What Makes Guinea Pigs Happy? | 10 Ways to Make Them Happy

Every single guinea pig owner is very interested in whatever their pet love. We always encourage pet owners to take time to observe everything they can about their pets. It takes time to understand what makes your guinea pig happy because every guinea pig is different.

Despite their different personalities, they all have in common. Some things that make guinea pigs happy are like hiding in the cage, playing and cuddling with the owner, eating fresh food, living in groups, and some other cute and natural things that you will notice with time.

How to Make a Guinea Pig Happy?

1. Fresh Food

Guniea pigs need Food

Never underestimate how much power food has over animals. The majority of living creatures on this planet love to eat as much and as often as they can. A small number of pets have an actual sense of fullness referring to food.  

If your guinea pig is sad or inactive, think about the last time you fed him. It can surprise you how often they love to eat. This is why you have to be careful about their diet. It is better for them to be fed small amounts of food but more often. 

Related: What Is Guinea Pigs Favorite Food? | Guinea Pigs’ Diet

2. Living in Groups

Living in the same place as their family is how they naturally live. No pet feels better than in his natural habitat. This is why creating for guinea pigs the conditions they have in the wild is the key to making them happy. 

Also, it can be hard, near impossible, to adopt a whole family of guinea pigs. You can at least try to get two of them. Guinea pigs love to have each other’s company

Guinea pigs can get depressed if they are lonely. If they get depressed, they have a higher risk of getting sick because their bodies are weaker. Consider everything before getting a pet. You want to help an animal, not to harm him.  

Related: Can Guinea Pigs Live Alone? | Is It All Right to Have Just One?

3. Places to Hide

guinea pigs need Places to Hide

Guinea pigs are originally found in the wild and they are prey to other stronger animals. Because of their small size compared to the larger predators, they cannot fight back, so their only chance of survival is to hide away from them.

In the wild, the guinea pig’s instinct is to find a hole already dug by some other animal and hide in it until the danger passes. Thus, in a cage, they are not actually in any danger so they don’t need to hide.

You can put some cardboard tubes inside their cage or you can put a thicker layer of hay for them to dig in and hide inside. There are lots of ways to provide your guinea pigs with small shelters that they will use for hiding.

Related: Top 10 Best Guinea Pig Hideouts (Tubes/Tunnels and Caves)

4. An Appropriate Cage

A guinea pig needs a lot of space in order to live a healthy and happy life. If they have a large enough cage, they can learn where are the kitchen, bathroom, and playground located. This is how they will eventually learn how to keep their cage a little bit cleaner.  

When you are buying a cage for your guinea pig, consider another thing. They need to be active. Everybody knows that guinea pigs need to be taken out of their cage every day to play around and run a little. Besides that, they need a cage that allows them to move and that allows them to play with things you give to them. 

Related: Top 10 Best Guinea Pig Cages in 2022

5. A Clean Guinea Pig Cage

Not a lot of guinea pig owners know that their pets actually do not like living in a mess. This is very convenient for both of you.

The mess they make has an unpleasant smell, so if you clean it up as soon as you can, you will actually need to do less work later. On the other hand, you will make your little guinea pigs just a little bit happier. 

Related: How to Clean a Guinea Pig Cage: A Step by Step Guide

6. Hay and a Lot of It

guinea pigs need Hay

Guinea pigs love to eat, hide and play. These are the same reasons why they love hay so much. The thing is that the greener the hay is, the happier it will make the guinea pigs.

Their favorite hay is Timothy hay. They love eating hay, as well as digging and playing in it. 

Kaytee Timothy Complete Guinea Pig 2 in 1 Digestive Support, 10lb 10 pounds
  • Made from hand selected Timothy Hay
  • From the makers of Kaytee, a veterinarian recommended brand
  • Combines benefits of fiber rich pellets and whole Timothy Hay
  • Prebiotics and probiotics to support digestive health
  • Added vitamins and minerals

Related: Best Hay for Guinea Pigs: A Helpful Guide

7. Affection

Guinea pigs crave affection and attention. So if you want to have a great relationship, invest your time in developing a friendship with them.  

Guinea pigs love being held. They love to play with people, especially with their owners. They will accept anyone’s affection after they get used to that particular person.

Moreover, they are very kind animals. They rarely bite or scratch. This is why if you show them you are not doing them any harm, you will forever be in their heart. 

Related: Where Do Guinea Pigs Like to Be Petted? | All You Need to Know!

8. Playing

guinea pigs love Playing

Guinea pigs love playing around. They love hiding and consider hiding the same thing as playing.

Anything they can hide in, chew on, or climb on is perfect for them. This is why their favorite toys are shoeboxes and cardboard. You can always buy them toys from the pet shop, but be careful as some of the toys can actually be dangerous for them. Please ask a vet or do a little research on your own about those toys before you buy one. 

9. Give Them Floor Time

Nobody likes to continuously live in a limited space. Moreover, guinea pigs love to exercise. This is why you need to offer them at least a little bit of your time every day to run around in your house in order to get some exercise.

The best way to do this is to let them run around as much as they want. After that, you two can cuddle with them a little bit. Then you can put them back in their cage. This will certainly make your guinea pig a lot happier. 

10. Pay a Visit to a Vet From Time to Time

guinea pigs need Vet From Time to Time

This is kind of a special way of having your guinea pig feel good. A lot of diseases and infections depress your little pig.

When thinking about avoiding a visit to the vet, just remember that it is better to be safe than sorry. If you get your guinea pig in time to the vet, it will be easier to treat it so he could recover so much faster.

After recovering, your guinea pet will be happy again. Just do both of you a favor and take it to the vet when the guinea pig looks like it could need that visit. 

What Makes Guinea Pigs Happy_1

Generally speaking, it is not difficult at all to make a pet happy. Particularly, guinea pigs are even more susceptible to feeling good when they are given what they need.  

The most important things you can offer to a guinea pig are your time and your energy. This is the only way your guinea pigs can figure out that they can trust you and love you back.

List of Sources

Use of Cage Space by Guineapigs

Social Experience, Behavior, and Stress in Guinea Pigs

Persistent Sensitization of Depressive‐Like Behavior and Thermogenic Response During Maternal Separation in Pre‐ and Post‐Weaning Guinea Pigs

Of Domestic and Wild Guinea Pigs: Studies in Sociophysiology, Domestication, and Social Evolution

Dietary Requirements of the Guinea Pig with Reference to the Need for a Special Factor