How to make a house for a guinea pig with your own hands at home – drawings and photos

In the cage of a small rodent, it is not necessary to have a house, but with such an accessory, the life of a pet will be much more comfortable and enjoyable. How to make a house for a guinea pig with your own hands, and what materials can be used to make it?

Do guinea pigs need a house in a cage?

Friendly and outgoing guinea pigs enjoy attention from their owners and enjoy spending time in their company. But sometimes animals need peace and solitude, and they need a secluded corner where they can hide from prying eyes and take a break from the bustle of the outside world.

And a loving owner should take care of a safe haven for a little pet, equipping the cage with a cozy and comfortable house. In it, the guinea pig can not only sleep, but also enjoy a favorite treat or just hide, frightened by a loud sound.

Therefore, your own shelter house will be an excellent gift for a furry animal, in which he will spend most of his time, while the owner is busy with his own business.

What should be a home for a guinea pig

When purchasing housing for a pet in a pet store, or making it yourself, you should pay attention to a number of criteria that this accessory must meet.

Basic requirements for a house

Space

The house should be large enough and roomy so that the pet can freely accommodate in it, both vertically and horizontally.

wide entrance

The inlet of the house should be such that the animal can freely enter and exit it, and not get stuck in the passage.

Harmlessness

This is one of the main requirements when choosing housing for a guinea pig. It is unacceptable that the parts of the accessory be covered with paint or varnish. After all, a guinea pig can taste its “apartment”, and the ingress of these substances into its body will lead to severe food poisoning.

Security

Particular attention should be paid to inspecting the appearance of the structure. The tips of screws or nails should not stick out of the object. It is also recommended to choose a house without sharp corners and pointed decorations in the form of turrets, which the animal can get hurt on.

Good ventilation

For free air circulation, holes (preferably round or oval) should be cut out in the walls of the dwelling for the guinea pig. But the presence of small narrow cracks in the house is unacceptable, since the rodent’s foot can get stuck in them.

Important: for a guinea pig, it is better to choose a house without a bottom. This way, garbage will not accumulate in the pet’s home and it will be much easier to clean it.

Materials and improvised means for the manufacture of houses

Ready-made guinea pig houses are mostly made of wood or plastic. And what materials or household items can be used to independently make a home for a small pet?

Homemade houses are made from:

• sheets of wood plywood;
• cardboard boxes;
• metal grating covered with fabric;
• old ceramic pots;

• thick cardboard;
• sewer plastic pipes;
• segments of the children’s designer;
• plastic food containers;
• plastic kitchen boxes

The most durable and durable housing for a rodent is, of course, a wooden house. Even considering the fact that the guinea pig will use its own chambers to grind down its teeth, a product made from plywood sheets will still last longer than a cardboard or fabric house.

But what material to make a house from depends on the personal preferences of the owner and his skill.

Do-it-yourself wooden house for a guinea pig

The most common housing option for animals is a house made of wooden plywood. It is not so difficult to build it yourself, and each owner will find the materials for its manufacture.

Stages of building a house:

1. Prepare the necessary tools and materials (plywood sheets, saw, ruler, pencil, nails, hammer and sandpaper).
2. On plywood, draw four rectangles for the walls of the product and one rectangular piece that will serve as a roof. Housing dimensions are calculated based on the size of the cage and the dimensions of the animal. The most suitable parameters: length – 45, width – 35, height -25 centimeters.
3. Cut out all the details. A wide opening is cut in the front wall for entry. Windows are made on the side walls.
4. The edges of the cut sheets are carefully sanded so that there are no burrs.
5. With the help of nails, all the details of the house are connected so that the ends and nail heads do not stick out of the accessory.
6. The roof is nailed to the resulting wooden box and the “apartment” for the rodent is almost ready. Clean the product from the saw with a brush and wipe it with a dry cloth.
7. Carefully inspect the house for protruding nails or roughness, and if everything is in order, put the item in the pet’s cage.

Important: the animal will use its home as a sharpener for teeth, so this accessory cannot be made from oak, cherry or plum wood, since the tannins contained in them are harmful to animal health.

How to make a house out of a cardboard box

The easiest way to please your pet with your own home is to make it from a cardboard box. This option does not require any effort or special skills from the owner.

To do this, you only need a box (from under shoes, or household appliances, for example) and scissors.

A large hole is cut out on one wall of the box, it will serve as the entrance to the “apartment”, and an exit is cut on the opposite wall. It is desirable to cut windows on the side walls so that fresh air enters the house. The product is installed in a cage upside down and the pet is called for a housewarming party.

plastic pipe house

You can make housing for a fluffy rodent from a plastic pipe tee left after repairing or replacing a sewer. It is good to use an elbow or a tee for this purpose, but a piece of an ordinary pipe will also work.

To make the guinea pig like the new house, you can cover the pipe with a cloth, so the house will become warmer and more comfortable. Moreover, a fabric-covered pipe will be safer for the animal, because it can gnaw on the structure and swallow plastic.

Instructions for making a fabric house

It turns out a very beautiful house in the form of a camping tent or hut.

The basis of such a product is a metal mesh, which is bent in a semicircle and attached to a piece of cardboard. Then the metal frame is covered with a dense fabric. To make the house beat more comfortable, you can put a piece of padding polyester under the fabric. A piece of fabric is also sewn to the back wall, leaving only the entrance open. A fleece bedding is laid at the bottom of the house and a comfortable hut for the pet is ready.

Making a cardboard house

To make such housing, you will need sheets of thick cardboard, a pencil, a stationery knife or scissors, and any non-toxic glue.

1. Drawings are made on cardboard, drawing the walls and roof of the future product. The size of the house is calculated based on the dimensions of the pet. But in any case, the length of the walls should not be less than 45, width 30, and height 20 centimeters.
2. Cut out all the details.
3. Connect the walls of the structure with glue and glue the roof.
4. Leave the product for several hours so that the glue grabs and its smell disappears, and put it in a rodent cage.

Plastic houses for guinea pigs

A simple and quick option is to make a house out of a plastic container or an old plastic crate for kitchen utensils.

To do this, select an object of a suitable size and cut an inlet in it. Or they cut openings in all the walls of the box, making entrances and exits for the pet.

Important: plastic is harmful to the body of guinea pigs, therefore, if a pet gnaws at its plastic house, it is better to remove it from the cage, offering the animal a safer option made of wood or cardboard.

The choice of materials for the manufacture of housing is quite wide. And in order to please the pet with their own house, each owner will be able to make such an accessory with their own hands without much effort.

We also offer ideas for making a hammock and toys with our own hands in the articles “Making a hammock for a chinchilla with our own hands” and “Entertainment and toys for a guinea pig”.

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