Can Guinea Pigs Play With Toilet Paper Rolls? (Find Out Now)

Pet parents need to give their guinea pigs opportunities to play. Some guinea pigs won’t play on their own; they need the right environment and materials to spark their interest. Now this might make you wonder if your pet can play with toilet paper rolls.

Guinea pigs can play with toilet paper rolls. Toilet paper rolls can be a great way to give them something to chew on and explore. They can also help guinea pigs stay active, which is important for their health. Also, they’re a relatively cheap toy that pet parents can use.

Care for your piggies can get a little pricy. So, it’s important to have options to enrich and stimulate your piggies without emptying your wallet. Keep reading to learn more about how you can use toilet paper rolls as a fun, easy, AND safe toy for your furry friends.

✅ If you’re in a hurry or just curious, check out this list of highly-rated, bestselling guinea pig toys on Amazon. You’re sure to find something wow-worthy for your furry, little friends.

Why Are Toilet Paper Rolls A Great Toy For Guinea Pigs?

Toilet paper rolls are great for cavies because they love to chew on things. They’re soothed by chewing, and it also prevents them from chewing on things they shouldn’t.

Also, piggies love to explore small places and things, and the rolls can help them do that.

Now, let’s talk about how cavies can safely play with toilet paper rolls and how we pet parents can set up the environment to make your fur babies playtime fun!

How Can Guinea Pigs Safely Play With Toilet Paper Rolls?

It’s possible for piggies to safely play with toilet paper rolls if they’re used appropriately. If your fur babies play with them there are a few safety tips to keep in mind.

• Make sure that all glue and toilet paper are removed from the roll before you give it to your piggies. If a guinea pig eats the toilet paper or glue, it could potentially cause them to choke or experience intestinal blockages. (No bueno!)
• Cut a slit along the side of the toilet paper tube, so that your piggies’ head doesn’t get stuck. (Yes, it’s been known to happen – especially to smaller piggies)
• Replace the toilet paper roll when it becomes really dirty or soiled, so that your cavies don’t ingest any harmful bacteria that’ll make them sick.

How Can I Use Toilet Paper Rolls As A Guinea Pig Toy?

There are a few different ways that you can use toilet paper rolls as guinea pig toys. I’m including a video below that’ll show you how to make a simple guinea pig toy using toilet paper rolls.

By far the easiest way to use a toilet paper roll as a toy is to stuff them with things and let your piggies just have at it.

Here are a few favorite options to stuff your rolls with:

• Hay (always a favorite of piggies)
• Bits of forage (easily found here on Amazon
• Pea flakes (but in moderation, please because they’re considered junk food)
• A tiny piece of favorite fruit (if you go this route, keep an eye on the toilet paper roll, because if you use fruit, you might make the roll a little soggy)

After you’ve stuffed the tube with goodies, you can try mixing things up a bit. Try folding the sides down into the the roll itself to make a little package that your piggies have to work a bit harder to get into.

You can also cut out a few small holes in the roll and stick apple chew sticks through them to make it a little more challenging for your little friends

Can Guinea Pigs Chew On Toilet Paper?

Guinea pigs shouldn’t be allowed to chew on toilet paper.

What I mean by that, is that you shouldn’t give piggies an actual roll of toilet paper and let them go to town on it.

Too much toilet paper can cause piggies to choke or experience blocks in their digestive system.

Do Guinea Pigs Like To Play With Toilet Paper Rolls?

Many guinea pigs like to play with toilet paper rolls. They’re easy for them to move, explore, and to chew on.

I surveyed 611 people on their piggies’ favorite toys. 146 people (close to a quarter of them) said that their fuzz spuds preferred playing with toilet paper rolls over anything else.

Now, that was a little surprising for me, because I always just thought of toilet paper rolls as a waste of time.

I mean…toilet paper rolls???

Seemed like a pretty boring toy, right?

WRONG.

It just goes to show you that piggies can have different interests. And as pet parents we need to be open-minded towards those interests – even if they make us say “Now why in the world would they want to play with that?”

Can Guinea Pigs Chew On Toilet Paper Rolls?

Yes, guinea pigs can chew on toilet paper rolls. And it’s perfectly safe as long as your furry friends aren’t making a meal of the toilet paper roll. Nibbling kind of comes with the territory for cavies. They’ll chew almost anything that they can get their paws on.

That said, the rolls shouldn’t become your guinea pig’s go-to place for chewing. There are much better (and safer) things for them to gnaw on, like hay and wooden chew sticks.

But, if you’re looking for something to keep your piggies occupied for a little while and you have some toilet paper rolls lying around, they’ll do just fine with them.

Will Cardboard Hurt Guinea Pigs?

Cardboard won’t hurt them as long as large amounts of cardboard isn’t eaten. In fact, many pet parents keep a cardboard box of some sort in their piggie’s cage or floor time area. Just keep an eye on your guinea pig to make sure that they’re not eating a large amount of cardboard.  

In most cases, piggies won’t go overboard with it and try to eat the entire roll. In rarer cases, some may overeat cardboard because they’re missing out on other nutrients. 

Too much cardboard overtime may cause intestinal blockages. (And that’s something you don’t want your guinea pig going through.)

Also, over time the cardboard will get pretty gross. Toss out dirty cardboard, so your piggies aren’t gnawing on the nastiness.

What Other Toys Can Guinea Pigs Play With?

There’s a whole slew of toys that your piggies can play with. And in my quest to help you be an even more awesome pet parent, I’m going to list a few below.

Some of their favorites include:

• hay (yes, it’s food for guinea pigs but they love to play, poop, and pee in it, too!)
• apple chew sticks – if safe chewing is a concern, then this toy is what you need
• forage (like bits of piggie-friendly herbs): just this tasty treat in hay or a toilet paper roll
• shredded paper (UH-MAZING for burrowing)
• paper bags stuffed with hay
• other cardboard rolls and different cardboard boxes (throw them out and replace them when they really gross)
• blankets and hoodies for burrowing and hiding (a piggie favorite)

I wrote an article called 15 Wonderful Ways You Can Entertain Your Guinea Pig (Right Now) that you can check out for more detailed information and suggestions on what you can use to entertain your piggies.

Final Thoughts

So, can guinea pigs play with toilet paper rolls? Yes!

As long as you take a few precautions to make sure they’re safe, your furry potatoes can have a great time playing with these simple toys.

And remember that cardboard and toilet paper rolls aren’t food for guinea pigs.  Don’t let them eat their toys as a meal.

Have fun watching your piggies explore!

By the way, what other toys do you give your piggies to play with? Let me know in the comments below.