Like each different animal, guinea pigs must sleep. Nonetheless, they don’t sleep in the identical manner as people or different predator species. Guinea pigs are prey animals, which implies they must be cautious about how, when, and the place they go to sleep!
You don’t must do something to create a guinea pig sleep schedule or make sure that your piggies sleep–they’ll try this on their very own, and generally you won’t even discover them sleeping with their eyes open!
On this article, we’ll talk about all there’s to learn about guinea pig sleep, together with what number of hours guinea pigs sleep, when guinea pigs sleep, and extra!
Do Guinea Pigs Sleep With Their Eyes Open?
One widespread query guinea pig homeowners have is, why do guinea pigs sleep with their eyes open?
There’s truly a very good cause behind this. As a prey animal, a guinea pig’s intuition is to at all times know their environment. They should know if there are predators round, in any case!
For that reason, guinea pigs usually sleep with their eyes huge open. Generally they’re even upright on their ft, and the one strategy to inform they’re sleeping is that they’re standing very nonetheless.
Nonetheless, you may additionally spot your fur infants sleeping with their eyes closed once they really feel very snug and secure. In contrast to some animals that may’t shut their eyes in any respect, guinea pigs do have eyelids.
How A lot Do Guinea Pigs Sleep?
Guinea pigs usually sleep between 4-6 hours a day, however not unexpectedly. As an alternative, they take small naps all through the day and evening. These naps could be as brief as 5 to fifteen minutes!
That is why you by no means wish to maintain your guinea pigs in a small cage or hutch for sleeping, as a result of they don’t sleep as many hours as people, nor unexpectedly like we do.
Protecting them in a small enclosure received’t make them sleep, however it should make them very bored and unable to run round like they need to.
Guinea pigs should at all times be in an enclosure that meets or exceeds the minimum for their herd size. The one exceptions to this are medical (equivalent to a piggy who’s not meant to maneuver round whereas therapeutic from a surgical procedure) or very momentary (equivalent to for ten minutes whilst you clear their cage).
Do Guinea Pigs Sleep at Evening?
Guinea pigs aren’t nocturnal or diurnal. This implies they don’t sleep primarily in the course of the day or evening. As an alternative, they sleep in small bursts all through the day and evening.
To them, it doesn’t matter if it’s gentle or darkish–although they are going to desire to sleep in shadowed areas equivalent to of their hides, as this makes them really feel secure from predators. Keep in mind, a guinea pig’s fundamental predators are birds of prey, so that they wish to be hidden from above.
Guinea pigs do thrive on a day-night cycle like they’d get within the wild, so it is very important flip the lights off at evening and let the sunshine in in the course of the day. Nonetheless, your guinea pigs received’t sleep at evening on schedule such as you would possibly count on out of your canine or cat.
You additionally shouldn’t cowl your guinea pigs’ cage up for the evening, as this could forestall their cage from having correct air flow. This could result in odor build-up, respiratory issues, warmth stroke, and even suffocation.
Lastly, don’t put your guinea pigs right into a smaller enclosure for the evening. They received’t sleep all of this time, so it’s simply as neglectful as conserving them in a too-small enclosure in the course of the daytime.
Why is My Guinea Pig Sleeping So A lot?
Guinea pigs might sleep greater than traditional due to outdated age or sickness. In case your guinea pig’s sleeping habits have modified all of the sudden, deliver them to an skilled unique pet veterinarian straight away.
As prey animals, guinea pigs disguise their diseases, so it’s essential to maintain a detailed eye on them to detect signs. And when you see a symptom, like sleeping greater than traditional, it’s essential that they see a veterinarian shortly.
Illness can progress in a short time in piggies and catching diseases early will be lifesaving!
Guinea Pig Sleeping Positions and Their Meanings
- Guinea pigs sleeping on their ft with their eyes open are looking out for predators! This doesn’t essentially imply they really feel unsafe, simply that they aren’t sleeping very deeply.
- Guinea pigs sleeping on their facet with their eyes closed really feel very secure. It is a weak place for a piggy, so you must really feel particular in the event that they sleep like this in your lap or whenever you’re close by! Their stomach is uncovered and so they aren’t capable of search for threats.
- When a number of guinea pigs sleep shut collectively, this could imply that they’re shut to at least one one other and have a very good bond. It additionally would possibly imply that they’re frightened or chilly.
- Guinea pigs sleeping with their head down could be making an attempt to defend their eyes from the sunshine, or simply making an attempt to get snug whereas they sleep.
Can I Sleep With My Guinea Pig?
Please, by no means sleep along with your guinea pig! Whereas it looks like a cute thought (who wouldn’t wish to cuddle up with their piggies at evening?), it’s very harmful in follow.
The primary risk is that you just’re lots larger than a guinea pig. If you happen to transfer in your sleep, you might squish them!
Your guinea pig additionally received’t sleep via the evening such as you, so that they’re going to be transferring throughout. Chances are high, they received’t keep the place you place them till morning.
Guinea pigs are small and delicate, so leaping or falling off of your mattress can injure them. They’ll additionally get into all kinds of bother free-roaming round your own home. They’ll munch on issues they shouldn’t eat like electrical cords or poisonous substances, get damage by different pets within the dwelling, or get misplaced in small crevices round the home.
Total, it’s simply not secure to let your guinea pig sleep with you. It’s additionally not sanitary or sensible.
Guinea pigs have very quick digestive techniques which are continuously transferring, which means you’ll must deliver their hay and water to mattress with you as properly in order that they will eat and drink. In any other case, they could undergo from GI stasis after going all evening lengthy with out meals.
They’ll additionally spend that point pooping and peeing in your mattress, or wherever they find yourself wandering to whilst you’re asleep. That wouldn’t be enjoyable to scrub up within the morning!
We hope this text has taught you extra about your guinea pigs’ sleeping habits! How do your piggies sleep?
