Guinea Pigs

Do Guinea Pigs Sleep with Their Eyes Open? #SleepingHabits #EyeCare

Guinea Pigs have been one of the tiniest and funny creatures, and a few of their behavioral patterns appear to be strange and unique in their own right. One of the huge mysteries associated with guinea pigs is their sleeping pattern. The guinea pigs have plenty of behavioral differences that make you go through a lot of analysis and how they sleep is one of them.

Contents

1 Do Guinea Pigs Close Their Eyes When They Sleep or Keep Them Open?
2 Why do Guinea Pigs Sleep with Their Eyes Open?
3 Do Guinea Pigs Close Their Eyes When They Sleep?
4 Do Guinea Pigs have Eyelids?
5 Do Guinea Pigs have a Good Vision?
6 How to Take Care of Guinea Pigs’ Eyes?
7 Do Guinea Pigs Sleep at Night, or are they Nocturnal?
8 Can Guinea Pig Diet Cause Sleepiness?
9 Do Guinea Pigs Prefer to Sleep on Soft Surfaces?
10 When do Guinea Pigs Sleep – The Guinea pig Sleeping Schedule
11 How Long do Guinea pigs Sleep For?
12 The Closing Thoughts

Do Guinea Pigs Close Their Eyes When They Sleep or Keep Them Open?

While Guinea pigs have eyelids, they do not use the eyelids in a way we humans do. Guinea pigs do not close their eyes when they sleep, and this makes them appear as if they are not sleeping.

Why do Guinea Pigs Sleep with Their Eyes Open?

Guinea pigs do sleep in sharp contrast to the belief that they do not sleep. However, it isn’t quite obvious that they are sleeping. Most of the time, Guinea pigs sleep with their eyes wide open. This has more to do with their instincts and the alertness resulting from this alertness.

Why do guinea pigs sleep with their eyes open? Well, just like a host of domesticated animals, the guinea pigs too possess a fair degree of instinctive alertness. Since they had their beginnings as the prey animals, they continue to have the instincts where they were forced to be on the constant lookout for the predators. While they are extremely safe in your home, the instincts that they have developed over the centuries make it difficult to break free from trying to be safe.

Sleeping with their eyes open is one of the ways that Guinea pigs have developed over the centuries. This is a common strategy developed by most rodents. Sleeping with their eyes open is the safest way to get a good sleep while monitoring their surroundings.

Do Guinea Pigs Close Their Eyes When They Sleep?

While you will find a Guinea pig sleeping with its eyes wide open, they do close their eyes when they find the surrounding around them are comfortable. As soon as they begin getting accustomed to the surroundings, the guinea pigs start closing their eyes.

It will have a lot to do with individual preferences. While some of them may feel quite relaxed and close their eyes when sleeping, a few others may continue showing their behavior of sleeping with eyes wide open.

Do Guinea Pigs have Eyelids?

Guinea Pigs do have eyelids. However, they do not make use of their eyelids like we humans or other animals use them. Instead of using the eyelids for closing their eyes, they just sleep with their eyes open. This has made people have that query – Do Guinea Pigs have eyelids?

Yet another reason that gives rise to a belief that Guinea Pigs do not have eyelids is they are seldom seen blinking their eyelids. So, do Guinea pigs blink? Unlike other animals like dogs and cats, they do not need to keep blinking their eyes to keep their eyes in good health. That is exactly why they do not blink frequently. This makes you believe that Guinea pigs do not have eyelids.

Do Guinea Pigs have a Good Vision?

Guinea pigs do have good eye vision. Just because they do not close their eye, that should not necessarily mean that Guinea Pigs do not have good vision. Except that they have not such a good depth perception, they have superior sight statistics. While humans can see 22 images per second, Guinea pigs can see up to 33 images per second. They also have a 340-degree range of vision.

Guinea pigs have bigger eyes that are extremely expressive. They have been observed to be nearsighted and may not see clearly when looking at faraway objects. Their eyes seem to be protruding from their sides, and this gives them a broader perspective of what is happening around them.

How to Take Care of Guinea Pigs’ Eyes?

Under ideal conditions, you may not need to take care of the Guinea Pigs’ eyes. You need not get worried if you find the Guinea Pigs not closing eyes. However, there are scenarios where your Guinea Pigs may have eye infections, and you need to take care of your pet.

