How Much Time Should You Spend With Your Guinea Pig?

Do guinea pigs need a lot of attention?

Despite their calm and quiet demeanor, your guinea pig craves a lot of your attention. It is critical for your guinea pig’s health to have a companion.

Guinea pigs in the wild live in big groups. It aids them in their search for food as well as their avoidance of predators. Guinea pigs have evolved since they were domesticated, but they still want companionship.

Pet guinea pigs, on the other hand, do not have their own colony. The majority of guinea pig owners prefer to maintain one or two of them. As a result, they become desirous of greater attention and care from their owner.

Guinea pigs should be treated with care because they do not have a colony to mingle with. If your guinea pig does not get enough socialization, he or she may develop behavioral problems. These are some of them:

1. Aggression
2. Stress
3. Habits that are harmful
4. Depression

Also read: Can guinea pigs live alone?

How to give your guinea pig attention?

Overstimulating your guinea pig will have the opposite effect.

If you connect with your guinea pig in the right way, he or she will be happy.

Provide appropriate attention

Make no attempt to compel your guinea pig to spend time with you. It’s best to remain away if your guinea pig appears terrified or refuses to interact with you.

If you force your guinea pig to do something, they may become unhappy, exhausted, or feel unsafe. They may bite you, flee, or refuse to care for you in the future. If your guinea pig isn’t socially appealing, you should try again after a while.

Your guinea pig may be interested in your care and attention at the same time. You can give them as much attention as you want in this situation.

As long as your guinea pig allows it, you are free to snuggle, play, or pet them. If they appear to be quite active for several hours, they are having fun.

If your guinea pig’s playtime is only a few minutes long, you can try again later when they are more lively.

Understand your guinea pigs properly

Perhaps some guinea pigs like to be socialized in a different way than others.

The juvenile guinea pigs, for example, are free to enjoy their fun. The elderly guinea pigs can be content simply resting or sitting by you. Guinea pigs that are older will only cuddle between your legs and refuse to play with toys.

In the same way, some guinea pigs require more attention than others. You might have a guinea pig who enjoys being alone. Your other guinea pig, on the other hand, may be irritated by your constant attention in the form of cuddles and grooming.

As a result, it is critical to comprehend your guinea pig. You may easily prevent overstimulating a terrified guinea pig or under stimulating an enthusiastic guinea pig by following these simple steps.

Paired guinea pigs require less attention

Guinea pigs are highly social creatures. As a result, the owners can take advantage of their guinea pigs’ social tendencies and keep two of them together.

If you don’t have enough time to devote to your guinea pigs, providing them with the company of the same species is an excellent option.

Within themselves, the paired guinea pigs might be content. They can socialize with one another as they see fit.

If they’re healthy, well-housed, and nourished, they’ll be content together even if you don’t pay attention to them.

They will also have a calm demeanor and will be easy to manage.

Spend some quality time daily

A decent floor time of 15 minutes can be different from an hour next to your guinea pig. It is more vital to spend quality time than it is to spend a certain number of hours.

That is to say, 15 minutes of playing with your guinea pig is preferable to an hour of reclining next them.

It’s critical to stay focused and pay more attention to a young, active guinea pig. You can teach your guinea pig to do tricks, play games, and navigate mazes.

When it comes to senior or less enthusiastic guinea pigs, though, you may need to be more discreet. Sitting with your guinea pig allows you to engage in a different activity. You can also take them out for a change of scenery.

Also read: 25 awesome boredom buster ideas for your guinea pigs

Best time to play with your guinea pigs

Guinea pigs are nocturnal creatures. That implies they’re awake at all hours of the day and night.

However, the greatest times to spend time with your guinea pig are early morning and early evening, when they are most active and lively.

You have the option of selecting activities that are appropriate for their energy levels.

Morning

When your guinea pig first wakes up, he or she becomes very active and enthusiastic. Grooming, running about, playing with their toys, and foraging will keep them occupied.

When they get hungry, they’ll most likely run to you for a food. It can be the greatest moment to teach some techniques and play some games at such time. All of the intense activities can be saved for high-energy hours.

Your guinea pig’s energy level will begin to drop in the middle of the day. You’ll most likely find them dozing off in their sleeping spot or lying down to unwind.

Evening

When your guinea pig first wakes up, he or she becomes very active and enthusiastic. Grooming, running about, playing with their toys, and foraging will keep them occupied.

When they get hungry, they’ll most likely run to you for a food. It can be the greatest moment to teach some techniques and play some games at such time. All of the intense activities can be saved for high-energy hours.

Your guinea pig’s energy level will begin to drop in the middle of the day. You’ll most likely find them dozing off in their sleeping spot or lying down to unwind.

What do guinea pigs like to play with?

Guinea pigs enjoy playing with toys and doing tricks. If you don’t know how to bond with your guinea pig in a systematic fashion, you can start by:

1. Hide the snacks in plain sight for your guinea pig to discover
2. Give your guinea pig a rope to gnaw on
3. Construct a maze for them to run through.

