Do your piggies play with toys/what are their favorites?

[MerryFriarTuck]

I wanted to start this out of curiosity, for new ideas, and for fun!
My two piggies, Friar Tuck and Robin Hood, have always loved to play with toys...but I know many piggies just turn up their nose at them . What about yours?
Friar Tuck loves sea grass and wicker balls, Oxbow timothy twists, and little wood chews. He rolls the balls around, nibbles, and lays by them. He stands on the timothy twists with his front feet and delicately unravels them for an hour. He picks up the wood chews, throws them...and then chases them! His own game of fetch ❤️
Robin Hood likes all forms of balls, tea/willow sticks, and his silver treat bowl. He popcorns around, jumps on a ball, popcorns again. Chews on the sticks...and along with his silver bowl steals them away into his hidey house, hoarding all his favorite toys there.It's the trait that inspired his name!
What are your piggies favorite toys and funny ways?

[LemonySnickers]

Although it's technically not a toy, my guinea pig loves burrowing under the fleece. That seems to be his favorite activity in the whole world. Once he gets under he will do zoomies through it and sleep under it...drives me bananas as I like his cage all neat and nice, but he doesn't care one bit! For the most part Snickers doesn't like toys, but I have this seagrass mat that I bought him that over the months he's unraveled and chewed on. He likes that!

[spy9doc]

I have never had a cavy who would play with toys! Over the years, I've tried many different items and they had absolutely NO interest in most of them.

That being said, Sparky is mad for paper and cardboard. I have to be cautious when he is lying in my lap under the keyboard at my desk. He will chew on textbooks, stacks of papers and even paper towels within reach. I used to spend lots of time fashioning cardboard tunnels and hideys out of cardboard boxes,and within minutes after placing them in the cage, he was all over them enlarging the openings. This activity would go on until the box would collapse from lack of support. I had to remove the box to prevent him from ingesting too much cardboard.

I cannot feed him anything out of a paper plate. He will eat the treat.....and then attack the plate with the same enthusiasm!

After his brother died, I bought a small stuffed animal for him. After initially being frightened by it, he absolutely totally ignored it. Never liked twigs either. He does sometimes chew on his wooden house, but not very often. He also will work on a cardboard tube stuffed with a treat and hay until he gets the treat out, and then he is finished.

It must be delightful to watch them play!

[MerryFriarTuck]

Although it's technically not a toy, my guinea pig loves burrowing under the fleece. That seems to be his favorite activity in the whole world. Once he gets under he will do zoomies through it and sleep under it...drives me bananas as I like his cage all neat and nice, but he doesn't care one bit! For the most part Snickers doesn't like toys, but I have this seagrass mat that I bought him that over the months he's unraveled and chewed on. He likes that!

That's so adorable!!! What a funny piggy---I can just imagine what it looks like when he does zoomies underneath it! I bet mine would like the seagrass mat too

[MerryFriarTuck]

I have never had a cavy who would play with toys! Over the years, I've tried many different items and they had absolutely NO interest in most of them.

That being said, Sparky is mad for paper and cardboard. I have to be cautious when he is lying in my lap under the keyboard at my desk. He will chew on textbooks, stacks of papers and even paper towels within reach. I used to spend lots of time fashioning cardboard tunnels and hideys out of cardboard boxes,and within minutes after placing them in the cage, he was all over them enlarging the openings. This activity would go on until the box would collapse from lack of support. I had to remove the box to prevent him from ingesting too much cardboard.

I cannot feed him anything out of a paper plate. He will eat the treat.....and then attack the plate with the same enthusiasm!

After his brother died, I bought a small stuffed animal for him. After initially being frightened by it, he absolutely totally ignored it. Never liked twigs either. He does sometimes chew on his wooden house, but not very often. He also will work on a cardboard tube stuffed with a treat and hay until he gets the treat out, and then he is finished.

It must be delightful to watch them play!

Delightful is the perfect word for watching them play!
It's so interesting how different piggies are such individuals, with all of yours who must have thought themselves too dignified to play like a common cavy. But not so dignified as to stop Sparky from being mischievous with all manners of paper! Mine are much the same in wanting to eat cardboard.
Though I'm sure it much more depends on the individual piggy's personality, I wonder if breeds can play a role as well? Mine are American Crested and normal American.

[MerryFriarTuck]

My piggies LOVE destroying anything and everything. Cardboard toilet paper rolls are their favorite, even though ive spent money on hay toys. I think their favorite "toy" right now is the oxbow timothy hay tunnel. They can lay in it and chew on it! Both things that piggies are best at. My pigs also love bamboo sticks and it was entertaining to watch them go at it last night. Gone within minutes.
I have to constantly give them things to chew or they destroy the coroplast or knaw at the grids.

I'm glad mine aren't such voracious chewers! Oxbow's timothy club toys/hides are the best. I've never tried bamboo chews, I'll have to remember them!

