Keeping Piggies Happy

Question
I have five guinea pigs and I want to provide the best living environment for them but I'm on a student budget.  They currently live in the basement (I leave the light on all day for them).  They have 2 large cages and one regular size cage attached together with tubing.  Until recently they had their own bedroom in the house and I left one side of the cage open with a stair case of bricks so they could leave or enter the cage at will but they never ever left the cage.  I know they are not scared of me because they run up to me when I feed them.

So my questions are:
How do you entertain guinea pigs who do not like leaving their cage.
Is the basement a suitable environment for guinea pigs?

Answer
Hi Sarah

The basement is fine as long as its not damp at all.

Give them tubes to run in and out of and wooden objects to chew.

If there is 5 piggies, they will entertain each other. There's no danger of them being bored lol. However, daily human company for a few minutes is still important.

Andy