Guinea Pig Boredom – How to Stop Them Getting Bored?

Guinea pigs are among the most active pets. These creatures like chasing things and exploring their environment. Nonetheless, Guinea pigs can get bored quite easily.

Boredom is a big issue for Guinea pigs. Boredom makes these creatures unhappy. Furthermore, it makes them vulnerable to mental and physical issues such as obesity and depression. Read And learn more on Guinea pig boredom and the best ways to deal with Guinea pig boredom.

Do Guinea Pigs Get Bored and Lonely?

Yes, Guinea pigs get bored and lonely. The cute pets are inquisitive and curious by nature. They love to play and move around all the time. Loneliness and boredom make them vulnerable to depression-related symptoms.

Pet owners ought to provide their Guinea pigs with plenty of entertainment. Entertainment is paramount to providing the pets with fulfilling mental stimulation and enrichment.  Your Guinea pig is likely to suffer from boredom for multiple reasons including-

  • Minimal social interaction with humans and other Guinea pigs
  • Being in their cages for too long
  • Lack of toys or items to keep them busy
  • Bad nutrition

There are several signs of boredom and loneliness in Guinea pigs. Understanding these signs helps in knowing when to provide your pet with an entertaining and fulfilling environment. Your Guinea pigs could be suffering from boredom if it shows any of these signs-

  • Growling
  • Making whining sounds
  • Whining
  • Showing disinterest in normal activities
  • Hissing

However, don’t mistake some signs of Guinea pig boredom. For instance, rumble strutting is one of the common actions that Guinea pigs perform in many instances. It is familiar to dancing. It doesn’t necessarily show your pig has boredom or that they are lonely. Sometimes, these pets rumble strut especially when they are among other Guinea pigs.

Other signs that may be mistaken for boredom include fluffing the fur and raising the head. These are aggressive behaviors that Guinea pigs perform to intimidate other pigs.

Stop Guinea Pigs Getting Bored

While Guinea pig boredom can affect the quality of your pet’s life, some simple tricks can help you deal with it effectively. These are some of the ideas you can try to stop your Guinea pig from getting bored.

– Rebuild Their Cage Often

Being in one place for long can make your Guinea pig bored and lonely in the long run. An unchanging environment leaves Guinea pigs with nothing new they can interact with or explore.

It is thus a brilliant idea to rebuild your pig’s cage often. Rebuilding their cage regularly will breathe new life into your pet. They will have something new to explore and interact with unlike before. Tons of cages can be rebuilt easily.

For instance, the Midlee Guinea Pig Cage is a suitable cage that you can rebuild often to provide your pig with a new, entertaining home. This innovative cage comes with up to 36 connectors and panels, hence providing you with an excellent way of making a perfect cage for your pet.

Its wire cage panels enable you to easily customize your pet’s cage to suit both your space and their needs. Best of all, you can use the cage indoors as a cage or outdoors as a playing yard.

Your pig will get lots of fun no matter where you use the cage. They will have a new environment to explore as they fulfill their curious nature.

– Get an Outdoor Run

Exercise is paramount for Guinea pigs. These pets are quite active and they love running around and playing outdoors. Giving your Guinea pig an outdoor run will help prevent them from getting boredom. An outdoor run also provides them with enrichment to their everyday lives.

Besides eliminating boredom, a good outdoor run will help keep your Guinea pig healthy and fit. Their personality will also shine through as an extra benefit of getting an outdoor run.

Furthermore, they will get plenty of entertainment while roaming outdoors. An outside run will completely change their environment. Simply put, an outside run is a wonderful boredom killer for Guinea pigs!

However, take some precautions while giving your pet an outdoor run. Below are precautions to take while having your Guinea pig outdoors.

Make sure there are no toxic plants outdoors

Don’t leave our Guinea pig outdoors overnight. It isn’t safe for it leaves them vulnerable to dangers such as attacks by animals such as dogs.

Don’t let the Guinea pig roam free in the garden. They may escape and eat something poisonous. Watch them closely as they get an outdoor run.

– Have Multiple Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs are also social creatures as humans. Your single Guinea pig is likely to experience boredom at some point. Though you can do so many things to keep them lively, they will certainly remain lonely as long as they are living alone.

