How to encourage exercise?

[JJW&Pigs]

Hi! I’m the proud momma of 2 guinea pigs who hate to exercise. They’ll run around every now and then but other than that they don’t often exercise by using tunnels except for sleeping in them. Any tips? I’ve tried putting treats around the exercise area but they just lay down after barely looking. They aren’t lethargic, and will go nuts if theres food, but when it comes to exercise, they are pretty picky.

 

[Claire W]

My 3 piggies are exactly the same and prefer to just lay down and sleep at floor time.

All you can do is provide them with an exercise area but I have found you can’t force them to exercise.

You could try hiding treats around the exercise area to encourage them to move around and forage but apart from that, I really don’t know

 

[Two_Wheeks]

My two boys are exactly the same! Might get 10 minutes of exercise a day, and sometimes a little more if they get a run around in the kitchen, but other than that, it's sleeping and eating - no matter what I try!

 

[poggle]

I agree with Claire, they're very food motivated (relatable) so I would suggest sprinkling forage/their daily pellets/fresh food around their cage. Mooching about for food may not be the same as a going for a run but it is good for them

 

[Piggies&buns]

What a person considers exercise and what piggies consider exercise are very different things. For piggies it’s about providing enrichment in their cage or playpen, allowing them to forage through hay etc rather than necessarily running about

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

You may find these two links below helpful with lots of practical ideas; one is about enrichment on various levels and the other contains some tricks on how to get sedentary overweight/adult piggies moving without spooking them and without feeding any more calories (you have to use their usual food allowance).
Your piggies sound perfectly normal to me, though? But of course you can always do more to make their lives more interesting.
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
Weight - Monitoring and Management