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 Cavy-Care.Com

The online guinea pig care guide

 







Toys for Playful Piggies

Before I start listing safe guinea pig toys, I want to mention a few toys on the market which are actually very dangerous for piggies:-

Toys to Avoid

  • Exercise balls & wheels:- 
    Run-around exercise balls and wheels are very dangerous for cavies. Even the guinea-pig sized ones. Guinea pigs are not 'built' to run around in a ball/wheel - their bodies are not as flexible making them unable to cope with the requirements of a ball/wheel.
    If you use one of these with your pigs, please stop. They have been known to break pigs' backs and damage their precious paws.
    No ball or wheel is suitable, whatever size, since all wheels and balls require arching of the back.
    Guinea pigs aren't hamsters, mice, chinchillas or any other ball-and-wheel animal. Don't treat them like one.
  • Harnesses & leashes:-
    There are many of these guinea pig harnesses and leashes on the market. Unfortunately they are just as dangerous as exercise balls. Even a slight tug on the harness could cause pig's ribs to fracture. If a pig gets spooked, your guinea may sustain horrific injuries such as fractured ribs and even spine - boht of which are very painful and difficult to treat.
    Piggies are not like dogs, who need walking under control (on a leash) every day. Cavies need time to run free in their own space, at their own rate, and do not like being restricted in such a way.

Why are these toys sold if they are dangerous? Because they keep selling. The more people buy guinea pigs balls and wheels, and harnesses and leashes, more will continue to be made. The majority of manufacturers won't stop making a popular, well-sold product unless a very clear health warning is issued to them by many people or an influential body.
Warn everyone you knwo who has a guinea poig against these products and ask them to spread the word - these products will onyl be off the market when we stop buying them.

Chew Toys are also very unnecessary. Even if a guinea pig were interested in chewing one up, it only does half a job. Guinea pigs have 20 teeth - four incisors, the ones you can see at the front of the mouth, plus 16 molars - four on each side, top and bottom, at the back of the mouth. Gnawing on any chew  toy only succeeds at slowly wearing down the incisors, leaving the molars with no aid at all. Chewing on stained, flaky  wood can sometimes cause splinters, which are very undesirable especially when it could have been avoided.

Good Toys

The toys listed are hereon are cavy-friendly and enjoyed by many guineas worldwide.

Toys to Hide In

Brown paper bags

Cardboard boxes

Box shelving (found in DIY stores)

Upside-down buckets

Plastic Stools

Shoeboxes

Bent-grid tunnels

Towel tents

Igloos

Fiddlestix (bendy logs)

Wigwams/tents

Cat travelling carrier

Pop-up cube

     

Toys for Snuggling

Blankets

Towels

Pillows and cushions

Soft teddies

Keyring toys

Dog beds or VetBed

Soft furry (plush) dog/cat toys

Cat and dog cosies (i.e. hooded beds)

Winter hats (human hats)

Cuddle-cups

Comfy armchairs

Soft cubes

Sleeping bags

Oversized doll furniture

     

Other Fun Toys

Newspaper balls

Newspaper tents

Kitchen/toilet roll tubes

Socks

Tennis balls

Jingly cat balls

PVC pipe - minimum 4" diameter

Cat tunnels

Hanging bird toys

Mirrors

Plastic baby toys

Wooden Logs & Apple Tree Branches

    

 

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COPYRIGHT LAURA HUMPHREYS 2006-08

 

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