C&C Cage Facts, Comparisons and Affordability
Looking after pets, even small ones like guinea pigs, can be expensive. You find a rescue or feel sorry for some in a pet shop and you can't resist handing over your hard earned money to give those bundles of fur a fabulous new home. But wait, you now need a spacious cage, some liners or substrate, hay, food, fruit and veg, bowls, bottles and the list can go on. It can get expensive very quickly especially when you pop into your local pet shop and see cages costing £100+. Then factor in that these pet shops often advise customers incorrectly and sell cages that are too small. Well you're in luck because that's where Cage Creations can help.
We have a vast experience of guinea pigs knowing their behaviours, personality traits, potential illnesses and of course what they need for a happy life. The main consideration, and probably the most important, is what size and type of cage do they need? Easiest answer is, the biggest you can afford and fit into your home/life. Realistically there is a bit more too it so carry on reading.
Choosing Your Cage
You popped into Pets at Home, for example, and the lovely assistant has persuaded you to take home some guinea pigs (though we advise checking local rescues first). They will then, in most cases, direct you towards their hutches and cages. You let them know you definitely want your furry potatoes (guinea pigs) indoors. Over to the aisle with their exclusive Ferplast cages and some others that are generally available elsewhere too. Wow, you think to yourself seeing the array of lovely looking cages. They all look so nice. STOP RIGHT THERE!
This is now where the issues start to arise. We would guess that at least 75% of cages sold to customers by shops such as Pets at Home are not of a suitable size for the guinea pigs they've just sold you. We can make this educated guess because we know what cages they stock, what size they are and what the minimum cage size should be. We also, unfortunately, have a large amount of experience with customers telling us. what they were persuaded to buy. The sad fact is that money talks and they want to sell you these high profiting cages irrespective of their suitability.
Don't get us wrong, there are a few Ferplast cages that are suitable but this is where C&C Cages come into their own. Firstly, the cost. You can buy the largest Ferplast cage on Pets at Home for £101. The external dimensions are similar to a 2x4 C&C Cage's internal dimensions meaning a 2x4 C&C Cage actually has a larger living space and we stock them from £35.50. That's about 65% less for more usable space. Then there is the space and the modular nature of the cages allowing you to expand and change your cage whenever you want.
Cage Sizing Guide
This guide is to highlight the minimum requirements needed depending on the amount and gender of the guinea pigs. Boars always require more space due to their slightly more territorial behaviour. Although more than 2 boars are shown in the table below ideally never have more than 2 unless you are highly experienced with keeping guinea pigs. This is due to the higher chance of incompatible matches and fighting.
Key
- Sows (females)
- Boars (males)
| Number of Guinea Pigs | Minimum Area | Minimum Suitable Cage |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7.5ft² | 2x3 C&C |
|
|
10.5ft² | 2x4 or 3x3 C&C |
|
|
13ft² | 2x5 C&C |
|
|
16ft² | 2x6 or 3x4 C&C |
| These are the minimum requirements. If you can go larger .. GO LARGER | ||
Competitor Comparison
We have mentioned affordability before, it's in various places on our website, but why should you believe us? After all, it could be a marketing ploy like the "DFS Sale" trying to convince you that you're saving money when you're not really. To save you some time and effort we have taken a look at our 2 main competitors (not hard to find out who they are but we're being fair and not naming them).
To demonstrate fairness, Competitor 1 only stocks narrow holed grids (14x3, whereas ours are 22x3) and Competitor 2 only stocks standard 9x9 grids. Therefore we cannot do a direct comparison across the 3 companies but can show direct comparison between us and each of them
Narrow Holed "Babysafe" C&C Cages
| Cage Type | Cage Creations | Competitor 1 | % diff* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2x3 | 31.00 | 49.00 | 36.73 | ||
| 2x3 with Lid | 44.00 | 67.00 | 34.33 | ||
| 2x4 | 38.00 | 67.00 | 43.28 | ||
| 2x4 with Lid | 55.00 | 90.00 | 38.89 | ||
| 2x5 | 45.00 | 72.00 | 37.50 | ||
| 2x5 with Lid | 66.00 | 99.00 | 33.33 | ||
| 2x6 | 53.00 | 82.00 | 35.37 | ||
| 2x6 with Lid | 79.00 | 113.00 | 30.09 | ||
| * percentage increase on our prices. | |||||
Standard 9x9 C&C Cages
| Cage Type | Cage Creations | Competitor 2 | % diff* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2x3 | 29.00 | 49.99 | 41.99 | ||
| 2x3 with Lid | 40.00 | 79.98 | 49.99 | ||
| 2x4 | 35.50 | 59.99 | 40.82 | ||
| 2x4 with Lid | 50.00 | 94.98 | 47.36 | ||
| 2x5 | 42.00 | 64.99 | 35.37 | ||
| 2x5 with Lid | 60.50 | 104.98 | 42.37 | ||
| 2x6 | 50.00 | 74.99 | 33.32 | ||
| 2x6 with Lid | 72.00 | 119.98 | 39.99 | ||
| * percentage increase on our prices. | |||||
Affordability
As you can see, from the tables above, our prices are between approximately 30% and 50% lower than either of our 2 main competitors. That's quite a margin so how can the "new kid on the block" manage that? Well, we have experience of sourcing products efficiently and directly from manufacturers having imported from around the world for many years. Also, we keep our overheads low and maintain one location in the UK which not all businesses do.
We want to provide guinea pig owners high quality C&C cages and additional items at affordable prices and we hope you agree that we have done that. If things continue going the way they have this first month then we'll be getting more colour correx, other items and we still have stands and lids to add onto the website once I get chance to take photos of them. Too few hours and only one Dave! Giving the average guinea pig owner the means to have these fantastic cages without breaking the bank will always be part of our business model. As long as we can pay the bills, have an occasional takeaway and clothe the kids then that's good enough for us 😁
If there is anything you would like to see for sale or have suggestions about existing products then please do get in touch at sales@cagecreations.co.uk
So, we hope you found this a useful article and has given you a bit of an insight into C&C Cages, why we have started supplying cages and where best to spend your hard earned money.
Many thanks for reading this.
Dave
