Many guinea pig accessories can be found at pet stores, but these tend to be more on the expensive side, and you can easily make a few yourself.
Here are ten accessories that you can make, even if you aren’t very good at making crafts.
The accessories I am going to teach you how to make are:
- Hay racks
- Hideouts
- Snuggle beds
- Food bowls
- Chews
- Tunnels
- Fleece curtains
- Playpens
- Fleece tents
- Floor-time mats
Now let’s talk some more about how to make those accessories!
To make all of these accessories, you will need the following materials:
- Brown paper bags
- Rubber bands
- Cardboard boxes (big enough for your guinea pig to hide in)
- Fleece or another type of cloth
- Peanut butter lids or a similar type of lid
- Clothespins
- Tube-like containers (big enough for the guinea pigs to fit through)
- Twine
- Large plastic trash bags
- Wood or other materials that can wear down their teeth
- Guinea pig safe bedding
Also, it’s very important to learn about the safety of the materials you’ll be using.
Make sure the paper bags you use are brown, which means that it doesn’t have any harmful chemicals for guinea pigs in it. Make sure that any wood you use is untreated and never use cedar or pine wood because it has unsafe chemicals in it.
Now let’s make those accessories!
Hay racks
Hay racks are necessary to keep the guinea pigs’ hay clean! They are also very simple to make. You will need a paper bag and a rubber band to make it. Here are the step by step instructions.
Step 1. Open the paper bag.
Step 2. Cut some holes in it for the guinea pigs to eat through.
Step 3. Fill the bag with hay
Step 4. Tie off the end with a rubber band.
This should take about five minutes or so to make. Keep in mind this will not last very long, but it will work well as a temporary hay rack!
Hideouts
Hideouts are very important for guinea pigs because they can run inside them if they feel scared, which will happen often. It’s a good idea to provide at least one hideout per guinea pig. To make one, you will need a cardboard box.
Step 1. Cut another opening in the box if necessary.
Step 2. Put it in the guinea pigs’ cage.
This should most likely take less than five minutes to make.
Snuggle beds
Snuggle beds are much loved by guinea pigs and are pretty easy to make. Just buy (or reuse) some fleece or other fabric; grab several handfuls of bedding and follow the directions bellow.
Step 1. Wrap the fabric around the bedding.
Step 2. Hold the bed together with some rubber bands and set it in the cage.
Your guinea pigs will often love to snuggle with it and it won’t take very long to make. Just make sure that they don’t chew on (or eat) the rubber bands!
Food bowls
It’s pretty hard to make a good food bowl DIY, so instead of actually making one, you can use a plastic lid (a peanut butter lid, for instance) as a food bowl.
The only problem with this is that guinea pigs can easily tip over a plastic lid, but you can use a small bowl you don’t use anymore instead.
Chews
Guinea pigs need to chew on hard items to wear down their teeth.
Below are two excellent chew toys for guinea pigs that should take under ten minutes to make.
Hay balls
You will need a cardboard tube and scissors.
Step 1. Cut the tube into smaller tubes.
Step 2. Put one small tube inside another one.
Step 3. Stuff it with hay and let your guinea pigs play with it!
Hay hides
Another great toy is a hay-hide. To make it, you will need a cardboard box and some hay.
Step 1. Cut off one side and the bottom of the box.
Step 2. Turn it over so that it looks like a hideout.
Step 3. Fill it with hay and then turn it so that it faces the wall of the cage.
Tunnels
Tunnels are great accessories for a guinea pig cage or play area since many piggies love to race through them. To make a tunnel, you will need a large cardboard container that’s shaped like a tube, such as an oatmeal container, and a pair of scissors.
Step 1. Cut the container so that it has two openings.
Step 2. If you want, you can cover it with fleece using non-toxic glue.
This accessory will most likely take under five minutes to make.
Fleece curtains
Fleece curtains are very simple to make and guinea pigs often love to run through them. To make them you will need some fleece (you can also use other types of cloth), twine, scissors and tape.
Step 1. Cut the cloth into strips.
Step 2. Cut holes into the cloth and put the twine through the holes.
Step 3. Tie both ends of the string to a hideout or the corner of their cage.
This shouldn’t take very long to make.
Playpens
Playpens are great to use for your guinea pigs’ floor time and are easy to make. You will need lots of large pieces of cardboard (tall enough that they can’t climb over it) and duct tape.
Just use the tape to attach the cardboard pieces to each other and you have a playpen!
This can be used for indoor play time and should take less than ten minutes to make. Keep in mind that the playpen should be bigger than their cage.
Fleece tents
Fleece tents, similar to fleece curtains, are another great accessory for a guinea pig cage. This accessory works best with a wire or C&C cage. To make it, first, you will need a few pieces of fleece or another type of cloth and four clothespins.
Step 1. Lay one piece of cloth on one of the corners of the cage.
Step 2. Fasten the cloth to the cage with clothespins.
Step 3. Take another piece of cloth and drape it over the other piece of cloth so that it makes a place for the guinea pigs to hide under.
Step 4. Hold that piece of cloth in place with two more cloth pins.
This accessory should only take about five minutes to put together, although it may take longer if you don’t have a wire or C&C cage.
Floor-time mats
A floor-time mat is a great accessory to have, especially when you are letting your guinea pigs have floor-time on carpet; they are also very simple to make. You will need some cloth (old towels work well), a few large plastic trash bags and a pair of scissors.
Step 1. Cut one seam of the trash bag(s) and lay it/them flat on the ground.
Step 2. Cover the trash bags with cloth and set up your guinea pigs’ play area!
These mats should not take long to make.
In Summery
So, even if you aren’t the best at crafts, I hope that you can make all of these accessories very easily in a short amount of time and I sure hope that your guinea pigs love them!
It’s often better to make guinea pig items yourself then to buy them at a pet store anyway because this can save a bunch of money. Of course, it’s still okay to buy cute accessories from a pet store every so often, but making your own is a lot more fun!
I sure hope that you make and try out at least a few of these accessories for your guinea pigs!
Love it!!