Giving your pet multiple friends will provide them with massive positive effects. You can adopt other Guinea pigs if your pet has been single for a long time.

Their behavior will completely change within weeks. They will become lively and active. You won’t believe they are the same pet that was lonely and bored.

But ensure the Guinea pig is comfortable with other Guinea pigs. If they aren’t comfortable with the other pets, they might become violent.

This prolonged violence may lead to aggressive behaviors such as fighting among the Guinea pigs. The other should act like playmates other than intruders.

– Have Playtime with Your Pets

Having quality playtime with your pets is paramount. Guinea pigs love having human connections even while living in groups. 30 minutes of playtime a day will keep your pets active, lively and happy. Here is why having playtime with your pigs is vital for eliminating boredom and loneliness.

It Helps Keep Your Guinea Pigs Mentally Happy

Like humans, Guinea pigs get bored easily. Boredom can even be worse for pet parents who work throughout the day, ultimately leaving them with no time to interact with their pets.  Playing with your Guinea pigs helps stimulate their brain hence dealing with boredom in the long run.

It Helps You, Bond, With Your Guinea Pigs

Being able to play with your Guinea pigs will help you bond with them. You will get closer to each other no matter the game you and your pets decide to play. Playtime also helps strengthen the friendship and love you share with your pets.

More importantly, playtime provides the pets with an opportunity to have fun. You will also earn their loyalty and trust in return.

Helps Alleviate Their Anxiety

Playing with your Guinea pigs helps eliminate any stress or anxiety they might be having as a result of loneliness and boredom. Playtime will help soothe their nerves and provide them with a calm demeanor.

– Build a Maze with Tunnels

Guinea pigs are tunnel lovers. Being in tunnels helps these creatures satisfy their natural burrowing passion. These creatures live in burrows while living in the wild. Make a maze with plenty of tunnels to satisfy their need to burrow.

Your pets will enjoy hiding and running through the tunnels. They won’t experience loneliness or boredom. Instead, your Guinea pigs will have a new world to explore. Ultimately, this will satisfy their curiosity.

– Get Interactive Toys

Wild Guinea pigs stay active because they constantly forage for food or hide from predators. However, pet Guinea pigs need constant activity to meet the activity level of their wild friends. Interactive toys can provide these pets with a high level of activity which helps with eliminating boredom.

Interactive toys help with enriching your pig’s environment. These toys also help keep these pets active and engaged. You can get a variety of toys for your Guinea pigs.

Although Guinea pigs are herbivorous, these creatures are spunky. They enjoy having a good time by chasing things. Interactive toys also offer a wonderful outlet for play.

Balls are some of the favorite interactive toys for Guinea pigs. Tennis balls and ping pong balls are some great toys for these pets. Guinea pigs enjoy pushing balls around and crawling on them. Below are some popular Guinea pig toys on the market today.

Toys for Guinea Pigs

Here are a few great toys you can purchase for your guinea pigs to keep them busy and happy:

– JanYoo Wooden Toys

These interactive Guinea pig toys are made of 100% natural wood. It gives your toy the best chance to play and also work out simultaneously.

These wooden toys can be an excellent option for your pet if they like chewing while living on their own in the cage.

– Hagen Pet Tunnel

The interactive toy also doubles up as a hiding tunnel for anxious and bored Guinea pigs.

The toy offers a great place for your pet to hide out, exercise or sleep. It further promotes exploration and play among Guinea pigs.

– SunGrow Coconut Ball

The interactive toy is a lightweight chew ball made to provide your Guinea pig with hours of stimulation and entertainment.

The ball is made from organic coconut fiber, meaning it doesn’t have any potentially harmful fibers. This ball will keep your pet active for hours hence they will never get bored.

Conclusion

Guinea pigs suffer from boredom more than any other pets. Luckily, boredom and loneliness in these pets should be a huge concern for pet parents.

Just leverage the secrets to fighting boredom in Guinea pigs in this article. Finally, your pet will be lively, active, and full of life!

avatar Jane
Jane is an experienced animal care specialist with a focus on rodents and small mammals, with over 10 years of experience in the pet industry. Her articles provide practical guidance on choosing the right pet and managing common health issues. Jane is an advocate for animal welfare and supports organizations dedicated to protecting wildlife. read more...

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