House guinea pigs – guinea pig proofing your home

Living with guinea pigs in the house can be extremely rewarding. But the process needs some preparation and thought to ensure the environment is both safe and suitable for the guinea pigs. Remember that chewing is a natural behavior for guinea pigs and if they don't have appropriate items to aim this behavior at they generally aren't fussy about what they test their teeth on, so it is up to you to ensure your possessions are guinea pig proofed. You also need to ensure the guinea pigs cannot escape and become stuck behind furniture or potentially kitchen appliances, and when out and about, they do not accidently get trodden on.

Guinea pigs have retained many of their wild ancestors' natural behavioral traits, including chewing and are naturally nervous and wary of potential danger.

Guinea pigs chew on abrasive material, such as tree bark, grass and hay to ensure that their continually growing teeth are kept at the correct length. Added to this, chewing is an enjoyable behaviour for guinea pigs and one they like to partake in.

For their own safety, guinea pigs should be confined to a specific area when not under supervision. Their small body size enables them to get into areas they maybe shouldn’t, where they may become stuck and injure themselves. They can have access to one room or a segregated area of a room when they are not supervised and then more freedom to roam around when under supervision.

You can't and shouldn't try and stop a guinea pig from chewing. This is a natural behavior and if you bring a guinea pig into your home you must expect that there may be some wear and tear on your possessions.

Firstly, always ensure that your guinea pigs have a constant supply of good quality, fresh hay to eat and if you have access to a garden allow them time outside in the warmer months of the year to graze in a secure run. Hay and grass provide the vital high-fiber diet, essential to keep a guinea pig's digestive system working properly, and the abrasive texture of hay and grass helps to ensure correct dental wear, as well as keeping the guinea pig occupied and hopefully diverting their attention away from things they really shouldn't be chewing! Provide logs or twigs made from apple or willow which the guinea pigs can chew on. House guinea pigs should also be able to spend time outside, especially in the warmer months of the year. This should enable them to graze on fresh grass, spend time in the sun (shade must always be provided), and spend time lounging around.

You can also give your guinea pigs a selection of toys, such as tough plastic baby rattles, balls, boxes of hay/shredded paper to dig in, tunnels to run through or any of the toys now on the market that are designed for guinea pigs or rabbits. Guinea pigs enjoy tunnels to run through, boxes to sit on or in and to hide in too. Guinea pigs also need places they can retreat to if they want some peace and quiet, so their main area should be in the quietest part of the house to allow them to get away from any noise.

Guinea pig proofing your home serves two main purposes; to protect the guinea pigs from dangerous situations and to protect your possessions.

Firstly, a look at what hazards our homes may hold for our pet guinea pigs:

Electric cables

All electric cables must either be put out of the guinea pigs reach (remembering that guinea pigs are experts at getting into small spaces).

If this isn't possible then the wires must be protected. Guinea pigs have very sharp teeth front teeth, designed to slice through tough vegetation, and a wire is often too good to resist a nibble on, with potentially fatal consequences.

Cables can be protected by placing them inside tough, durable plastic tubing, these are usually available from aquatic stockists (used as tubing for ponds and fish tanks). If the plug comes off the appliance you can remove this and slide the wire into the tubing. If the appliance has a fixed plug, simply slit the tubing down one side so you can open it up to put the wire inside it. You must check tubing regularly as guinea pigs may still attempt to chew at it and it may need replacing from time to time. If possible, placing wires out of reach is the best option. Ideally guinea pigs should not be allowed access to an area that has any electric cables and especially when they are not being directly supervised.

Poisonous plants

A variety of plants and flowers kept as houseplants are deemed to be poisonous to guinea pigs to some degree or another, with possible consequences of ingestion ranging from: excessive dribbling from the mouth, fits, loss of balance/consciousness or even death. Guinea pigs are unable to vomit, so any toxic substance that is eaten cannot be eliminated in this way and is therefore ingested and works its way through the guinea pig's digestive system.

Plants/flowers that may be toxic to guinea pigs if eaten include tulips, all kinds of lilies, crocus, lupines, blue bells, poppies and daffodils. However, a wide variety of many other plants and flowers are also harmful, so all houseplants are best kept well out of the reach of guinea pigs that may be unable to resist a tasty snack.

Accidental injury

Guinea pigs can be skittish and like to run around your feet, as well as playing under tables, behind sofas and generally anywhere else they can gain access to and which looks fun, especially if it is dark!

