Guinea Pig Floor Time Tips and Setup
Floor time for guinea pigs is when you set up a guinea pig-proofed area and give your guinea pigs some free time out of their cage to explore.
Floor time is highly recommended for guinea pigs at least 3 times per week for an hour or more at a time. Daily floor time is ideal, and even more important if you have young guinea pigs or a relatively small cage.
Floor time is important for guinea pigs for several reasons. First of all, guinea pigs are prone to obesity and they gain weight very easily.
Regular exercise is important to decrease excessive weight gain. Floor time can also help skittish pigs come out of their shell a little more and make it easier to bond with your guinea pig.
Setting Up A Safe Floor Time Space For Your Guinea Pigs
When setting up a floor time area for your guinea pigs, the first thing you’ll need is a safe room to set up in. If you have other animals, you may want to use a room with a door, such as a bedroom or a bathroom. An easy to clean floor is a bonus too.
An exercise pen can also be handy to keep your guinea pigs contained in 1 area or to block off furniture that guinea pigs could squeeze under or chew.
How To Protect Your Carpet and Floor From Guinea Pig Pee
If you have carpet or a hardwood floor you want to protect from guinea pig pee, a waterproof splat mat is a great option for floor time.
These mats are waterproof, so any guinea pig pee will just sit on the surface without soaking through. They’re also great for guinea pigs that poop everywhere. I typically just soak up the pee spots and then fold up the mat and dump everything else into the garbage bin.
These mats can be put in the washer on a delicate cycle as well, which is way more convenient than having to hand wash them! Depending on how big your floor time space is, you may need a couple of them to cover the entire area. They measure 51″ x 51″ each (a little bigger than 4×4 feet).
What if Your Guinea Pig Doesn’t Like Floor Time?
If your guinea pig seems to hate floor time, try to find out the underlying reason.
What does your guinea pig do when they have floor time? Do they sit still in the middle of the floor? Stay hidden in their hidey hut the entire time? Run back to their cage?
All of these behaviors can actually be signs that your guinea pig is simply nervous. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your guinea pig doesn’t like floor time.
To get your guinea pig to like floor time, provide them with lots of hiding places on the floor. Get them out in a quiet room where they will be less scared. If your guinea pig runs back to their cage, keep it closed (but provide lots of hiding places on the floor so they can feel safe.) Try scattering some of your guinea pig’s favorite veggie treats around on the floor to encourage them to move around and start to explore.
The most important thing is not to give up right away! Sometimes it can take guinea pigs a few weeks to feel relaxed and start to leave their hiding place. Setting a routine and getting your guinea pig out for floor time at the same time every day also helps them to relax quicker as they start to predict the routine.
How Long Should Guinea Pigs Have Floor Time?
Typically, floor time should be at least an hour to give your guinea pig time to settle in, explore, and get all their energy out! However, floor time can be as long as you like!
If your guinea pig isn’t 100% supervised the whole time, make sure that they are safe in a guinea pig-proofed area or exercise pen. Also, ensure that they have some hay, water, and hiding places for the duration that they are out.
How Often Should Guinea Pigs Have Floor Time?
It’s recommended to have floor time for your guinea pigs every day. However, you can do it three times a week or more if you have a relatively big cage for them to live in. You can compensate for having a smaller cage by having your guinea pigs out longer and more often for floor time. Young guinea pigs should ideally be let out every day regardless because they generally have SO much energy.
It’s a good idea to pick approximately the same time every day for floor time, as guinea pigs thrive on a routine. Having a routine for floor time isn’t absolutely necessary, but it does benefit nervous guinea pigs when they know what to expect.
Benefits of Floor Time for Guinea Pigs
There are countless benefits to having floor time for guinea pigs.
First of all, it’s great exercise for them! Guinea pigs are very prone to obesity, and that can cause many health problems for them. In addition, guinea pigs are very curious animals, and floor time gives them a chance to run around and explore.
Young guinea pigs, in particular, are usually very energetic and need the time and space to popcorn and run race track laps around the room!
Floor time can also help timid guinea pigs come out of their shell (although it may take some time for them to feel comfortable enough to start exploring!) Floor time also provides a perfect opportunity to bond with your guinea pig. Sitting down on their level and feeding treats is a great way to teach your guinea pig to trust you.
