Do Guinea Pigs Sleep With Their Eyes Open? All About Piggy Sleep

Like each different animal, guinea pigs must sleep. Nonetheless, they don’t sleep in the identical means as people or different predator species. Guinea pigs are prey animals, which suggests they need to 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 be certain that your piggies sleep–they’ll try this on their very own, and generally you may not even discover them sleeping with their eyes open!

On this article, we’ll focus on all there’s to find out 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 extremely good motive 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 spite of everything!

For that reason, guinea pigs usually sleep with their eyes extensive open. Generally they’re even upright on their ft, and the one approach to inform they’re sleeping is that they’re standing very nonetheless.

Nonetheless, you may also spot your fur infants sleeping with their eyes closed once they really feel very snug and protected. 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 . As a substitute, they take small naps all through the day and evening. These naps is likely to be as quick 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 like we do.

Maintaining them in a small enclosure gained’t make them sleep, however it is going to 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 minimal for his or her herd dimension. The one exceptions to this are medical (akin to a piggy who’s not meant to maneuver round whereas therapeutic from a surgical procedure) or very momentary (akin to for ten minutes when you clear their cage).

Do Guinea Pigs Sleep at Evening?

Guinea pigs aren’t nocturnal or diurnal. This implies they don’t sleep primarily throughout the day or evening. As a substitute, 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’ll choose to sleep in shadowed areas akin to of their hides, as this makes them really feel protected from predators. Bear in mind, a guinea pig’s predominant predators are birds of prey, in order that they prefer to be hidden from above.

Guinea pigs do thrive on a day-night cycle like they’d get within the wild, so you will need to flip the lights off at evening and let the sunshine in throughout the day. Nonetheless, your guinea pigs gained’t sleep at evening on schedule such as you may anticipate out of your canine or cat.

You additionally shouldn’t cowl your guinea pigs’ cage up for the evening, as this could stop their cage from having correct air flow. This may result in odor build-up, respiratory points, warmth stroke, and even suffocation.

Lastly, don’t put your guinea pigs right into a smaller enclosure for the evening. They gained’t sleep all of this time, so it’s simply as neglectful as retaining them in a too-small enclosure throughout the daytime.

Why is My Guinea Pig Sleeping So A lot?

Guinea pigs could sleep greater than traditional due to previous 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 immediately.

As prey animals, guinea pigs disguise their sicknesses, 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 sicknesses 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 protected. This can be a weak place for a piggy, so you must really feel particular in the event that they sleep like this in your lap or once you’re close by! Their stomach is uncovered they usually aren’t in a position to 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 bond. It additionally may imply that they’re frightened or chilly.
• Guinea pigs sleeping with their head down is likely to be making an attempt to protect 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 concept (who wouldn’t wish to cuddle up with their piggies at evening?), it’s very harmful in follow.

The primary menace is that you just’re loads greater than a guinea pig. When you transfer in your sleep, you may squish them!

Your guinea pig additionally gained’t sleep by the evening such as you, in order that they’re going to be shifting throughout. Likelihood is, they gained’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 will additionally get into all kinds of hassle free-roaming round your own home. They will munch on issues they shouldn’t eat like electrical cords or poisonous substances, get harm by different pets within the residence, or get misplaced in small crevices round the home.

General, it’s simply not protected to let your guinea pig sleep with you. It’s additionally not sanitary or sensible. 

Guinea pigs have very quick digestive methods which can be consistently shifting, that means you’ll need to deliver their hay and water to mattress with you as effectively in order that they will eat and drink. In any other case, they may endure 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 when you’re asleep. That wouldn’t be enjoyable to wash up within the morning!

We hope this text has taught you extra about your guinea pigs’ sleeping habits! How do your piggies sleep?