Some of the issues you may come across with respect to the Guinea pig eye infection can include:

Redness in the eye Pawing or scratching at the eye constantly
Keeping an eye closed
Discharge from the eye
Constant tears
Large bulges or masses

a sleeping Guinea pig

Except for the above conditions, there is no reason for taking special care of your Guinea pig’s eye. The discharge that builds up at the corner of the eye is quite common, and your pet can easily clean up with the help of its front paws.

The crusty eyes or cloudy protruding issues can be a severe health problem. It can be an indication of a respiratory issue, an allergy to any food item, or any other reasons that need attention.

The right option to take care of your guinea pig’s eyes would be to ensure that the cage and the surroundings are quite cleaner. If you suspect a severe issue, it may be a good idea to consult your vet.

Do Guinea Pigs Sleep at Night, or are they Nocturnal?

The sleeping patterns of a guinea pig are extremely unique and strange. They are neither diurnal nor nocturnal. Guinea pigs need only four hours of sleep per day, and they do not need to sleep at night or during the day. You can find them sleeping for shorter periods of time during the day or night. That makes them strange sleepers, and they are not necessarily nocturnal.
A Guinea pig is a rodent, but it differs consistently from other rodents. However, unlike other rodents which are primarily nocturnal, Guinea pigs do not exhibit any nocturnal habits. When you keep monitoring your pet, you will witness that your Guinea pig is active throughout the day or night in its cage. They just need to sleep for four hours a day, and they tend to complete their sleep in intermittent intervals.

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Can Guinea Pig Diet Cause Sleepiness?

An improper diet of your Guinea pig can cause an improper or troubled sleeping pattern in your pet. In fact, a few food items can make your Guinea pig feel extremely sleepy. However, more often than not, an improper or lesser diet can make it feel deprived of sleep, and you will find them making repeated noises.
Serving enough food and hay, along with water, can be one of the excellent options to provide your Guinea pig with a good amount of sleep. Make sure that you keep enough food for the pet in its cage so that it will have enough food and sleep whenever it wants to.

Do Guinea Pigs Prefer to Sleep on Soft Surfaces?

Just like us humans, Guinea pigs do need good bedding when they need good sleep. Guinea pigs do prefer a softer and moist free bedding for a comfortable sleeping pattern. You should ideally make bedding prepared from hay and fleece. Guinea pigs love cuddling on a soft surface, and providing soft bedding would be recommended.
Guinea pigs cannot regulate their body temperature, and that has been one of the primary reasons why you should provide soft bedding for them. One of the best options for proper bedding can be Hay. It can be used to eat, to sleep on, or to munch as a means of sharpening their teeth. It can also provide them with the much-needed isolation from both heat and cold.

When do Guinea Pigs Sleep – The Guinea pig Sleeping Schedule

Guinea pigs have a very strange sleeping habit. There is no fixed sleeping pattern followed by them. They usually tend to sleep in smaller intervals of 10 to 30 minutes. Guinea pigs ideally need to sleep for four hours a day, and each of the Individual pig develops its own sleeping pattern. They design their sleeping patterns around the routine followed by their owners.

yawning guinea pig
Guinea pigs want to stay more active whenever they find their owners around. Based on the activity patterns of their owners, the guinea pig develops a pattern for proper sleeping behavior.
Most of the animals adjust their time based on the sunlight. That holds true for the Guinea pig as well. It creates a “schedule” around your behavior. Your light is an indicator of their time. It uses the references like the opening of the curtains, switching on of a light, switching of light, and other similar indicators to build a schedule for how it wants to sleep.

How Long do Guinea pigs Sleep For?

Guinea pigs ideally sleep for four hours a day. However, unlike humans or other animals, they do not complete these four hours of sleep in one go. They have been observed to sleep for smaller intervals of time, such as 10 to 30 minutes.
During the day time, the naps may be extremely smaller. In fact, you would find the guinea pig sleeping for intervals as little as just 2 to 5 minutes! You will find the duration increasing as the night approaches. Even in those cases, these intervals will not last longer than 30 minutes.

The Closing Thoughts

Guinea pigs are social animals, and they crave your attention. The best way to ensure that you provide enough care to your guinea pig is to understand their behavioral patterns. One of the confusing things that you may witness with a Guinea pig is that they have a very irregular sleeping pattern.
The information shared here should ideally help you understand the exact sleeping pattern and behavior of your pet.