[spy9doc]

Though I'm sure it much more depends on the individual piggy's personality, I wonder if breeds can play a role as well?

I seriously doubt that breed has much to do with it. I've been in love with Abys for 30 years and only have had another breed in recent years when I had a Texel sow (Maya in my Avatar). In general Abys are long, lean, athletic, highly intelligent, quite vocal, and very mischievous......all the reasons I love them.

Chip, Sparky's brother who passed away recently, was a little devil and even more mischievous than Sparky. We all miss that little rascal. Since Sparky is now an "only child", I'd love to find something he would play with.

[MerryFriarTuck]

I seriously doubt that breed has much to do with it. I've been in love with Abys for 30 years and only have had another breed in recent years when I had a Texel sow (Maya in my Avatar). In general Abys are long, lean, athletic, highly intelligent, quite vocal, and very mischievous......all the reasons I love them.

Chip, Sparky's brother who passed away recently, was a little devil and even more mischievous than Sparky. We all miss that little rascal. Since Sparky is now an "only child", I'd love to find something he would play with.

I would like to have an Aby someday.... even more so now; it sounds like they have wonderful personalities! And I will always love Cresteds because of Friar Tuck. He's timid (as Cresteds are known to be) but very, very sweet, and also playful and smart. Robin Hood on the other hand is bold, frisky, and adventurous---and sometimes a little beastie like Chip!
Though like I said before, it depends much more on the individual piggy, it still makes me wonder if some breeds are more playful then others! Since all but one of your piggies was an Aby, and none would pay any attention to toys...I wonder if there's a connection there. Is it possibly an Aby thing?
If you haven't already tried them, Sparky might like Oxbow's line of timothy club toys/mats/hides. They're as much food as toy, and they can still play by unraveling and pulling them around!

[MerryFriarTuck]

I have a crested american and an Aby! I'm not sure if it has to do with breed but then again theyre both siblings? Maybe destructive is in their blood.

Maybe! My Crested chews on his woodblocks and seagrass balls a lot, but he doesn't completely devour like your piggies did with the bamboo . My American doesn't like woodblocks as much but chews on the wicker and water hyacinth balls...and devours willow/tea sticks! He likes to scrape the bark off them and eat it.
They both love Oxbow's timothy twists!

[MerryFriarTuck]

I know some people give their piggies little bells, or jingle bell balls for cats and parrots... I'd like to try a bell. Robin Hood likes shiny things like his silver bowl, strangely enough! but I'm not sure about the balls because I don't want them to attempt to eat any plastic

[spy9doc]

If you haven't already tried them, Sparky might like Oxbow's line of timothy club toys/mats/hides.

ARRRGH! Thought I'd try one more time. I bought the Oxbow Timothy Twists for Sparky......not even a nibble......totally ignored it. Absolutely zero interest. Guess it's back to cardboard rolls and boxes.......and they're free!

[Smileandnod]

Mine ignore oxbow brand twists and chews, but they absolutely love small pet select brand meadow balls, twists and fidget sticks. It's fun to watch them play tug of war with them and run about with them. They also love the small pet select mobiles. I also use cardboard tubes with oat hay in the middle and small paper bags stuffed with different hay.

[Kelsie]

My pigs get very excited when I give them each a Oxbow Timothy Twist but once they tear it apart they lose interest. I have to go in their cage and pick up all the bits and pieces. I've tried many different toys for them but nothing has ever sparked their interest. I've tried Applewood sticks and they just completely ignore them. They would rather have a little piece of a fresh veggie or the occasional piece of fruit.

[MerryFriarTuck]

Oh no!! You tried I guess Sparky is set in his ways...or maybe just loyal to his love of cardboard!

[MerryFriarTuck]

Mine ignore oxbow brand twists and chews, but they absolutely love small pet select brand meadow balls, twists and fidget sticks. It's fun to watch them play tug of war with them and run about with them. They also love the small pet select mobiles. I also use cardboard tubes with oat hay in the middle and small paper bags stuffed with different hay.

I had never seen the pet select toys--- thank you for telling about them!!! It looks like my piggies would love all the ones you mentioned. I should stuff some cardboard tubes for them...i never have because I'm overly paranoid of chemicals. That's so cute yours play tug of war with them!

[Smileandnod]

I had never seen the pet select toys--- thank you for telling about them!!! It looks like my piggies would love all the ones you mentioned. I should stuff some cardboard tubes for them...i never have because I'm overly paranoid of chemicals. That's so cute yours play tug of war with them!

Small pet select is online:
https://shop.smallpetselect.com/coll...or-guinea-pigs

I love their "thrifty Thursday" specials every week. It usually has hay, treat and toys at a discount so you can try new things without spending too much $. It is also easy to earn points which saves you money as well.

If you are paranoid about chemicals I think you will enjoy checking them out. I still buy Oxbow and KMS pellets, but everything else I have gotten from here has been loved by my pigs.