It is all too easy to accidentally kick and tread on a guinea pig or even shut a door on them, as they can move quickly from where you think they are. So, always ensure you tread very carefully, paying attention to what you are doing to make sure that there is no guinea pig in the way, before you shut doors, move chairs, open cupboards or make any movements.

Now onto protecting your possessions – It has already been established why guinea pigs chew and some methods on how you can try to stop them destroying some of your possessions. If guinea pigs are provided with items they can chew on, they are unlikely to chew on items you don't want them to. However, it is useful to know exactly what may be tempting for them to nibble on and other ways of trying to stop untoward behavior.

Your furniture

Cupboards, sofas, chair legs, table legs, etc may be targets for chewing. It is easiest to deny the guinea pigs access to these areas, or only allow them access under supervision.

If this isn't possible then you can try an anti-chewing repellent which can be purchased from pet shops or your veterinarian, however the majority of people report minimal success with anti-chewing repellents when used for guinea pigs, but some people have reported success with putting lemon juice onto paint or woodwork. Before spraying the whole area, be sure to do a sample test on a small area to ensure the product isn't going to damage your furniture.

Books

Never leave any books or magazines lying around the place, unless you want nibbled corners or missing paragraphs! Having house guinea pigs does force you and your family to pack things away when you have finished with them, otherwise they may not be in the same state you left them in when you come to find them again!

Remote controls

Nowadays we have numerous remote controls in the house and the buttons on these are easily chewed. Make sure they are kept out of the way and not left lying around.

Electrical items (computers, TVs, washing machines, etc)

It has already been mentioned above that any electrical item may cause a danger to your guinea pigs, unless all of the cables are placed out of the guinea pigs reach or protected. It is in your own best interests to adhere to this, to protect your electrical items, as well as your guinea pigs. Remember they can also squeeze through small gaps to gain access to areas behind these appliances.

Telephone/internet cables

Although these don't pose an electrocution risk to guinea pigs, you may want to place them out of their way or protect them in the same way as suggested for electrical cables, otherwise you may be spending a small fortune having to continually replace them.

Carpets

When allowing your guinea pigs free roaming time outside of their pen, you may want to place a mat or covering on any carpet, so if they do pass droppings or urine whilst out playing, they aren’t going to stain the carpet. These can easily be wiped off wooden or tiled flooring. A cheap and simple solution is to get hold of some carpet samples and use these. Guinea pigs may attempt to chew on the carpet and often choose corners that are dark and quiet so pay special attention to these areas.

Chewing and swallowing pieces of carpet can be harmful to guinea pigs if the carpet accumulates in the digestive tract, it may cause the digestive system to slow down or cause a blockage which is a very serious health concern and requires immediate veterinary treatment. In some circumstances this can be fatal so if you notice your guinea pig chewing the carpet and ingesting pieces you must not allow the behavior to continue.

Wallpaper

Swallowing wallpaper can be just as dangerous, as wallpaper paste may contain chemicals that are harmful to guinea pigs, and there is also the possibility of the paper swelling up inside the guinea pig.

You can try blocking off the guinea pig's access to any problem areas, by relocating furniture over the area (which may also work with carpet chewing), although this may simply not be practical.

One solution, although this is often not a very attractive solution, is to cover the affected area of wallpaper with clear, plastic Perspex, but simply not allowing the guinea pigs access to that area is often easier.

By and large, the simple answer to destructive behaviour from guinea pigs is that they are bored or simply enjoy doing it as it satisfies their natural instincts, but excessive chewing may also be a sign of dental problems, so you should ensure that your guinea pig has a thorough veterinary health check, paying special attention to the mouth and teeth (which may require sedation to get a proper look at the back teeth), to rule this out as a cause.

Catching them in the act!

You must never, ever punish a guinea pig. Guinea pigs are naturally timid animals with humans being one of their natural predators, so any behavior that reinforces their belief that you are a threat to them will damage your relationship with your guinea pig, as well as scare them.

You should simply talk to the guinea pig in a calm voice and move them carefully away from the situation. Remember that to the guinea pig the behavior is not a problem, it is natural. It is only a problem because you have brought the guinea pig into a human environment, and we therefore need to find a solution that works for us, not by depriving the guinea pig of access to the behavior.

Yes, with careful thought given to where they are housed in the house, how they can exercise and play, keeping them safe and providing for their needs, they make delightful house pets. Unlike cats, dogs and rabbits, they are best restricted to one room when not supervised but will happily interact when under supervision.