What Can Guinea Pigs Do? {22 Fun Guinea Pig Activities}

Guinea pig is a very fun-loving and playful pet. They like to play and have fun with toys, other guinea pigs, and their human owners.

There are different activities you can use to stimulate your guinea pig both mentally and physically. So if you are a guinea pig owner and you are wondering what can guinea pigs do, keep reading because this article will list out all the fun activities you provide for your guinea pig.

What Can Guinea Pigs Do?

Before we go into the different things that guinea gigs can do for fun, such as the toys and activities they like indulging in, let’s talk about some safety precautions that you need to ensure for a safe playtime with your pet.

Whenever you try to engage your guinea pig in an activity, always try to watch for its reaction. Pay rapt attention to your guinea and find out its personality before trying to engage it in any activity. do not try to force a game on your guinea pig when it clearly has a negative reaction to the game.

Also, Before bringing your guinea pig out of its cage, make sure to take your cat or dog out of the room and keep the door shut to prevent your guinea pig from escaping.

You also need to baby-proof the play area by removing or safely covering any electrical cords and remove any item that might pose a hazard risk on the floor like dropped medications or poisonous plants and also block off any nooks where your guinea pig might get trapped in.

To correctly engage your guinea pig in a game that it will enjoy, try to pay attention to the guinea pig’s reactions to daily events. Does it like tossing, rolling, or chewing? Then create games built around these activities.

When trying to actively engage your guinea pigs in activities, always do it routinely. That is, try to engage your pig in a game at about the same time every day or in the same situation.

This way, there won’t be any room for surprises for your guinea pig because they are prey animals that run, freeze, or sometimes attack when startled or afraid, so you never want to surprise your guinea pig.

Now that we’ve gotten safety out of the way let’s look at some fun activities that guinea pigs can do.

Top 22 Things Guinea Pigs Can Do

Now, below are the top 22 activities and things guinea pigs can do for fun:

1. Food Scrabble

To create this game, you will need to find a plastic tube, a hollow ball, or some other non-edible container and place some hay or pellets inside it.

You can even add a couple of treats also then allow your pet work to free the food. This is a very good mental stimulating game for your guinea pig.

2. Tug-of-War

Guinea pigs are social animals and they love to play with one another, so you need to ensure that their cage has adequate space for them to play in.

You can make use of an old sock or a piece of newspaper to create a fun game of tug-of-war if you happen to have two guinea pigs. The sock can serve as a pillow for your guinea pig or they can drag it around their happy little home.

3. Racing

You can create a race track for your guinea pig by using playpen walls or line it up with heavy but sturdy items that are taller than a guinea pig.

You can motivate your guinea pig to engage in this game by placing the piggy at one end of the track and a piece of treat on the other.

If your guinea pig gives a positive response to the game, you can go ahead and try timed trails.

4. Obstacle Course

To create this game, you will need a couple of cardboard boxes or you can also make use of any random object that can be used as an obstacle.

This is a very great mental stimulating game, that your guinea pig is likely to enjoy. For a more standard obstacle course game, you can create a DIY cardboard maze; just make sure there’s enough space for the guinea pigs to move around.

When engaging your pet in an obstacle course game, you will need to switch things up and change the course frequently because guinea pigs are very smart animals, and they can learn their way through the obstacles after a couple of tries, after which the game may become boring for your pet.

5. Tunnels

Due to Guinea pigs burrowing natural instinct, creating a tunnel for your pet will provide endless fun for them. You can either purchase tunnels online or make one yourself using wrapping or toilet paper rolls.

To ensure that your guinea pig truly enjoys the tunnel it needs to be placed in areas where the guinea pig has more space to run around makes it more enjoyable for your pet.

Tunnels help to stimulate your guinea pigs physically thereby preventing cardiovascular disease.

6. Burrowing

In the wild, guinea pigs have to burrow the ground to build comfortable nests to protect themselves and their young from predators, so even when domesticated, those instincts remain.

So in order to ensure that your guinea pig can easily express its instincts, you need to provide a cage that is 7.5 square feet per guinea pig is highly recommended because it allows your pet to create its own burrowing spots inside the cage.

You also need to provide adequate wood shavings to also aid your pet’s burrowing.

7. Paper balls

Guinea pigs are simple animals and they don’t need much to be happy. You can keep your guinea pig entertained and engaged with simple bag balls.

To create this toy, you just need to scrunch up a paper bag or crumpled paper into a large ball then place it inside your guinea pig’s cage.

Guinea pigs love the crumpling noise of the paper, and they may chew and gnaw on it. This is an inexpensive and excellent toy choice for guinea pigs.

8. Hay Balls

Guinea pigs love hay so creating a toy where it is not only fed but engaged is a great toy choice.

Guinea pigs have teeth that are always growing so providing your pet with a toy like a hay ball helps to entertain them and, at the same time, groom their teeth.

Depending on the product of hay balls you purchased, it may have an added bonus of fun for your guinea pig as some hay balls contain a jingle toy inside that makes a pleasant noise when rolled.

9. Stuffed Tube With Hay

Another toy you can also make is hay- a stuffed paper towel or toilet paper tubes. Before using any tube, you need to make sure it is non-toxic, so your pet chewing on them shouldn’t harm it. This makes a great treat and toy.

10. Stuffed Socks

If you have any mismatched or old socks, you can use them to create a toy for your guinea pig. To create this toy, Simply round up the sock and fill it with clean beddings or hay.

Once the sock is filled up, use wool to tie the open end closed. This is a great toy your guinea pig can play with, drag around, and even nestle on.

