What are the Best Guinea Pig Beds & Hideouts 2021?

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Monique Hanford

There are many different types of beds and hideouts for guinea pigs with everything from patterned fleece hammocks, snuggle sacks and cuddle cups, to wooden hides that can be tucked away in the corner or those that look like more luxury log cabins.

Do guinea pigs need a bed?

Guinea pigs don’t need a bed as such, but they do need a hideout. Soft, open beds are an optional extra but a lovely addition to their cage if you have enough space for one.

Smooth haired guinea pig asleep with his eyes closed on a bed — Mr Jaffas having a nap on his bed

Doughnut beds, hammocks and cuddle cups are all very popular, and guinea pigs love these. But your pet will also need a hidey that is more enclosed and dark such as a little house or cave or even a fleece snuggle sack or sleeping bag that he can snuggle up inside.

Why do guinea pigs need a hideout?

A hideout not only provides a cosy place for your guinea pigs to sleep, they give these naturally nervous pets somewhere to hide and feel safe too.

Guinea pigs in an extra large luxury wooden mansion hideout — Extra Large Luxury Guinea Pig Mansion Hideout

If a guinea pig is housed without some kind of hideaway, he can become very anxious. Even a very friendly and tame guinea pig, who is happy to sleep in the middle of his cage, will also want somewhere to hide where he feels safe.

How many hideouts does a guinea pig need?

You’ll need a hideout for each guinea pig. This is because they like their own space, and even if they do like to snuggle up with a friend from time to time, they won’t always want to do this. If there is only one hidey for a pair of guinea pigs, it can lead to fighting, particularly with male guinea pigs.

Fleece or wooden hideout… which is best?

Most hideouts are made either from fleece or some kind of wood. Both materials make great hideaways but there are some points to consider before deciding which type of hidey is best for your setup.

Fleece hideys

You may already have fleece liners in your cage so accessorising your cage with fleece hideys makes a lot of sense. Here are some pros and cons to using fleece hideys:

Pros of fleece hideouts

Fleece comes in a range of colours and patterns so will brighten up the cage
It’s a soft and cosy material that guinea pigs love
Ideal for hairless guinea pigs
Good for guinea pigs who have skin sensitivities or if they’ve had an operation or have a healing wound
Comes in a huge variety of shapes and designs
Good choice for a cage if you use fleece bedding

Cons of fleece hideouts

Not suitable for outdoor hutch setups as the fleece can become damp
Fleece doesn’t work so well with disposable bedding as the bedding can get stuck to the fleece, especially if you use wood shavings
Fleece hideys need regular washing so you’ll need to buy more than one per guinea pig
Depending on the quality of the product, it may come apart after a while or begin to get holes and need replacing

Wooden hideys

Wooden hideys come in all shapes and sizes and are usually made from pine or spruce wood. Make sure you buy one that is well made without toxic glues and that there are no sharp parts such as dangerous nails accessible to your guinea pigs.

Pros of wooden hideouts

Wooden hideouts give a more natural and organic look to your cage setup
Ideal for an outdoor hutch as they can offer good solid protection from draughts and bad weather that fleece hideouts can’t provide.
If well made they often last longer than fleece hideouts
Although they’ll need cleaning occasionally, wooden houses are less work to clean than a fleece hideout and don’t need cleaning as often
Suits a cage that has disposable bedding or fleece bedding

Cons of wooden hideouts

A wooden hideout can take up a bit more space
Not all are wood hideys are well made, so may not last as long as others

Our favourite guinea pig hideouts

We have used many different hideouts in our cage setup so we’ve tested quite a few to see which ones our guinea pigs like the best. These are our favourite hideouts for guinea pigs:

Best wooden guinea pig hideouts

One of our favourite wooden guinea pig hideouts is the Resch corner house for guinea pigs built with spruce wood. These are the best wooden hideouts we’ve used as they’re built solidly with safe rounded corners and the guinea pigs rarely chew them unlike some of the other wooden hideys we’ve used.

Abyssinian guinea pig in a wooden corner house with a silkie guinea pig outside — Resch wooden corner house

We like the corner houses as they are great space savers but give plenty of hiding space for your guinea pigs too.

