Guinea pigs like to be challenged and they love food, so a rooting mat is a great “toy” option. My 9 year old wanted to purchase one, but we had felt and fleece on hand so we decided to make one. Even if you don’t have the fabric on hand, this should cost less than $5 to make.

Step 1:

Cut a row of lines in a sheet of felt. We probably did not need such skinny lines, but it worked out. Leave about 2 inches on each side as a border.

Step 2:

Cut the fleece into stripes. It does not need to be exact, but ours were about 6 inches long and 1/2 inch wide.

Step 3:

Tie the fleece onto the lines of felt. They do not have to be super close, but you can make it more full by moving the knots closer together, or less full by spreading them out a bit.

Step 4:

After you have filled up the mat with all the fleece strips, hot glue a second piece of felt to the back. We put a little in the center, then glue all the way around the edges.

Step 5:

Turn over, fluff the fleece strips and it’s done!

Step 6:

Hide small pieces of lettuce or other guinea pig favorites in the fleece and let them have fun finding the food.