When you are not around, toys can be the best source of entertainment for your guinea pig.

A tired or bored guinea pig will most likely chew the objects, hit or kick someone or something, or make a mess in their environment.

To avoid this, include some little toys in your guinea pig’s habitat.

Some well-known instances include:

1. Wicker baskets
2. Chew toys
3. Big brown paper bags
4. The cardboard box that opens from both side
5. Tunnels or PVC tubes
6. Newspapers and paper towels
7. Untreated wood chips

Things to do with guinea pigs

Playtime is the finest time to spend with your guinea pig.

If you’ve exhausted all of the play ideas and are looking for something new, try these alternative or innovative methods to engage with your guinea pig:

Walk

A harness helps keep your guinea pig safe from harm. You may simply travel through a park peacefully, meander around the garden, or even walk or move around the neighborhood in a leisurely manner with this.

Your guinea pig will enjoy the fresh air, sunshine, and even grass beneath their feet as a result of this. It will also educate kids how to communicate with you. You must ensure that there are no predators or odd sounds in the vicinity.

Roam outside

You can allow your guinea pig to wander freely around your bedroom or house. Allowing your guinea pig to come outside the enclosure can be the best way for enrichment and exercise.

If you are not playing with your guinea pig, then they will start analyzing the objects.

They can also inhale the smells and twist themselves into the spaces. You need to make sure that there are no chemicals or harmful objects in the area. The surfaces should need to be safe for the feet of guinea pigs.

You can put some hay to chew or eat on, a litter box, some toys near your guinea pig. Allow them to have some fun as long as they will not get away from this area.

Forage

Guinea pigs in the wild scour the countryside for food and supplies. This inclination can easily become a sort of play in domestic guinea pigs.

You might hide the goodies in places that are difficult for them to access to get them to exercise.

To manage for the treat, your guinea pig can jump, wiggle, and become smart. The following are some good places to hide food or treats:

1. Within the mazes
2. Inside the paper bags, knotted.
3. Inside the toilet paper roll that has been emptied
4. On the lower shelves, there are a lot of books.
5. Sofas on the bottom
6. Toys within the toys
7. Under the duvet
8. The tunnels themselves

You can try to hide different foods to mix up things. Vegetables, hay, fruits, or some specific treats of guinea pigs can be used.

What to do if you don’t have enough time?

Friendship is extremely important to guinea pigs. The owners must ensure that their guinea pigs receive proper attention. It is not always achievable, however.

There’s no need to be concerned if you don’t have much time. These are some techniques for ensuring that your guinea pig receives the attention it requires.

Provide a small duration of floor time whenever you are free

It would be ideal if you spent at least an hour each day with your guinea pig.

If you don’t have a lot of time on your hands, try breaking the hour up into smaller chunks.

For example, try to spend at least 30 minutes with your guinea pig in the morning before heading to work. And then, when you get home in the evening, try to spend the remaining 30 minutes with your guinea pig.

You can also play with your guinea pig for at least 10 minutes six times a day.

If you work from home or have schoolwork, that can be the ideal method to take a break.

Your guinea pig will appreciate the effort, and it may also benefit you.

The goal is to achieve quality and consistency. Your guinea pig will not be able to play or relax for more than one or two minutes.

As a result, you should make sure that each bonding session lasts at least ten minutes. Otherwise, your guinea pig will be unable to appreciate any of it.

Do your activities alongside your guinea pigs

You must ensure that your guinea pig is at ease with that individual. It would also be beneficial if you ensured that the person understands how to care for a guinea pig.

Paying no attention to your guinea pig is preferable to paying half attention.

If you are unable to dedicate a full or entire hour, consider focusing half of your attention over a two-hour period. If you’ve already completed a previous activity or task, try to:

1. Talk with your guinea pig in a very gentle, calm tone.
2. Pet your guinea pig with one hand.
3. Place your guinea pig in your thigh.

Your guinea pig can join some other tasks also. For example:

1. Talk to your guinea pig gently and softly.
2. Stroke your guinea pig with one hand.
3. Place the guinea pig in one of your legs’ thigh.
4. Try to offer your guinea pig as much attention as you can. If you are working hard to form a bond with your guinea pig, time will matter.

You can seek assistance if you are unable to provide adequate care for your guinea pig.

You’re reaching out to your social circle, for example. That might be the perfect time for them to devote one or two hours to your guinea pig.

Also, that person will most likely be delighted to assist you.

Guinea pigs can spend a lot of time alone, but there’s a difference between being alone and being completely alone. It is not good for your guinea pig’s health if they are bored and need attention.

Spending merely one hour with your guinea pig can help them feel loved and socialized. You must choose enjoyable activities for your guinea pig and learn what he or she enjoys the most. I hope the article helps you see how much time should you spend with your Guinea Pig.