What To Do With Guinea Pigs During Floor Time
There are several things you can do with your guinea pigs during floor time. You can set up a playground with tunnels, toys, and other obstacles (you can find some ideas near the bottom of this page.)
You can hide treats or chewable ball toys inside tunnels and on top of hidey huts for your guinea pig to find. Help point out the treats to your guinea pig if they struggle to find them at first.
You can also sit down with your guinea pig and hand feed them, as mentioned above. Floor time is a perfect time to sit down at your guinea pig’s level and bond with them.
You can also teach your guinea pig tricks! Use your guinea pig’s favorite treats and start with simple tricks like paws up or going in a circle.
Guinea Pig Proofing The House
Before letting your guinea pigs loose anywhere, it’s essential to get down on floor level and look at things from your guinea pig’s perspective.
Anything you wouldn’t want lying around for a puppy or baby to get ahold of isn’t safe for guinea pigs either. Guinea pigs can and sometimes will eat anything that will fit into their mouth, and they may attempt to chew things as well.
Also, look for small spaces that a guinea pig may try to squeeze into or under, and block them off with a piece of cardboard or an ex-pen. Some of the things you should potentially pick up or block access to are listed below.
- Headphones/earbuds or anything else with wires
- Cords plugged into the wall or lying around within reach (you can cover these with pet cord protectors to prevent chewing)
- Peeling wallpaper or paint
- Money (bills) or any other important paper you don’t want to be chewed (Trust me, they only like the taste of paper they’re not allowed to chew!)
- Favorite books (Again…. they know which ones are your favorites!)
- Any furniture that has spaces a guinea pig could squeeze under
- Paperclips, pins, staples…. (very dangerous for piggies if they eat them!)
- Small children’s toys or toy pieces
- House plants (especially those that are poisonous to guinea pigs!)
This list is not exhaustive by any means because guinea pigs can get into things you might not expect sometimes. While not all guinea pigs will chew a lot, it’s always best to err on the side of caution. Some guinea pigs might leave most things alone, but all of a sudden decide they want to chew on a cord plugged into the outlet.
Always be safe instead of sorry and assume that your guinea pig may chew things. You can always reduce undesired chewing by providing several appropriate guinea pig toys and other safe chewable items (some are listed below), but make sure you are also thoroughly piggy-proofing the room. Always ensure that any space they have access to is safe for curious piggies.
Best Chew Toys for Guinea Pigs
You can reduce your guinea pig’s tendency to chew furniture and other undesirable items by providing some appropriate guinea pig toys for them to chew instead. Choosing a variety of different toys is best, so you can rotate them out and keep your guinea pig more interested in the toys than chewing books and baseboards.
When choosing toys for your guinea pigs, make sure they are made with natural materials and avoid anything with bells or any other non-edible pieces they could choke on or accidentally swallow. I’ll list some of my guinea pigs’ favorite chewable toys in the list below.
Natural Chewable Willow and Seagrass Balls
These natural willow and seagrass play balls are quite affordable and also very popular with guinea pigs and other small animals. They also come in a pack of 6 or 8, with different types and textures of balls.
This is great for switching up the toys and providing more variety for your guinea pigs.
Often guinea pigs will tire of a certain toy and lose interest in chewing it for a little while, so having several to choose from keeps things interesting for them.
Woven Hay Mats are Great for Chewing!
These handwoven hay mats are another great option for chewing. My guinea pigs love to chew them on the floor, but you can also encourage your piggy to stretch and exercise a little by attaching them to the side of a cage or ex-pen with zip ties.
Attaching them to a cage also eliminates the possibility of guinea pigs peeing on them, which will make them last much longer.
Oxbow Enriched Life Play Wall for Guinea Pigs
The Oxbow Enriched Life play wall is another fun toy for guinea pigs, with a variety of different pieces to entice your guinea pig to chew on them.
The whole thing is safe and edible, so it’s great for chewing. This toy is a little more expensive than the others, but I have found that it lasts quite a long time. Therefore, it shouldn’t need to be replaced as often as most other guinea pig chew toys.
Apple Tree Sticks for Guinea Pigs to Chew
Apple tree sticks are a favorite for most guinea pigs, and they make great chew toys to keep your piggy busy. Apple tree sticks are also healthy, natural, and great for wearing down your guinea pig’s incisor teeth.
Some guinea pigs even like to toss them around. I find that most of my guinea pigs prefer