Guinea pigs are highly emotional creatures. They need exercise, mental stimulation, and an exciting environment to express their normal behaviors. Otherwise, they easily get bored, overweight, and quickly slip into depression or develop other health issues. 

If you are a cavy parent or are thinking of adopting a guinea pig, use the following enrichment ideas to increase positive behavior. 

Photo by Dan Barrett on Unsplash

Give them a home that is big enough

Think of a large enclosure. Guinea pigs love to move around their space. 

What is the best way to provide this kind of stimulation without compromising safety? 

Provide a big enough enclosure - where they can run and play. According to the Human Society of the United States, the minimum dimension for an enclosure housing two guinea pigs is 10.5 square feet or about 30” x 50”. The enclosure height should be at least 12”, and every additional guinea pig should have extra floor space of about two square feet.

The enclosure should be large enough to allow plenty of redecoration. It will need to accommodate lots of fun stuff you will read about in the rest of the article.So take the dimensions above as the bare minimum. 

Keep the interior dynamic and interesting

A room full of nothing is monotonous. Do not subject your guinea pigs to a boring empty enclosure. Make it exciting and dynamic. 

Put plenty of chewable toys, tunnels, hiding huts, and lots of stuff to explore. For example, you can set up an exercise area in the enclosure and fence around it so that the guinea pigs have to go around to access it. Recycle stuff like boxes to make a ramp or dangle fleece from the cage roof to create a “forest.” Fill used kitchen roll inners with some soft hay or fresh grass and place them in the enclosure. 

Whatever you do, keep the interior exciting. Make it more rousing by rearranging the environment or changing it every week. If you have accessories like food bowls or sipper bottles, change their position every week as you clean up the enclosure. 

Set up an indoors or outdoors play area

Your cavies need to get out of the enclosure every once in a while. Prepare for these sessions by setting up an indoor or outdoor play area. 

It could be as simple and as creative as you want. For example, you can set up an obstacle course and let your guinea pig exercise. Some of the items you could put in the play area include toys, boxes, little huts, shredded paper, paper rolls with soft hay stuffed inside, or anything else.

Let the cavies enjoy the outdoor play area only when the weather is conducive. Also, ensure that it is free from predator animals like dogs and cats. Even the scent of a predator (from its urine) could spook a guinea pig. If you are not so sure about safety, consider using an outdoor guinea pig cage. 

To set up an indoor play area, look for locations where the guinea pig can get plenty of run time, exploration, and adventure. Some guinea pigs can figure out how to go up and down the stairs. They enjoy the exercise. But be careful to let the cavies lose close to places with open cables or crannies you don’t want them to explore. They will explore their world by chewing and could damage. Letting them loose in the house also means that you could also find nibble marks on furniture. 

Photo by Photoholgic on Unsplash

Enrichment for the nose 

Cavies have sophisticated taste buds and can smell much better than humans. When you are enjoying some lap time, tickle the guinea pig’s nose and palate. They will love it. 

If you live in an apartment, or if you don’t have access to an outdoor play area, allow the cavies some time close to the window and open it up when the weather is right. A breath of crisp spring air could mean enrichment for them. 

You could also help the guinea pigs exercise their sense of smell. Toss their favorite veggies around the play area and let the cavies find it and enjoy. If they are familiar with the environment, toss the treats at different spots in the house. Then let the cavies find them. Make it exciting by hiding the treats under ‘new’ tunnels untouched by the cavies.

Be careful not to expose guinea pigs to toxins such as cigarette smoke or cigarette butts, incense sticks, or air fresheners (either wax or aerosol). 

Talk to your cavies

Interaction is an excellent way to enrich your guinea pig. You don’t have to be cuddling or enjoying lap time. You could be talking to them when preparing a meal, watching them discover their world, or read to them. They might not respond as would a human audience, but your voice and presence trigger some enrichment. 

Photo by Photoholgic on Unsplash

Finally, the best enrichment idea: company from another guinea pig!

Cavies are social animals. In their natural habitat, they do almost everything in herds. So vital is the company of another cavy that it could prolong its life! Some jurisdictions like Switzerland recognize this need in guinea pigs and have outlawed the adoption or keeping of solitary guinea pigs. Nothing beats company from another guinea pig. So, consider adopting more than one guinea pig as you learn more about what makes them happy. 

These enrichment ideas will help you to create fun and encourage positive behavior.