11. Food Hunting

For this, you will need a rope or string, a stuffed animal, or even a small treat. Tie the treat or stuffed animal to the string and drag it across the floor.

Move the string a bit faster than the guinea pig so it doesn’t get hold of it, you don’t want your pet nibbling or chewing any part of the rope or string.

You can also organize a food hunt activity for your cavies by simply breaking up a special treat into tiny bits and placing them in areas your guinea pig can safely access on its own.

When it’s time for a food hunt; show your pet one of the hiding spots and watch to see if it can find the next treat.

12. Obstacle courses

Guinea pigs are very active animals so an obstacle course is a great choice of game for them. You can create a cardboard maze yourself or purchase one, you can also make use of random items to create a maze your guinea can find its way through.

you can use a treat to entice your guinea pig and create motivation from the start to finish line. After a few tries, your piggy will be able to recall the path, so you can try switching it up, so it doesn’t become boring for your guinea pig.

13. Paper Bag Foraging Toy

You can make use of either a small or a medium-sized paper bag and then use a hole puncher or a pair of scissors to create small openings in the body of the paper bag.

Then fill up the paper bag with herbs, hay, or clover and crinkle the opening shut. This toy will give your guinea pig hours of foraging fun.

14. Newspaper Tent Cave

This toy is very easy to make; simply lay down several sheets of newspaper as a floor and use a whole section of a newspaper to create the tent top by folding it at the crease.

Then Place the tent you just created over the newspaper base.

15. Stuffed Cardboard

Do not make use of white cardboard rolls for this toy because they usually contain bleach, which can be harmful to your pet when they ingest it. Instead, get untreated brown cardboard paper towels or toilet paper rolls, which are safer to use.

As stated earlier, you want to remove as much adhesive residue on the cardboard before using them. Then stuff the cardboard roll with hay and place it inside the guinea pig’s cage.

Providing your guinea pig munch with hay and cardboard and cardboard to munch on will help to groom their teeth and also keep them entertained.

You can also place a small piece of treat in the middle of the hay inside of the tube as an extra incentive.

16. Stick Tree Roll

you can make use of sticks from your yard to create this toy, but you need to ensure the wood is safe for your pet to chew on. To make this toy, you will need to create small openings along the length of an empty paper towel roll.

Then place sticks into the holes you created, do this in such a way that they stick out from both sides of the central roll. This is a great toy choice because guinea pigs enjoy chewing on twigs and small sticks.

17. Hay Socks

For this toy, you can make use of any mismatched or old socks, but you need to ensure the sock is washed before using it to make sure it is clean, before filling it up hay.

Then tie off the end of the sock using a piece of thread of wool or if you are making use of a long sock, you can simply tie it around itself.

Use a knife or pair of scissors to create some holes in different areas of the sock. Stick a bit of hay through the holes you created so that your guinea pig has something to pull on, then place it inside your guinea pig’s cage.

You can place a treat inside the sock also. Your guinea pigs can either play with a ball or just drag it around, either way, your guinea pig will definitely love this toy. Once the sock gets dirty, take it out of your guinea pig’s cage and throw it in the washer.

18. Biting Blocks Garland

For this toy, you will need a string or rope but you need to make sure it is safe and non-toxic. Use the rope or string to thread children’s blocks, empty wooden thread spools, wicker, toilet paper, or cardboard rolls onto it.

Tie one end of the rope to your guinea pig’s cage and leave one the other end open. Then stretch out the garland and tie the other end to the other side of your guinea pig’s cage. This is a great toy, and your guinea pig will definitely love it.

19. Shoebox House

Get a brown box with little or no printing at all. Ensure that all the adhesive glue residue is removed from the box and cut holes in the box using a pair of scissors or a knife make sure the holes are big enough for your guinea pig to go in and out as it pleases.

You also need to create a hole on top of the box to allow them to poke their head up at will and even climb to the top of the box.

You can create a bigger house with many levels by using multiple cardboards. Then finally, add some timothy hay inside the house so that your guinea can munch on, and you can even add some treats inside the house for your guinea pig to find.

20. Foraging Clothesline

For this, you will need to cut up fruits and vegetables like carrots or radish into circles, then create an opening in the center of the fruits and vegetables and use a non-toxic string or rope to thread it, alternating between the different fruits and veggies.

Then place this fruit and veggie string at a height where your guinea pig has to stand on its hind leg in order to reach it. This is a form of exercise for your guinea pig.

21. Cardboard Box Cave

You can create a cave for your guinea pig using an old cardboard box or shoebox that your guinea pig can fit inside comfortably.

Use a knife to cut out an opening that will serve as the entrance/exit point on the sides of the box and Place some soft bedding material inside the box for comfort. This will be like a second home or getaway spot for your guinea pig that it can go in and come out at will.

22. Stick Log Cabin

To create this game, you will need a couple of wood sticks with about the same width and length. Before using any wood for this, you need to make sure it is safe and non-toxic.

Using a non-toxic string or rope tie the wood sticks in a figure-eight pattern.

After creating the walls, bind the four walls together using some more string or rope, but leave one wall unattached at one end, to serve as the door.

Another way to do this is to bind only three sides together and leave the floor open because this gives it a more cave-type shelter look.

Read Also: Do Guinea Pigs Play Hide and Seek Game?

Conclusion

So, what can guinea pigs do? I hope we’ve been able to answer this question thoroughly. Knowing what guinea pigs like to do will enable you to provide your pet with the right stimulation both mentally and physically.

And leaving your guinea pig idle and bored does great harm to its general wellness as guinea pigs are known to experience depression-like symptoms when lonely.