A guinea pig is just a rodent - a small unimportant creature. Sure, the kids like them. But all the same, when you bring them home from the pet store, they're just like any other possession (except they have that annoying practice of moving around) so they have to be contained. So we must confine them - toss them in guinea pigs cages and give them food and water every day. That's O.K - they'll be fine.
Hopefully that is not your perspective.
Too many people seem to forget the fact that guinea pigs are essentially living, breathing beings that must be cared for and shown the same respect that every live creature on earth merits. Not all folk with this perspective are cold-hearted, unfeeling villains. The majority are probably just well-meaning pet owners who simply haven't done the research to educate themselves sufficiently well to become informed, competent pet-owners.
As Guinea Pig C&C cage designers and retailers, we communicate with plenty of guinea pig owners (very frequently "rookie" guinea pig animal owners). We also communicate with and are monitored by a few guinea pig rescue organizations. Because of this, we see one common specific cage-related situation which keeps surfacing and which is also decidedly dangerous to your pigs' health and welfare. The object of this essay is to alert you to this common danger so you can simply avoid it.
This common issue is the usage of cage floors and other cage walking surfaces made from metal bars or grids. Many commercial guinea pigs cages are built with wire floors. The point of the wire floor is to allow feces and other solid materials fall though the spaces into a litter pan below. To clean, one only need slides out the litter pan and empties the pan. Really convenient - but also really dangerous for your guinea pigs. While these varieties of cages provide a marked convenience advantage for the owner, they're unsafe for your pig's foot health.
Your guinea pig's footpads are fragile and sensitive structures. To your pig, walking on wire mesh is just like you spending your entire day walking on rebar, metal pipes or similar metal bars in your bare feet.
Living in a cage with a wire floor may cause sores and ulcers on your pig's footpads. Additionally, your pig's feet can get wedged or trapped between the metal bars. Pigs housed in cages with wire floors often suffer broken toes and legs.
The same is true also of ramps in multi-level cages. Ramps shouldn't contain metal bars, mesh or anything else which will trap or cause irritation to your guinea pigs tender feet. Sure, it's necessary to provide a satisfactory gripping surface - the surface must have something on it to prevent slipping. But the point is, these features shouldn't be able to snag or trap your pigs ' feet and toes.
In order to avoid unnecessary injury to your pig's feet and toes, just follow these two easy rules. Be certain to purchase or build a cage with a smooth bottom to avoid the injuries detailed above. Also, if relevant make sure the ramp has a non-slip surface to permit your pig to negotiate it without falling or slipping but avoid ramps with metal bars or wire grids as these can trap delicate guinea pig feet and toes and cause painful injuries.
Hopefully that is not your perspective.
Too many people seem to forget the fact that guinea pigs are essentially living, breathing beings that must be cared for and shown the same respect that every live creature on earth merits. Not all folk with this perspective are cold-hearted, unfeeling villains. The majority are probably just well-meaning pet owners who simply haven't done the research to educate themselves sufficiently well to become informed, competent pet-owners.
As Guinea Pig C&C cage designers and retailers, we communicate with plenty of guinea pig owners (very frequently "rookie" guinea pig animal owners). We also communicate with and are monitored by a few guinea pig rescue organizations. Because of this, we see one common specific cage-related situation which keeps surfacing and which is also decidedly dangerous to your pigs' health and welfare. The object of this essay is to alert you to this common danger so you can simply avoid it.
This common issue is the usage of cage floors and other cage walking surfaces made from metal bars or grids. Many commercial guinea pigs cages are built with wire floors. The point of the wire floor is to allow feces and other solid materials fall though the spaces into a litter pan below. To clean, one only need slides out the litter pan and empties the pan. Really convenient - but also really dangerous for your guinea pigs. While these varieties of cages provide a marked convenience advantage for the owner, they're unsafe for your pig's foot health.
Your guinea pig's footpads are fragile and sensitive structures. To your pig, walking on wire mesh is just like you spending your entire day walking on rebar, metal pipes or similar metal bars in your bare feet.
Living in a cage with a wire floor may cause sores and ulcers on your pig's footpads. Additionally, your pig's feet can get wedged or trapped between the metal bars. Pigs housed in cages with wire floors often suffer broken toes and legs.
The same is true also of ramps in multi-level cages. Ramps shouldn't contain metal bars, mesh or anything else which will trap or cause irritation to your guinea pigs tender feet. Sure, it's necessary to provide a satisfactory gripping surface - the surface must have something on it to prevent slipping. But the point is, these features shouldn't be able to snag or trap your pigs ' feet and toes.
In order to avoid unnecessary injury to your pig's feet and toes, just follow these two easy rules. Be certain to purchase or build a cage with a smooth bottom to avoid the injuries detailed above. Also, if relevant make sure the ramp has a non-slip surface to permit your pig to negotiate it without falling or slipping but avoid ramps with metal bars or wire grids as these can trap delicate guinea pig feet and toes and cause painful injuries.
About the Author:
We here at BlueStoneCommerce are guinea pig owners as well as guinea pig cage sellers and we know what pigs like and what they require in guinea pigs cages to be healthy, snug and secure. To visit our internet site and claim your special unadvertised discount on quality C&C guinea pigs cages <--CLICK on this LINK.