House note

Open-top, solid roof, or skylight: picking the right build

The line splits into three architectures, and the right one depends on two questions: does the tenant climb, and who else lives in the house?

Open-top pens are the default for guinea pigs in cat-free homes. Access is instant — you reach in, you don't unlatch — airflow is unbeatable, and cleaning happens from every angle. Pigs are earthbound by temperament; sixteen-inch walls hold them without a ceiling.

The solid-roof enclosed build answers two threats at once: the tenant who climbs (rabbits and hamsters treat open walls as suggestions) and the household predator who watches. The full 0.6-inch mesh shell closes both cases, and the door keeps daily access one latch away.

The skylight version is the compromise most mixed households actually want: the security of a roof with daylight pouring through the transparent top. Tenants who stress under solid cover keep their sky; cats keep their distance; you keep the view in.

Budget note: the three builds sit within about ten dollars of each other, so price should not make this decision — the climbing habits and the cat should. And because everything is panels, an open-top bought today converts later; roofs can be added when the tenant reveals ambitions.