replace the litter when needed. Set up a schedule to replace the litter regularly, and that will help keep your guinea pig cage smell nicer as well as be easier to keep clean.
Taking care of a guinea pig cage is not difficult, although it does involve some degree of commitment and regular maintenance. But the hours of fun your pet will provide are well worth the effort.
Gerbil Cages
Gerbils are small rodents that were domesticated by humans about 3,000 years ago for use as vermin control due to its voracious appetite for insects and worms. They can keep themselves busy by gnawing on wood or plastic, as well as making nests out of anything they find around the house. You may also notice them chewing on wires or other things that could cause damage to your home if left unchecked.
While some gerbils can be kept in cages, others require a large pen to roam around freely. Regardless, they can be quite entertaining to watch!
Gerbils are typically kept in wire cages.
There are three types of substrate commonly used for these cages:
- wood
- plastic
- paper
There are many kinds of substrates that you can use for your gerbil’s cage. Some of the most popular substrates include wood chips, shredded paper fiber, paper towel rolls, cardboard tubes, and exercise ball tears.
The best substrate is going to depend on what you have available in your house or what works best for your pet. If you need a fresh new substrate for your gerbil’s cage every day or every week then it might be best to go with something like shredded paper fiber or wood chips because they
Many people have been using wood as a substrate for their gerbil cages. However, there have been a lot of complaints from pet owners about the amount of dust that gets on their furniture and carpets from the wood substrate. On the other hand, many people now use fiberglass or paper as their gerbil substrate instead.
Some pet owners like to use a mixture of two different substrates – one that they would use to build the cage and another one they would use as bedding for it. This can be either hay or sand – depending on what type of content you want your gerbil to create!
Hamster Cages
Remember on the old sitcoms from the 1950’s and 1960’s when kids always had a pet hamster? While the image of the pet hamster as a sitcom standby has disappeared over the years (mainly because TV sitcoms’ presentation of children has become more cynical), the venerable pet hamster remains a very popular fixture in pet shops across the United States.
The hamster, at home in his hamster cage, always brings a smile to a little kid’s face.
In a way, the hamster hanging around his hamster cage destroys quite a number of stereotypes about rodents. That is, the general public considers rodents to be dirty, sneaky, mean spirited animals beneath the contempt of humans.
Now, has anyone looked at a hamster at home in its hamster cage and thought such negative thoughts? Of course not!
Hamsters are fun pets that can provide hours of enjoyment to kids who can stare through the hamster cage and see what the pesky little pet is up to. After all, who doesn’t enjoy watching the hamster get hours of enjoyment exercising on the hamster wheel?
Who knows? Maybe watching the hamster at home in his hamster cage will provide some inspiration for his human hosts to get up and exercise as well!
Hamsters have been popular pets for decades and will continue to be popular pets for many more decades to come. It is doubtful the image of the hamster cage will ever disappear from the human landscape in real life like it did on the sitcoms.
This is a great thing as who would possibly want to live in a world where hamsters are nowhere to be found? Certainly not any children! Hamsters are great pets and should always be taken in by humans looking to have a fun pet around the house. Hamsters are a great joy and should always provide hours of fun.
Pet Rat Cages – Things to Consider When Buying a Pet Rat Cage
Young woman holding a pet rat
In times gone by, little boys would keep their pet rats in an old shoebox. These days, we try to do a little better than that. If you are thinking about having a pet rat, here are some things to think about when you buy a pet rat cage.
First of all, the pet rat cage should be enclosed with a strong but fine wire mesh. Make sure the mesh is strong enough to withstand some nibbling by your rat’s strong teeth.
Many rat cages come with mesh that has been coated with a fine plastic cover, which makes it harder for the rat to chew through the combination of plastic and metal.
Second, avoid fancy models that have glass enclosures. You are keeping a rat as a pet, not an ant colony. While the glass does allow for light, it can make cleaning the pet rat cage more difficult.
Keep in mind your pet rat may also like having some corners of the cage that are relatively dark, which is much easier to provide with a wire mesh than with glass.
The pet rat cage should be large enough to accommodate some toys, such as an exercise wheel. Rats do like to run and play, and there must be room to allow for that. A play tunnel will also provide both amusement and exercise for your pet rat.
There also needs to be enough room to place a container of sand or other materials that provide a place for the rat to burrow as well.
Food and water containers should also be included in your pet rat cage. Ideally, the containers will be constructed in such a way that you can easily refill them from outside the cage, as well as be easily cleaned from time to time.
If you have any doubts about exactly what to include in your pet rat cage, consult your local pet shop. Information about caring for your pet rat and what type of living conditions are best for your pet will be available.
Sugar Glider Cages – How to Set Up a Sugar Glider Cage
Cute Sugar Glider Eating a Snack
You’ve decided to keep a sugar glider. Of course, you want to make sure the cage is set up properly. You can go to a pet store and invest in a prefab model, or you can construct one yourself. If you choose to set up your own sugar glider cage, here are some tips.
First of all, pay attention to not only the horizontal, but also the vertical. Sugar gliders love to climb and enjoy being up off the ground. In order to accommodate this, think in terms of a sugar glider cage that is at least three feet high, and even more if you have the space for it.
Horizontal measurements are somewhat less important, but even at that make sure it is at least two feet long and two feet wide. This will allow a reasonable amount of room for your sugar glider to move about.
Your sugar glider cage should include a nesting box that can be taken in and out of the cage. Cleaning the box periodically is important to the health of your sugar glider, so make it easy on yourself.
Create the door to the cage sufficiently big enough for you to be able to reach in and remove the box without a lot of trouble. The box can be composed of just about anything from wood to plastic to fabric. Just make sure it is easy for you to handle.
For climbing, you can add just about any type of branch that is sturdy enough to support your sugar glider. If you are really industrious, take some scraps of wood and build a structure that is easy for your pet to climb.
As with the nesting box, make sure you can remove the structure from time to time for cleaning.
For more ideas about how to set up your sugar glider cage, consult your local pet shop. If they have some models of sugar glider cage in stock, take a good look at them and borrow some of the ideas you see.
With a little ingenuity, you can outfit a sugar glider box that will be perfect for your pet.