How to Teach a Guinea Pig to Play Basketball

Basketball is a cute trick to teach your guinea pig and it's also a great prerequisite for learning other tricks that involve picking up and/or carrying objects, such as fetch. You can teach different variations of this trick, ranging in difficulty from fairly easy to quite challenging. Dropping the ball in a bowl is the easiest version of this trick, whereas learning to accurately place the ball into a smaller upright basketball net takes more time and dedication to teach.

How to Teach a Guinea Pig to Play Basketball (Video Tutorial)

For this trick, you will need....

Step 1


Find a suitable ball to use for this trick. Look for one that is lightweight and easy for the guinea pig to pick up and carry around. A slotted cat toy ball (preferably with the bell removed) works well.

I prefer to use a slotted type of ball like the one shown in the photo to the left. These slotted balls can be found in some pet stores or on Amazon. They come with a bell inside, but since the balls are a little bit flexible, the bells can be removed pretty easily.

Step 2

Stuff the ball with lettuce (or rub some food on the ball so it smells like food) and place it in front of the guinea pig. Give an additional treat from your hand if they pick up the ball at any point. Keep refilling the ball with lettuce until the guinea pig is picking it up frequently.

Once the guinea pig is picking up the ball with lettuce inside, try placing the ball on the floor without lettuce and reward if the guinea pig nibbles or picks up the ball at all. If they lose interest, try holding the ball in your hand and reward the guinea pig for touching or sniffing the ball. Give a jackpot reward (extra treats and praise) whenever they nibble or chew at the ball (even just slightly at first.) Practice until they are picking up the ball consistently without lettuce inside.
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Step 3



When the guinea pig picks up the ball, move your hand under and catch the ball before it drops on the floor.

Do this several times so the guinea pig starts to understand that the ball is supposed to land in your hand.

Step 4

Keep your hand relatively still and encourage the guinea pig to put the ball in your hand by themselves. Keep your hand close at first and use your free hand to try to lure their head towards the side where you want them to drop the ball. Practice with your hand on just one side for a couple sessions until they start to grasp the main concept of the trick.

Once they've mastered that, practice with your hand on the opposite side. You will likely need to spend at least a few training sessions working on each side individually for them to fully understand what you're asking. Once they can put the ball in your hand from either side, practice moving your hand back and forth to each side in the same session.

This step usually takes the longest to teach, so be patient and take the time to make sure they understand it completely before moving on.


Step 5

Find a small shallow bowl to use. I like to use collapsible silicone dog travel bowls because the sound of the ball dropping in the bowl is quieter and less likely to spook the guinea pig. They can also be popped out at different sizes, so you can use the lower height to make it easier for the guinea pig to be successful while they're learning.

Practice the same steps as you did with your hand in the previous step. Practice from both sides of the bowl. Continue to practice until the guinea pig can confidently place the ball in the bowl on both sides without guidance.


Step 6



Find a hoop or similar object and hold it just above the ground. Practice at a lower height with this new hoop and gradually raise it higher as the guinea pig gains confidence. Practice moving the hoop to different sides and angles as well.


Step 7

*Optional*

If your guinea pig catches on quickly to this trick or you want to add more of a challenge, you can use a higher and narrower net to complete the "basketball" effect.

Find or make a basketball net (approx. 3-5 inches high and a net diameter of 2-3 inches.)

Tilt the net at first to make it easier for the guinea pig to reach. Reward whenever the guinea pig gets the ball in or close to going in the net (the ball doesn't necessarily have to land in the net 100% of the time.)

Gradually raise the net into an upright position as the guinea pig's accuracy improves. Remember to practice from different sides and angles.
You can also try rolling the ball a short distance away and gradually increase the distance so the guinea pig learns to fetch the ball and then dunk it in the net.

Additional Tips For Teaching This Trick

  • Help your guinea pig understand what you want them to do by giving them jackpot rewards (extra treats and praise) every time they pick up the ball with more enthusiasm or when they get the ball in the bowl/net on the first try.

  • Be sure to give the guinea pig lots of time to practice each step before moving on. It takes time for guinea pigs to improve their accuracy and learn how to control where they want to put the ball. Keep sessions fun and rewarding without trying to rush through too quickly.
 
  • If you are finding one step difficult, don't hesitate to go back to the previous step and take more time on that before moving forward.