Another favourite wooden house is the Piggies Choice Space House, designed by Saskia from LA Guinea Pig Rescue. Made with pine wood, it comes in a range of finishes including a colourful rainbow design.

Best guinea pig hammocks

A hammock can be really cosy for indoor guinea pigs and is great for a cage that has fleece liners.

If you like the idea of a fleece bed, but have disposable bedding, a hammock may be a better option than a cuddle cup or doughnut bed. Because it hangs in the cage, it won’t gather so many bits of bedding which can become stubbornly stuck to the fleece.

Before buying a hammock, do bear in mind that guinea pigs are not good climbers so elderly or less mobile pets may find these more difficult to get into. Our advice is to make sure your hammock doesn’t hang too high in the cage, so it’s easier for them to access.

We like the Beasts Boutique Reversible Guinea Pig Hammocks that come in a wide range of colours. This hammock has an absorbent layer in the middle too to prevent the surface of the fleece staying damp.

Best fleece beds for guinea pigs

A fleece bed gives your guinea pigs a lovely soft place for them to snuggle down and there’s a good range to choose from including doughnut beds, cuddle cups or cuddle couches.

The Haypigs Crash Mat is one of our favourite beds and is part of the colourful Haypigs circus themed range. The Crash Mat is a really good size and extremely well made too..

Brown silkie guinea pig next to Haypigs fleece crash mat bed — Haypigs Crash Mat

We also love the Guinea Pig Cave Pod by Cottonsqueakers which is like a couch for guinea pigs complete with little matching pillows!

Remember that these beds aren’t a good substitute for a proper hiding place so this should be considered an extra rather than an alternative to a dark, enclosed hidey.

Best snuggle sacks and sleeping bags for guinea pigs

Snuggle sacks, also known as sleeping bags or snuggle pouches, tend to be cheaper than some of the other fleece beds, but guinea pigs love these because they can get right inside making a cosy sleeping place.

The only issue we’ve had with snuggle sacks is that some of them are quite flimsy so the guinea pigs don’t see the opening and lie on top of them instead. Those sleeping pouches that have a thicker lining tend to work better for guinea pigs as they don’t flatten down as much. Folding back the opening will also help give it more structure.

We love the snuggle sacks from Molliescozeepets on Etsy. She has a great range of lovely handmade snuggle pouches measuring 10 x 9 inches and available in different designs.

Another favourite are the colourful sleeping bags from Beasts Boutique. These are slightly larger measuring 12 x 12 inches and also come in a good choice of colours.

Best fleece hideouts for guinea pigs

Fleece hideouts give your guinea pigs a good place to hide that is also soft and comfortable. If you have fleece bedding in your cage, a fleece hidey is a good alternative to a wooden one.

We like the Haypigs Circus Tent which matches the Crash Mat. Designed to literally look like a circus tent, it also comes with 2 pee pads so you can swap them out between washes.

The handmade fleece cubes by LWPetAccessories on Etsy are really well made and very cosy too. They won’t take up too much space in the cage but fit the size of a guinea pig perfectly. They are available in a range of designs and come with 3 pee pads.

Guinea pigs always love tunnels and fleece tunnels make a great hideout for them. Beasts Boutique reversible fleece tunnels come in a wide range of colours and designs to suit your colour scheme.

If you love a bit of luxury for your guinea pig, we recommend the Cottonsqueakers Piggy Pod that comes with 2 cushions and a pee pad. These luxury pods are available in a variety of colours and designs.

Log cabins for guinea pigs

Log cabins are not always as robust as the solid wooden hideouts but they do look great.

Guinea pig in a log cabin hideout — Guinea Pig in a log cabin hideout

Not all log cabins are well made either so these purchases can be a bit hit and miss. If you buy one of these, check it thoroughly first to make sure it is safe before giving to your guinea pigs.

We like the Trixie Natural Living Hanna Log House and this has become one of our guinea pigs’ favourite hideouts.

Although not as robust as the solid wood houses we recommend, it’s reasonably well made. However, our guinea pigs have chewed the crossbars in the window so it’s just a big round window that remains which they also use as a second exit.

Category: Buying Guides, Housing & Bedding