Guinea pigs are tailless, furry pets that grow to weigh 3 lb (1.3 kg).These animals are diurnal. This means that they are active during the day and sleep at night, just like us.Our sweet, little, cuddly rodent friends are very social by nature and like to interact a lot with each other and humans. They like to have a companion with them, but also can get attached to their caretakers. Guinea pigs have various shapes and sizes, and there are around 13 different breeds with a range of different textures and coat colors like Abyssinian, American, teddy, white-crested, Peruvian, Abyssinian Satin, Coronet, silkie, and texel. Guinea pigs sleep for around four hours a day, but not in one go, they take small naps often instead. During the night, they take a long nap as compared to during the day. The elder guinea pigs tend to sleep much longer than the younger ones. Guinea pigs are prey to many animals and hence a guinea pig’s sleeping behavior is in accordance with the threats they may face in the wild.Many animals have different sleeping patterns according to the environment they are in to be more comfortable. In a tropical or hot climate, they sleep during the daytime to conserve energy. At dawn, they get active and search for food or preys. In a cold climate, the animals will sleep during the night and be more active during the daytime. These cute little guinea pigs have originated from the mountainous environment of South America. There are no absolute temperature conditions for these pigs, they can neither sustain in a very cold environment or in extremely hot, they will rather prefer being in their burrows. They are the most comfortable at room temperature.Prey and predators develop their sleeping schedules in accordance with one another. Guinea pigs are not predators in nature but they are often prey. Their main predators are cats, birds, snakes, wolves, and coyotes. Guinea pigs will avoid going outside when they know their predators might be awake. Nocturnal birds are their main predators, and hence guinea pigs have evolved to be awake when these birds are sleeping. Guinea pigs have excellent alertness towards predators and dangers. The reason they take short naps is that they need to be alert most of the time to their predators. The little sleep they have is sufficient for them to function and also this avoids the predators.If you also find guinea pigs adorable, you can also read and get more insight on guinea pigs by reading do guinea pigs sleep with their eyes open and do guinea pigs bite.How long do guinea pigs sleep?Guinea pigs sleep in very short intervals and spend a total of just four hours asleep every day. But every guinea pig is different and every one of them has their own need for sleep. Some of them might sleep for long or some of them might sleep for less.They adjust them according to their routine daily. Guinea pig’s sleeping intervals range from a few seconds to 20 minutes at the most. Sometimes, they can sleep for 40 mins when they are very tired, but this is very rare and only happens when they are very comfortable. Young guinea pigs need less time to rejuvenate their energy. Slowly and gradually, they start adapting new routines according to their age and hence their time intervals also start to change. Their sleeping behavior is very surprising to humans, you can understand you have a pet guinea pig. Their activeness all day is very unusual to humans. Our 12 hours sleep need is satisfied by their 10 minutes of sleep. A guinea pig’s sleep schedules depend on various factors, such as their living conditions, alertness for predators, diet, and illness and disease.A lot of people like to sleep with their furry piggy in their bed, but you need to think about this twice. There are a few reasons why this could not be a good idea, as in the night, you may roll over and squeeze your guinea pig or can hurt it as well, and we know you wouldn’t want that. Guinea pigs have the habit to go to the washroom a lot, but when they sleep in the bed, they won’t be able to do so effectively, and that will create a mess in your bed. Guinea pigs are crepuscular species so they stay active enduring the night also. Because of this, you won’t be able to get a good night’s sleep if they will sleep bedside by you. So instead of letting it sleep with you, you can let them sleep in their cage close to your bed.How do guinea pigs sleep?Guinea pigs are able to sleep in various positions. Most of the time they sleep having their heads in the forward direction. Guinea pig sleeping behavior also has an alert side, they will wake up as soon as they hear any sound of disturbance around them. It is rather very difficult to notice a sleeping guinea pig. Most of the time, they sleep with wide-open eyes. They only close their eyes while sleeping when they feel that they are in an extremely comfortable environment. So whenever you spot your guinea pig with closed eyes sleeping, this means that you are a good owner and your pet feels very safe with you. This might won’t happen at the start, but gradually when both of you will form a bond of compassion, then they will start feeling comfortable.They have different conditions to sleep. They don’t create burrows all the time on their own and try to seek shelter in the burrows made by the other rodents. Sometimes they can go for taking shelter in the pipes and crevices. When in captivity, it gets very difficult to create surroundings like their natural environment. But you can create a replica very close to their natural burrow by creating hideaways. These hideaways are very similar to that of a hamster’s house and can get made by the use of plastics and wood. There are many readymade guinea pigs houses which you can buy from the stores. These houses are made of plastic and wood, though plastic is considered the best. This way the guinea pig will be nibble in the house if they feel like it. The hideaway should be in a dark place inside the cage. Guinea pigs like to sleep in a dark place. They can measure the breadth of openings and the form of the passage ahead of them using these hairs. As a result, even in the dark, they will never be lost.Do guinea pigs like to sleep in the dark?A lot of rodents, like hamsters and rats, are nocturnal and sleep during the daytime. While some rodents like squirrels and mice are diurnal, and are the most active during the day and sleep at night. Now talking about guinea pigs, they are oddballs when we talk about sleep patterns. They do not have a fixed time between day and night. It is all about their nap-taking patterns. They take short naps whenever they can and want to. They show similarities with cats, just like cats they snooze for a bit during the daytime and sometimes in the evening as well.Guinea pigs are somewhere in the middle to bottom in the food chain. In South America, guinea pigs have various predators like wolves, hawks, owls, and snakes.Just like our feline friends, guinea pigs also take naps in the evening in large portions. Most of the time, if there is a pet guinea pig, they will develop the sleeping pattern according to their owners. Pigs who sleep at night are generally influenced by the lifestyle of their owners who sleep at night and are active during the day mostly. During both night and day, our little piggy friends will experience periods of calmness and restfulness, with periods of being awake too. It’s just that the periods of restfulness will be very long during the night. This generally happens when they go into REM sleep. This sleep is very important as during this time, they try to restore themselves.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for do guinea pigs sleep, curious sleeping habits revealed, then why not take a look at where do baby back ribs come from, fun food facts for kids or where do bay leaves come from.
Guinea pigs are tailless, furry pets that grow to weigh 3 lb (1.3 kg).
