If you only have one guinea pig for one reason or another then it can be difficult to keep them happy.
This is mainly because guinea pigs are social animals and really thrive when they are around each other.
But that shouldn’t stop you from trying to keep your lone guinea pig happy and luckily there are some things that you can do to accomplish this.
So to help out fellow guinea pig owners, here’s a list with some tips that can help keep a single guinea pig happier.
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Give Your Single Guinea Pig A Stuffed Animal
One of the first tips that you can try to help keep a single guinea pig happy is to get them some kind of stuffed animal.
A stuffed animal can help a guinea pig that’s alone by making sure they at least have some type of company around them.
Any stuffed animal can work as long as it’s close to the same size as your single guinea pig, but this really works best if you can get them an actual stuffed guinea pig.
You can keep it inside or outside of their cage so that they think there’s another guinea pig there with them.
There are two options when it comes to giving your guinea pig a stuffed animal, you can either buy one or make your own.
If you want to buy a stuffed animal then you’ll have to rip it open and take out all the stuffing and anything that isn’t safe for guinea pigs and then replace the stuffing with some of their bedding.
That way when you put it inside their cage and they start chewing on it what’s inside the stuffed animal won’t be able to harm them.
If you wanted to try to make your own stuffed animal then you can sew one together out of something safe for guinea pigs like fleece.
This can keep them warm throughout the day and at night while they’re by themselves and it can even help entertain them sometimes too.
Guinea pigs really love cuddly toys so this can be a great option if you only have one guinea pig.
Keep Your Guinea Pig In A Busy Part Of The House
The next thing that you can do to help a guinea pig stay happy that’s alone is to keep them in a busy area of the house.
This can mean putting their cage in one of the main rooms in the house or even in one of the hallways.
The reason why this does a great job of keeping a single guinea pig happy is that all of the people coming in and out of the room or hallway can easily interact with them.
They will also be able to see, play with, and generally interact with people more often as well.
So when you or anyone else that lives in the house walks by their cage it can make them happy because it may satisfy their need to be social a little bit.
That’s why if you only have one guinea pig you should keep them in a nice and busy area and not in a room where they are by themselves all the time.
They are already alone without a companion so you don’t want to deprive them of some human interaction as well because that may cause them to become slightly depressed over time.
Let Your Single Guinea Pig Have More Floor Time
Another thing that you can do for a guinea pig that’s by themselves is to give them more time outside of their cage. They can start to feel alone and bored when they are in their cage by themselves all the time.
So because of that, you should let them out of their cage more often so that they can have some fun floor time.
This can really help a single guinea pig stay happy because it’ll give them some time to explore their new surroundings.
Guinea pigs are naturally curious animals so by letting them outside of their cage they’ll get a chance to fulfill their need to explore and have fun.
When giving your guinea pig some floor time you’ll have to make sure that the room that they’re in is guinea pig proof.
This means that the room should be closed off so that you won’t be able to lose them, while also making sure that there are no items that are on the floor that they can eat or items that can hurt them.
While they’re having some fun floor time make sure that they have a few places to hide like small huts that they can go into.
That way if you’re single guinea pig starts to become too stressed then they can easily hide for a while until they calm down.
Also to be safe, if you’re going to let them run around in the open make sure to keep an eye on them and don’t leave them alone as well.
Give Your Guinea Pig More Fun Things To Do
A guinea pig that’s alone without a cage mate to run around and play with will need a lot more fun things to do so that you know that they aren’t bored.
By having more fun things to play with and chew on it can help fill their time and keep them distracted because they’ll have so many new things to do.
This can be really easy to accomplish because you can use common items that are found around the house to give to them that they can play with.
So for example, you can give them some cardboard or toilet paper rolls that they will love to chew on and roll around.
You can even give them some old socks that you have that you’re not using anymore as long as you make sure that it’s clean before giving it to them.
Those old socks that you can give to them can be filled with some of their bedding and sometimes even some of their hay.
It can be a really fun activity for them because they can chew through it and get to the good stuff that’s inside of it.
The other option that you have for giving them more fun things to do is getting them toys from the pet store in the small pet section.
The toys from the pet store are usually made specifically for small pets and can keep them really entertained for a while.
By giving them more toys and fun things to do to keep them happy, it can really help out a lonely guinea pig especially if you continuously switch out the toys to keep things interesting for them.
Leave Some Background Noise On For Your Guinea Pig
One of the more simple tips that you can try that can help a guinea pig feel happy and less alone is to leave the TV or some music on for them.
This can help while you’re with them but it mainly works best during the times when you are not around.
So if you know that you’re leaving your guinea pig alone for a while then you can leave the TV or radio on for them so that they at least have some background noise that they can hear.
The background noise can make them feel like they’re not all the way alone and can even make them feel slightly more comfortable too.
When you’re doing this though, just make sure to keep the TV or music at a lower volume because some guinea pigs won’t be able to handle loud noises.
Keep A Mirror For Your Guinea Pig To Look At
Another simple tip that you can do for a single guinea pig is to keep a mirror inside or outside of their cage.
The reason why this can make them happy is that they may think that another guinea pig is there with them when they’re actually by themselves.
So all you would have to do is find a small to medium-sized mirror and place it in or around their cage.
Try putting the mirror in a spot where they can easily see it so that they can stare at themselves.
They’ll see themselves in the mirror and they may even try to interact with it sometimes.
But even though they won’t be able to physically play with their reflection it can still make them feel not so alone.
Give Your Single Guinea Pig A Lot More Attention In Creative Ways
Lastly, and this one is the most important tip, you’ll need to entertain a lonely guinea pig a lot when they’re by themselves.
You’ll need to give them a lot more attention than you normally would now so that they don’t feel too alone.
You can give your single guinea pig more attention by:
- Spending time with them while they’re on your lap.
- Letting them lay down on you.
- Hand feeding them their food and favorite treats.
- Talking to them a lot so that they can hear your voice.
- Playing with or being around them every day.
So these are some really good ways to give your single guinea pig more attention, but you don’t always have to actively be doing something with them to accomplish this.
You can still show them some love by just generally being near them and sitting next to them while they’re in their cage.
While you’re close to them you can do anything like read some of your favorite books or watch videos on your phone.
You can even try to show them some videos of other guinea pigs, even though they might not always know what’s going on on the screen.
So basically you just want to be close to them in general and spend as much time with them as you can. By giving your single guinea pig so much attention it’ll be a lot harder for them to become too lonely.