9 Ways to Stop Guinea Pigs Getting Bored

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Have you noticed that your guinea pig seems to be less active and vocal lately? This could be a sign that your guinea pig is becoming bored.

Keeping a guinea pig entertained is important for ensuring their overall wellbeing, as constant boredom can eventually lead to a guinea pig becoming ill.

Here are some things that I have found work to stop guinea pigs getting bored.

Change Their Cage Around

A simple way to stop guinea pigs getting bored is to change around their cage and to swap out toys occasionally.

Guinea pigs are inquisitive creatures and will want to thoroughly explore their environment. As pets, their surroundings will, of course, be limited to the cage they are kept in.

An unchanging environment will cause guinea pigs to become quite bored as it gives them nothing new to explore or interact with.

For this reason, it is a good idea to change up their cage regularly by simply moving things around, or swapping out items entirely.

I’ve found the best time to do this is after a full cage clean. We take them out of the cage to do this, so when we return them they are essentially presented a brand new area to explore.

Extra tip: Male guinea pigs will contest each other for dominance in new environments. Leaving something that has their scent in the cage should prevent this.

Build a Maze

Continuing on with a guinea pigs enjoyment of exploring – building them a maze is something they will really enjoy, and if you’re like me, you’ll have fun making it too.

All you need for this is some cardboard boxes, some sticky tape, and a bit of imagination. Stick in their favorite food at the end and this will be highly entertaining for both your guinea pig and you.

We like to see which of our guinea pigs can navigate the maze the quickest, and test them to see if they can remember the maze.

Outdoor Run

It’s summer. It’s your day off work. You decide to enjoy some time in the garden, but you realize the grass needs cutting. Time to get the lawnmower out, right?

Stop! Put your guinea pigs in an outdoor run and have them do it for you!

Okay.. so obviously guinea pigs aren’t going to be able to mow your grass for you – but they will have a good go at it. Moreover, they will really enjoy being out in the fresh air, nibbling on fresh grass.

So what are the main benefits of getting an outside run for your guinea pigs?

• The outside air will present a whole bunch of new smells for them to sniff at. Guinea pigs love sniffing things!
• It completely changes their environment! This is a huge boredom breaker for guinea pigs.
• Guinea pigs are natural grazers so they will jump (or popcorn) at the chance for fresh grass. Plus, grass naturally contains much-needed vitamin C.

If your guinea pigs aren’t used to going outside, introduce them to it gradually. It is also important to introduce grass to them in small portions as to not upset their tummies.

Also, please remember to have a cover on your outdoor run. Even if you are outside with them you can’t stop the local cat or large birds from attacking.

Outdoor runs come in a few varieties, but for ease of use, I recommend a wooden run with a mini-hutch.

Interactive Toys

Guinea pigs in the wild stay active because they need to be constantly foraging for food. However, their pet counterparts have food simply handed to them.

Now I would be quite happy with this for myself, but for guinea pigs, it can cause eventual boredom.

This is where interactive toys come into play. These toys are interactive in the sense that they create some sort of challenge or obstacle in order for them to get a treat.

We got a treat dispenser ball for our guinea pigs a while ago, and it is honestly one of their favorite toys. Sure, this is probably because we fill it with food, but the important thing is that it keeps them busy and active.

Hide Treats

This next tip is very similar to the previous one, in that it presents a challenge to a guinea pig in getting their food.

The main difference being that this is something you can do easily without buying anything, and it is something that you can get creative with too.

Try hiding your guinea pigs’ favorite foods on top of things, under things, inside things, whatever you can think of. Then sit back and watch as they sniff around the cage trying to find that tasty snack.

This helps to prevent boredom as it plays to their natural foraging instincts. Having food simply given to them each day, whilst convenient, will quickly become quite boring. Needing to sniff out and forage for their food will keep them entertained and will create a sense of reward and pleasure when they finally find the hidden food.

Get Another Guinea Pig

Now I’m not saying that anytime you notice your guinea pig getting bored that you should go out and buy another one. That would be crazy. The point I want to make here is that guinea pigs need the company of other guinea pigs.

Guinea pigs are incredibly social creatures. If they are kept by themselves they are far more likely to become bored to the point of depression, which can lead to poor overall health.

I know from personal experience how giving a guinea pig a friend can have massive positive effects. One of the guinea pigs we adopted (Ken) was completely isolated from other guinea pigs before we got him. And he definitely wouldn’t let us near him.

When we first got him we were so worried about him because he would hardly move or make a sound. After introducing him to our other guinea pig his behavior completely changed within weeks. He is now the most active and vocal of our two boys, and he even comes to us when we call him.

We still can’t believe he is the same guinea pig that we first got.

Basically, always keep guinea pigs in at least pairs. But if you are able to look after more, go for it!

Human Interaction

As I have just mentioned; guinea pigs are pack animals that require a social connection. This isn’t just limited to others of its kind though.

If trained properly, guinea pigs can learn to thoroughly enjoy the interaction and company of their owners.

I know that some people prefer to keep their guinea pigs in an outside hutch, or inside but in a room that people don’t go in often. I’d say to do the complete opposite.

We keep our guinea pigs in our lounge which has absolutely helped them get used to us, simply because we are around so often. This in itself is how we have gained their trust and been able to bond with them so well.

It requires a lot of time and patience to truly bond with a guinea pig, but the rewards are so worth it.

Tunnels, Tunnels, and More Tunnels

Did I mention tunnels? Guinea pigs love tunnels, or basically anything that pleases their natural burrowing instincts.

In the wild guinea pigs live in burrows of either their own making or ones they find. They are prey animals, so their natural instincts are to hide of they think there is danger.

As pets, these dangers are practically non-existent. However, their instinct to hide and burrow remains strong.

Providing plenty of tunnels, tubes, and things to hide in will satisfy this need to borrow. Running through and hiding in tunnels is something that guinea pigs will really enjoy. Over, and over again.

Add Some Color

Did you know that guinea pigs are not actually colorblind and can, in fact, distinguish a fairly broad spectrum of color?

One study reports:

..guinea pigs do well in an environment surrounded by a food bowl colored yellow and a water bottle colored blue. Source

Studies have found that guinea pigs respond positively to a variety of colors, specifically blue, yellow, and red. Surprisingly the color green doesn’t appear to cause any noticeable changes in behavior.

Even though the tests are not conclusive, I believe from personal experience with my own guinea pigs that adding a variety of colors to their cage helps prevent boredom.

We recently bought them a whole set of new toys and nibbles, but this time opted to buy things that were a lot more colorful. We noticed that the first things they went over to explore were these items and the noises they made certainly gave the impression that they were pleased.

This is all experimental of course, but why not try it yourself and let me if you notice any positive changes.