What kind of homemade guinea pig toys can I make??

Question

What kind of homemade guinea pig toys can I make?? What stuff can I make for my piggies to play with?? I don't want to buy toys so ya, and what kind of home made guinea pig treats can i make and how do i make them?? please help =[

Answer 1

keep in mind a toy for a guinea pig will generally be something it can chew up. what ever you make WILL get chewed lol

Answer 2

If you want to you can use a stool at your house or buy one.  They love hiding in them, if you wanted to you could decorate it or put hay on top of it.

Answer 3

A simple empty toilet roll.

My guinea pig loves them, although they don't last long.

Answer 4

"-Towel Tents

Cut up or fold larger bath size towels. Be sure to cut off any hanging threads. Towel tents in the corner make a great hidey hole that can be washed and don't take up too much room. You can just loop the towel through cage wires on the corner and secure with a safety pin or two. We use binder clips to secure the towels. 3 work great securing the tent in a triangular fashion to the grids.

  

-Paper Bags

Easy, inexpensive, fold and toss when dirty. Try folding them down, or cutting them down to fit better in the cage. Lay them on their side--cave style. Be sure to cut off any handles. Or try stuffing a paper bag with hay. A toy and a hay rack in one! Cut some entrance/exit holes on the side for more fun.



-Cardboard Boxes

Shoe boxes, tissue boxes, empty soda carton boxes . . . Turn boxes upside down or sideways for a cave. If sideways with a bottom, throw in some bedding or hay for a soft hide-away. If upside down, cut out one or two entrance and escape holes. Escape holes are good if you have more than one piggie. If you have a box with a top on it, you can put them on their side and have the top like a door that swings open from the top. That is a huge hit with the pigs!

  

-Cozies or Cuddle Cups

These are HUGE hits with the guinea pigs. Please see the Accessories page for details. They LOVE snuggling in their cozies. With a little ingenuity and craft skills, you can make your own versions of these items as well. We consider a tunnel and cozy a must have for every cage!

  

-Tunnels

These are HUGE hits with the guinea pigs. Please see the Accessories page for details. They LOVE running through and sleeping under their tunnels. With a little ingenuity and craft skills, you can make your own versions of these items as well. You can even make a cube tunnel for play time or as an accessory in a large cage. Use two extra grids and attach them together to form a corner (90 degree angle) or make a U-shape from one or two grids. Put it down as tent and put an old towel or blanket over it. You may want to secure the corner connections with cable ties. We consider a tunnel and cozy a must have for every cage!



-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.



-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.



-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.



-Oatmeal Containers

Toss when dirty or chewed down. Slice lengthwise to make sure they can't get stuck as shown. (photo: Copyright © 2001 Lynx, used with permission)



-Bricks, Cinder Blocks, or Rough Stones

May help in wearing down nails. Make a pad of bricks available in the summer time. They can lay on the cooler bricks. Also, you can put the bricks under the water bottle to help absorb drips and ensure they get their little claws on them. Or, make a little low pyramid with bricks (assuming you have a large cage) and put the food on the top platform. With bricks, cinder blocks, and stones, make sure there is NO danger of any item falling or dislodging in such a way that could hurt a piggie or piggie paw. Try putting the stones or bricks under or next to the hay racks, especially if you hang the hay racks from an upper deck in a cube cage. A cinder block with holes in it can make an interesting gym for them.



-Old Socks

You can leave them alone or stuff them with bedding. These can become a favorite pillow that gets dragged around the cage. Tie off or sew the top closed. You can also stuff the toe with a tennis ball.



-Tennis Balls

May be better than cat toys as they will roll around easier on bedding.



-Ping Pong Balls

To push around.



-Small, Lightweight Bowls

Items that they can toss or get inside, like an empty cottage cheese container.



-Pine Cones

Pine cones don't have the pine bedding risk, but they should be sterilized first. Bake first to sterilize at approximately 200° for 20-30 minutes on foil to catch any sap drippings. These might be a favorite.



-Mirrors

On the outside of the cage. If they are on the inside, make sure they are pet-safe.



-Fruit Tree Branch

Good chew treat, free if they come from your UNSPRAYED backyard. Untreated wood, twigs and logs that have been aged for at least 3 months. Apple tree branches can be eaten fresh off the tree. Stay away from: cherry, peach, apricot, plum (fruit trees with pits) and redwood branches, which are all poisonous.



-Children's Wooden Blocks

For chewing and pushing around. Please make sure any children's blocks are not coated with any sealants (shiny or smooth looking) and are basically just plain wood.



-Plumbing Pipe

If you already have some 4" wide plumbing pipe, the different joint combinations (T's and elbows and +'s) can make interesting tunnels for the piggies to run through and hide in. Please be aware that while PVC pipe is not toxic to your guinea pigs, it is one of the most environmentally damaging plastics on the planet.



-Small Stuffed Animals

These can be used in the same way as stuffed socks. Some piggies use them as pillows or something else to cuddle up with. IF your guinea pig chews on the stuffed toy, the stuffing inside may be harmful. In that case, you should switch to a sock stuffed with bedding, or if your guinea pig really likes a particular stuffed toy, but chews enough to get to the stuffing inside, you could replace the stuffing with bedding and sew it back up."-http://guineapigcages.com/toys.htm