I have two female cavies and started out with a very sturdy cage from Chewy's housebrand "Frisco." While the cage had a nice solid 8 inch super durable base and then a welded wire upper decking that could colapse and several entraces both on top and the side, it only provided about 8.4 spuare feet of actual floor space as the cages base slanted outwards. I would use 2 x 4 C C fleece liners in it and there would always be some extra on both the length and width that would curve up the sides a bit on the Frisco cage. Finally, after getting a larger table and then overhanging it with 3/8" hardwood pegboard that I covered with waterproof contact paper in a While Marble, I then ordered Guinea Pig Cage Company's 4 x 2 C C cage with a wide offset loft. At first I was dismayed with how flimsy everything was even with the usage of a ton of zip ties, but once I had it all together ( which took me the better part of two days in all honesty ) I quickly learned to love the cage. I got mine in all while with the bright blue 6" colorplast base along with white edging. The beauty of the offset ramp is two fold as it does not require extra table space and it also promotes easy cleaning and picking up one's Guinea pigs. At first I was quite worried that my cavies would not use the ramp, which by the way swing upward at the base, thus allowing my Bissell Perfect Sweep Turbo to quickly clean the cage of poop in just a few seconds, but my fears of my girls not using the ramp or loft were quickly put to rest. They absolutely love it and so do I. The only caveat is that it takes a bit of searching to find custom made fleece liners for the lofts as they require a cutout, but they can be found easily on Etsy and also a company called "Piggy Bedspreads." Anyway, I was so pleased once the cage was up and running and so were my Guinea Pigs, I went ahead and ordered the extension thus making my 4 x 2 C C base into a 5 x 2. The extension was quite easy to attach and very stable. I should also mention that I have my entire cage covered as we have an inquisitive resident cat and that was one of the reasons it took me longer to put everything together. Anyway, if you should end up ordering an extension make sure you also include the proper size extendable pole in your order. The one that came with my 4 x 2 kit was simply too short and it was going to cost like $18 just in shipping for a simple extendable rod, so I went to a local Menards and picked up a white heavy duty curtain rod that is exactly the same as what Guinea Pig Cage Company sells for about the same price. I also ended up buying a simple 36" steel 1" metal bar and a can of white Rustoleum spray paint and after bending each end at a 90 degree angle after cutting to proper width and painting, I now have an extra support for the larger and heavier cover and everything is Golden now. Not really sure I needed the etension as with the wide loft my girls had plenty of floor space to chase one another around but it gives me peace of mind knowing that they now have plenty of space to run and play. Since I had aquired a plentiful supply of the 4 x 2 C C fleece liners, I simply ordered a pair of 2 x 1 fleece liners from Chewy with the brand name of Popcorner and I lay one down on one end to ensure complete cage coverage.I chose this company over The Guinea Pig Cage Store located in California as I found that this company is a small family company that actually were the inventors or the C C colorplast system and the California Company while also very good and provides great ideas and suggestions, I just felt it worth maybe spending a couple dollars more on a company that I can call any day of the work week and actually talk with the inventors of these cages. Also, there are a number of lesser quality C C knockoffs that are much cheaper out there, like the Cavy Company or Guinea Dad that now sell C C cages and Colorplast bases but I have read that they use a thinner guage wire and are not nearly as sturdy as the orignal Grids used by both the Guinea Pig Store and the Guinea Pig Cage Comany. They may end up working just fine but I am a believer in that you get what you pay for and the Guinea Dad Company that made its name with its liners does not even offer a cover for any or their cages which seems odd as one could easily make one know what I do now. Anyway, you certainly will not regret working with this company and their shipping is quite quick and their colorplast bases are now precut to perfection and like I have mentioned, it is very easy to cheaply increase the size of your cage if you are on a budget and need to start smaller. Nice small family business that was the originator of the C C and Colorplast concept and that should count for something!
