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 folks appear to forget the fact that guinea pigs are basically living, breathing beings that have to be cared for and given the same respect that each living creature on earth deserves. Not all folks with this approach are cold-hearted, unfeeling villains. Most are likely just well-intentioned animal owners who simply haven't done the study in order to educate themselves well enough to become knowledgeable, competent pet-owners.

As Guinea Pig C&C cage designers and sellers, we come into contact with a large number of guinea pig owners (frequently brand new guinea pig owners). We also communicate with and are monitored by several guinea pig rescue associations. As such, there is one common explicit cage-related situation which keeps surfacing and which is also decidedly hazardous to your pigs' health and safety. The intention of this article is to advise you of this common potentially harmful hazard so that you can easily 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 delicate and sensitive structures. To your pig, treading on wire mesh is the same as you spending your whole day walking on rebar, metal pipes or similar metal bars in your bare feet.

Living in a cage with a wire floor can cause sores and ulcers on your pig's footpads. In addition, your pig's feet can get jammed or caught between the metal bars. Pigs housed in cages with wire floors frequently suffer damaged 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.

To avoid unwarranted injury to your pig's feet and toes, just follow these two straightforward rules. Be sure to purchase or build a cage with a smooth bottom to avoid the injuries discussed above. Also, if pertinent ensure the ramp has a non-slip surface to allow your pig to climb up and down it without falling or slipping but avoid ramps with metal bars or wire grids as these can trap fragile guinea pig feet and toes and cause unpleasant injuries.