My guinea pig doesn't seem like he is having fun. I was thinking of making him any kind of toy or even buying him some. Any ideas?
Answers:
I have 3 guinea pigs, and we are always trying to come up with ways to entertain them. Here are some ideas that we have come up with that are very easy, and very cheap:
-Take an old paper towel or toilet paper roll. Make sure its empty. Slit it all the way through longways (guinea pigs can actually get stuck in there, so its safer to slit it, just in case!). Stuff the middle with lettuce, carrots, spinach, timothy hay, fresh grass, or any fruit or vegetable your guinea pig really likes. Then just put it in the cage and watch the fun!!! The guinea pig will try to get at the vegetables in the middle, so he will be trying to stick his head in every which way, he will flipping the tube everywere, anything to get it out. It is entertaining for you and the guinea pig!
-Take old shoeboxes and make hidey houses. You can be creative when cutting the holes, and make it fun for your piggie! If it is sturdy enough, you can put treats on top of the hidey house so that your guinea pig has to reach for them.
-Take an old towel you don't want anymore and drape it over the corner of your cage. Secure it on the oustide. Your piggie will love to hide in it, lie on it, and roll in it.
For some more great ideas, check out these 2 websites. I reccomend that you read through the entire guinea pig toys page on the first one, and look at the rest of the website as well. It has great information, and you really should consider all of the things that they recommend. I use this site all the time, and I used it to make a larger cage for my 3 piggies. Now they are much happier with each other.
http://www.guineapigcages.com/toys.htm...
www.cavyspirit.com
Good luck, and please consider making your piggie a larger cage, and getting him a friend. These 2 simple things will make him much happier, and much less bored. An extra piggie, as long as he gets along with your current one, isn't extra work for you, and you will see a change in your piggie!
I hope the toys and ideas help you out!!
A paper bag to play in
Cardboard roll filled with hay
For my guinea pig i put a toilet paper tube in there, or a tube from paper towels. and then i noticed he liked climbing things.. so i took the bottom half of a shoe box and flipped it over and put it in his cage with a towel over it and then i put some of the grass stuff they eat on top of that ( i forgot what its called i dont have a guinea pig anymore) .. and then just tape like a piece of cardboard from the edge of the top of the box so that its on a slant so it has a little ramp to get up there
I like to use old cereal boxes, or toilet paper tubes, or any of that kind of thing you have laying around. Try hiding his fruits and vegetables or treats in the boxes.
It is very easy to make a toy for a guinea pig or any other rodent. Cardboard or toilet paper tubes are very fun for rodents to chew. If it doesn't seem to be chewing, try putting some of its food on it. It may wander over and nip and the toy.
If you want to go out and buy something, try some of those hanging wood treats. They are attached to the lid of the cage and hang down with flavored, wooden cubes that it can chew on. Or you can get edible huts that serve as shelter, a toy, and a food source.
If your guinea pig still doesn't chew on anything, its gums or teeth may hurt. This should be examined just in case anything serious is happening.
Guinea pigs aren't as active as hamsters, mice, or gerbils, so don't be worried if it is not excercising on a wheel or any other excercise machine as often as other rodents do.
Good luck.
cardboard rolls or a roll of paper (they do funny things with it trust me)u can also maybe take lil blocks of wood if they are a chewer
hope this helps!!
I have heaps that I use as entertainment but first the 6 simple steps to keep your guinea pig entertained...
1. Provide your guinea pig with things to hide in
2. Provide your guinea pig with more things to hide in
3. Provide your guinea pig with things to nibble on
4. Let your guinea pig out for regular exercise
5. Give your guinea pig a friend
6. Have alot of contact with your guinea pig
For more information on each of these points go to:
http://www.diddly-di.fsnet.co.uk/enterta...
Now, find below a list of things that you can pretty much do from home:
1. Unscented toilet roll stuffed with hay and their favourite food (for me I use parsley and it is a great hit)
2. 4 inch diameter PVC pipes to use as tunnels, you can cut different lengths to fit your hutch although I have 45cm tunnels.
3. Cardboard boxes - the plainer the better, cut 2 arches at either end of the box to use as entry points, also a great hit.
4. Get another friend (if you don't already have two), a companion is the best cure to boredom...
5. Have floor time, floor time should be done every day for at least 1 hour (more or less depending on the size of your cage). Floor time is a time for your guinea pigs to get out and run around, it is the perfect time to bond and interact with your guinea pig. I use a play pen and I use it on the grass so that they can eat at the same time... See the following site for more information on floor time...
http://www.guineapigcages.com/floortime.
6. Lots of hay - guinea pigs love hay, they burrow themselves in it and chuck it in the air, let alone poop, wee, eat and sleep in it.
7. Go to your local pet store -they have heaps of wooden treats and other goodies to spoil your guinea pig. Be careful of what you get, things like guinea pig balls can seriously hurt your guinea pigs back.
8. Try some of the following things that you can do from home:
a) Get a non-scented toilet roll and stuff with hay and your guinea pigs favourite food
b) Get an old sock and stuff a tennis ball at the end of it, fill the rest with hay.
c) Use cardboard boxes to make little igloos.
d) Get some big paper bags, guinea pigs will often use these as hidy tunnels
e) Towel tents - drape a towel over the corner of your hutch to form a tent
f) Crumpled-Up Pieces of Paper - Very simple, but the piggies love them. Plain paper is better. They will probably chew on it and eat it. Occasional paper eating is okay.
g) Sheet of Newspaper - Also very simple, but a big hit. Good to chew on, crawl under, play tug-of-war with. Make sure there are no staples. Most newspaper is made with soy-based dyes which are safe for the pigs. Check with your newspaper company if you are not sure.
h) Toilet Paper and Paper Towel Cardboard Spools - Stuff some Timothy Hay in them and they make great treats. Be sure to cut a slit down the length of any tube so that a playful, curious piggie won't get stuck, like the piggie in the photo to the right.
i) Oatmeal Containers - Toss when dirty or chewed down. Slice lengthwise to make sure they can't get stuck as shown
j)Small balls - ping pong balls, tennis balls, cat balls
k) Pine cones - make sure you sterilize them first
l) Mirrors - place on the outside of the hutch looking in
m) Untreated wood, twigs and logs
n) small stuffed animals
o) Some bird toys
p)Some guinea pig toys
q) Some ferret toys like hammocks
r)Some rabbit toys
s) kritter kababs
I got most of this information from what I use at home and from the following site:
http://www.guineapigcages.com/toys.htm...
If you want to buy him some have a look at this site:
http://www.epetpals.com/guinea_pig_toys.
Good Luck:)
PVC pipes are great for making tubes that your pig can run through(just make sure that you get a big enough pipe so that it does not get stuck in it now or in the future.).
My daughter's pig loves bird toys, expecially the ones with mirrors and bells. Cat balls are good too (just no cat nip).
Making a maze out of cardboard boxes can be fun for the pig and you will have a great time watching run and hop through it.
Hope this helps!
These are more for rats, but I'm sure piggies would love them too!
http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm...
i know this won't help, but i don't think you should use anything cardboard cause they could chew it and swallow it and i really don't think that would be good. my guinea pigs would eat the rolls and get sick.
how may guinea pigs do you have?
The first toy i got was a guinea pig ka-bob.my guinea pig LOVES it.it has wood on it so it can chew on that, paper, and this heathy pet cone. it is the best toy. but if you get it make sure it's not to high for the guinea pig make sure it on the side.
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