Coroplast, what is it?

Coroplast™ is everywhere--from election signs, to promotional signs at gas stations and supermarkets, to storage boxes. Because of the success of this brand, it has become a genericized trademark and many people in North America today refer to corrugated plastic as "coroplast". It is also marketed under such names as Corr-x, Plasticor, Hi Cor, Correx, Corriflute, Corflute, Coroflute, Cadflute, Fluteboard, Polionda (Portuguese), Twinplast, Kanalplast (Swedish), Corlite and many others. As the name implies, it looks similar to corrugated cardboard except it's made of plastic. To be specific, it is a polypropylene copolymer (other brands may differ slightly in composition.) It is a light-weight, tough material which can easily be cut with a craft knife, heavy-duty scissors or a razor blade. A full 4x8 foot sheet only weighs about 4 pounds. It is great for outdoor signs because it's weatherproof, stiff, resilient, and resistant to UV and chemicals. These characteristics make it great for guinea pig cages, too.

Is Coroplast Safe for Guinea Pigs?

The natural polymer is chemically inert and is generally considered non-toxic and safe for use in contact with food. To date, in the 15 years that Coroplast has been used as a guinea pig cage material, there have been no reports of guinea pig illnesses or injuries attributed to Coroplast. Rarely, a guinea pig might decide to chew on the edge of the Coroplast. The cage design is very easily remedied to stop such behavior. For the few guinea pigs who have managed to chew down a small section of Coroplast, none have suffered any ill effects. It's likely that they are chewing the edge just for the chewing satisfaction and not to eat the material. The easiest remedy is to temporarily attach an appropriate length of wood dowel along the top edge which stops the behavior and can be removed when habit is broken. Be sure your guinea pigs have ample Timothy or other grass hay available at all times and at least one wooden hidey house to gnaw on to help keep their incisors ground down. Typical 'chew toys' and small blocks of wood or sticks just take up space. Guinea pigs do not use them.

Recyclable

Corrugated sheet is recyclable and is therefore considered by many to be environmentally friendly.

Size & Thickness for Cages

The usual thickness for Coroplast is 4mm (millimeters) or just under a quarter of an inch and is sold in 4 foot x 8 foot sheets in the United States. This is the ideal thickness for C&C (Cubes and Coroplast) cages.