Piggy Patio
Easy Lift-Off for Cleaning and Access Below!
Our Piggy Patios are only possible because of our EXCLUSIVE, custom-manufactured Wonder Bars! The patio rests on a pair of very strong Wonder Bars. Just lift off the patio and easily pick up the two Wonder Bars for 100% access to the cage below.
Lower upper level -- Easier for your Guinea Pigs
Your guinea pigs will enjoy getting to an upper level on a ramp with a gentler slope. Height is adjustable, so you can start off lower and raise as needed.
Make a Fun Look!
Choose one of our patterns and cut your Coroplast for a fun look on the front edge of your patio.
Add a deck (patio) in a SINGLE-LEVEL, CLOSED cage!
Now you can add an "upper level" or Piggy Patio to a single-level cage with a closed top! There is enough clearance for the guinea pigs on both the lower level and the patio level.
Please COVER the RAMPS
We strongly recommend that you cover the ramps for several important reasons. If you leave the hinges exposed, they tend to invite chewing by the guinea pigs. They like the feeling of the soft plastic on their teeth. They can make short work of them necessitating replacement hinges. Also, the carpet, which provides great traction, is secured to the Coro with strong, double-stick tape. It's not easily removeable for cleaning. The intention is that you cover it with fabric, fleece is ideal but you can use other materials as well. The carpet helps grip the fabric keeping it in place. This makes it very easy to pick up for laundering when it gets dirty upon occasion.
We have official ramp covers available on our sister store. You can also just take a length of fabric and fold it over lenthwise a few times to create a nice cushy ramp cover. Make it about 4 to 6 inches longer than the ramp and tuck the extra at the top UNDER the fleece bedding you are using at the upper level. This covers the hinge as well as keeping the ramp clean and cleanable.
Dimensions
Our Piggy Patio is 13.75 x 28 inches. Please note that the width is 28 inches, not 27 inches or less. This is because these patios need to be closer to the grid walls for safety. As a result the width of the patio is slightly wider than the base for a better fit.
So, these patios will only work as MID-GRID height upper levels.
Edge Pattern
Piggy Patios are shipped with all four sides straight cut. You may want the ramp on the left, right or middle. You may want a wave or castle pattern or just a straight edge. Customize it to your desires! Ask us for castle or wave patterns for cutting.
Upper Levels are Good For
- Providing variety to your guinea pigs to help reduce boredom.
- A potential Kitchen or Hay area separate from the main cage area. But please note, not all guinea pigs will want to use this.
- A get-away area for some guinea pig pairs or groups who may not get along all the time. When one guinea pig can get out of sight from another, that can go a long way towards keeping the peace and keeping harassment down.
Upper Level Things to Consider
- Older guinea pigs typically loose their interest in going up a ramp to an upper level. Some are not able to as arthritis can bother guinea pigs, just like it can people.
- Not all guinea pigs will want to use a ramp. It can take patience (as in days, weeks or even months) to get a guinea pig to change and adapt. Do not expect overnight results when adding an upper level. Training with pieces of food can help.
- While a wider upper level provides more space on top, it is more difficult to reach under a two-grid deep upper deck. It is trickier to clean and to retrieve your guinea pigs for lap time.
- The gentler the slope of the ramp, the better, but more slope also takes up more precious downstairs cage space, so it's a trade-off.
Counting Cage Space
Please keep in mind that you should only count the lower level when determining how much cage space is required for your guinea pigs. Upper levels DO NOT COUNT in determining how much space you are providing. They are used occasionally and sometimes not at all by some or all of your guinea pigs.
Piggy Patio Includes
(Note - this patio kit contains only the components listed below)
- (1) 4mm 13.75" x 28" x 3.75" wall Coroplast base in your choice of 16 colors!
The base is cut and scored so you only have to secure the flaps.
- (1) 27" Reinforced Ramp to mach your coroplast color and edging to match your grid color.
- (2) Wonder Bars in your choice of black or white to match your grid color.
- (1) Velcro to hold ramp onto Wonder Bar as you're lifting patio.
- (8) Snap-in Plastic Rivets.
- Online, easy-to-follow, color assembly instructions with photos
Optionally:
Or optionally,
Rivets on the Flaps!
- All of our Coroplast bases come with nice, clean holes -- professionally punched in the appropriate locations. We include our easy-snap-in plastic rivets for securing the base.
- The rivets, while very secure when in place, can also be popped back open with a little separation pressure should you need to remove them for storage or moving and are generally reuseable.
COMPATIBILITY EXCEPTIONS
- HIGH BACK WALLS: The Wonder Bars used to support the Patio pass through the inner grid holes, so if you have a 10" or 12" back wall on your cage base, you may need to cut that section down (good scissors will work) depending your desired patio height.
CAGE shown in images, sold SEPARATELY
When we show the patio sitting INSIDE a CAGE or with other items, the cage and those other items are NOT INCLUDED. See the "What's Included" tab for the actual patio components.
NOT COMPATIBLE with this style of GRID
If you are buying this for a cage with a different brand of grids, make sure that the inner grid holes are the standard 1.5". Our Wonder Bars will NOT work with this style of grid:
