If you’ve ever taught your dog tricks, brought them to a dog park, or given your pet a treat puzzle, then you’ve participated in enrichment for your furry family member. While it can be easy to overlook the need to provide enrichment for animals kept in cages, such as guinea pigs, enrichment can be even more important for these small animals due to the limited amount of space they get to enjoy.
Here are some ways to enrich your guinea pig, along with why it’s important.
1. Get Companions for Your Guinea Pig
Guinea pigs can get lonely when kept by themselves or ignored by their humans. Ideally, your guinea pigs should be housed in pairs or herds (three or more). Housing multiple guinea pigs takes care of their socialization needs, offering them a companion.
In addition to the fulfillment your guinea pigs get from each other, you should also interact with your pets daily. This includes the interactions you have with your piggies at feeding time, but should also include cuddles during lap time, grooming time, and floor time. Guinea pigs who aren’t handled regularly can become skittish or aggressive, making it more difficult for you to engage in regular grooming and care necessities.
2. Allow Your Guinea Pigs to Exercise
While guinea pigs don’t require much space, they are very energetic creatures and can be prone to obesity if they aren’t given enough time outside of their cage to stretch their legs.
On average, guinea pigs should get around an hour of supervised floor time a day. This should be done in a large, closed-off space, or in a pig-proof room, and you should never leave your guinea pigs unsupervised. Guinea pigs are surprisingly quick and can easily get into trouble or injure themselves when not monitored. Also, be sure to exercise caution when handling your guinea pig; they rarely bite, but you don’t want to startle them.
DIY Idea: Encourage Exercise with Obstacle Courses
Do you already provide your piggies with regular floor time but just want to switch things up? Or maybe you have a guinea pig that needs a bit of encouragement to get moving. Creating your own piggie obstacle course can encourage exploration and boost enrichment.
To create an obstacle course for your guinea pigs, start by finding a safe room or an enclosed piggie-proof space (typically the same space you use for floor time). Now lay out hay, shelters and hides, platforms, cardboard bags, and tunnels. These items allow your guinea pig to explore, hide, walk through, and climb in a safe, controlled environment.
3. Chewing Is Essential for Guinea Pigs
Chewing and gnawing are critical to your guinea pigs’ dental health. A guinea pig’s teeth grow continuously, so providing safe items to chew, like apple wood sticks, crunchy vegetables, and hay, is essential. However, chewing is also enriching for guinea pigs, especially when given new things to safely chew, so switch things up occasionally!
DIY Idea: Find Safe Chewing Items
While there are plenty of wood toys available for purchase, there are likely many things around your house that your guinea pig can safely chew, such as:
- Toilet paper rolls: First, inspect the cardboard tube for any glues or dyes. If the tube is clean, cut a slit down the middle to prevent your guinea pig from getting stuck. Guinea pigs love to chew and toss these tubes around. You can even stuff them with hay for an additional treat.
- Paper bags and boxes: If you have brown paper bags or boxes lying around, guinea pigs love hiding in these, and stuffing them with treats will be sure to add enrichment.
Be sure to monitor your guinea pig when you give them any new toy.
4. Create Hiding Places for Your Guinea Pig
Guinea pigs, like every animal, need to feel safe. As prey animals, they often huddle in shelters and other hiding places to sleep, rest, or when scared. Providing your guinea pig with multiple hiding places is non-negotiable and one of the most important pieces of enrichment you can provide beyond socialization.
DIY Idea: Use Old Fabric for Fun Hideaways!
Old towels and fleece can be draped over cages or hides to create additional places to explore and rest. If you’re crafty, you can use fleece and towels to make treat mats, cuddle cups, and tunnels!
5. Keep Things Fresh for Your Guinea Pig
You’d likely be lost without internet, books, or video games for entertainment. It’s no different when it comes to your pets. Guinea pigs require sources of entertainment and novelty that encourage their natural instincts.
DIY Idea: Change Things Up!
Guinea pigs can get bored easily. One of the best ways to avoid that is by creating a sense of novelty. This can mean changing the layout and/or items in their cage after cleanings. You can also offer toys that encourage them to explore and forage.
For a DIY toy, try:
- Mobiles: You can make mobiles to hang across your guinea pig’s cage with a variety of things around your house. First, find twine and hang paper towel rolls, cardboard cutouts, cut-up veggies and fruits, or apple wood sticks. Guinea pigs love running through these obstacles, climbing them to get treats, and generally appreciate the foraging aspect of this toy. It’s a great boredom buster!
When cleaning your guinea pig’s cage, change out their hides, toys, and other items. You can also change the layout of where their usual items are. This will encourage them to explore and get to know this “new” area.
