Hi! All
I wondered if anyone could please advise me on the following as I have two Guinea Pigs who get on well alot of the time but now and again tend to fight, I have tried to give them as much space as possible so that they can get away from one another if need be.

I have bought a two-tier cage as well as a hutch but the ladders on both are not good for the confidence of Guinea Pigs as they have surfaces that can be slippery, however seeing as we have a Wilkinson's opening in Durham this Thursday I thought I would look at their website.

To my amazement I see that they are selling a two-tier Guinea Hutch with what looks like a ladder with some sort of covering on along the likes of roofing felt that you would put on a garden shed, I have often thought that some sort of covering would provide better grip for Guinea Pigs legs.

I just wondered if anyone has one of these hutches from Wilkinson's and if they do if the ladder does indeed have a good grip on it, also do your Guinea Pigs go up and down it?.

I know when I asked the people from the place I got them they said that the Guinea Pigs would probably not use a cage with a ladder, but I feel that if they felt happy with getting up the ladder without sliding down that they would use the ladder.

I look forward to comments.

Thanks in advance.

I'm of the camp that the ramps aren't a brilliant idea for piggies

there are just so many ways they could be injured on them, especially when being chased

do you have a link to the exact hutch you were looking at, at all?

if it is a roofing felt that is on there, or something else abrasive i would imagine that it'd be more trouble than help with foot sores etc.

by any chance are the pigs you have currently a pair of boars?

and what is the size of their current cage?

Our guineas have a two tier hutch for outside that they both use quite happily. The ramp has a non-slip coating on it, but also some wooden dowling like bits which go across the ramp - we added a few extra on to give them extra grip, and to stop them sliding too much when they are coming down.

One of our piggies didn't used to use the ramp properly when we first got them - she used to climb up the side of the wiring of the run and then get on to the ramp at the top - but she had to stop doing that when she got too big to get through the gap.

my 2 female guinea pigs enjoy a 7ft long hutch i bought off ebay, a guy on there makes and sells them for just £65 much better than a 2 tier hutch given that you are only supposed to calculate the floor space of a multi-tiered hutch using the bottom level, as not all guineas use 2 levels you shouldnt calculate it into it, and the ramp to gain access to upstairs further decreases the available space.

as a guide, 2 female guineas or a (neutered ) male and female would need a minimum 4ft x 2ft, but for 2 boars the minimum would be 5ft x 2ft as they are more territorial and need to be able to get away from each other.

i will add to kellys statement that many boars will get on in 4x2 hutches, i have 4 pairs myself in 4x2's with no problem

but if your boars are prone to fall outs you should buy as big a hutch as you can afford, with a single level.
and ideally with two of everything (beds, bowls, bottles etc.)

there are some lovely, strongly built hutches on ebay (unfortunately all well away from where i can pick up from)
that are a lot cheaper and more spacious than any you can buy in a pet shop.
so it is definitely worth a look.

the guy i bought mine from will courier out to people as far as i know think hes been advertising on there for a long while, he had 1 or 2 built up in his garage and then a part built one so i guess its something he does in his spare time. i wouldnt house a rabbit in it as its quite low, less than 2 feet tall, but my piggies love it

my nethies are in 18" & do just Fine, so it you ever go into dwarf rabbits, your hutch would work for them too. sounds Like a great setup I'd love to expand my hutch sizes, but I've used up all my available space

ah the rabbit idea isnt an issue for me, i am so allergic to them i cant be in the same room as one let alone touch/hold one.