Many guinea pig owners find it very strange when they come to know that their guinea pig almost opens their eyes even when they sleep. Due to this, many people assume that guinea pigs are nocturnal animals but this is not the truth.
Guinea pigs open their eyes the majority of the time and close their eyes when they feel safe and comfortable. When you find that your guinea pig always opens its eyes then do not be afraid because it is normal and they use their eyes differently from human beings. You may see it very often when guinea pigs blink or close their eyes.
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Why guinea pigs do not close their eyes?
When you bring a guinea pig into your home, the first thing you are going to notice is that guinea pigs do not close their eyes even while they are sleeping. Guinea pigs are used to attacks and dangers from the larger predators as they are prey animals.
So it is their habit to open their eyes to keep them safe. This will make them alert and run quickly if there will be any threat. They behave the same even when they are domesticated and living in their cage as it is their instinct behavior.
Do guinea pigs sleep with their eyes open?
Guinea pigs sleep mostly for small intervals of about 4 to 10 minutes at a time. So in total, they sleep around 4 to 5 hours a day.
They keep their eyes open while they sleep most of the time but rarely do they close their eyes when they feel a safe and secure environment and feel much more comfortable. They occasionally sleep with their eyes close when they are very exhausted or feel comfortable. So it is very hard to find whether your guinea pig is sleeping or not.
Why do guinea pigs sleep with open eyes?
There are reasons why guinea pigs do not close their eyes while they are sleeping. They are prey animals and they live in an environment where there is always the danger of being attacked by other big animals. So they need to be aware all the time to keep themselves safe from being attacked.
It is their instinct behavior to keep their eyes open all the time. If they open their eyes at least they are aware of any danger coming towards them and they might have time to escape.
Domesticated guinea pigs also have this prey instinct to keep their eyes open all the time as it is fused in their DNA like their sleepy habits. They will not lose this instinct even if they do not live in the wild anymore. They feel safe when their eyes are open.
Other Unusual Sleeping Habits
Guinea pigs have different sleeping habits than other animals. Their sleeping habits include:
1. Quick reactors while sleeping:
This is one of the behaviors of guinea pigs while they are sleeping. It does not take much time to wake up from their sleep because if they will take much time to react or take long periods of sleep, they will be the food of other predators. They sleep very lightly to avoid getting caught by predators. In short, a higher reaction time lowers life expectancy.
2. Short Sleep Spans:
Human- beings take about 7 to 8 hours of sleep in 24 hours while guinea pigs take only 4 to 5 hours of sleep in 24 hours. They sleep for a few minutes at a time and awake. In this pattern, they sleep and complete hardly 5 hours of sleep time in a day. Older guinea pigs sleep more frequently than younger guinea pigs.
3. Strategic Awake Times:
Guinea pigs are polyphasic which means they have multiple time segments and naps per day. They are also crepuscular means they remain active mostly in dusk and dawn but it does not mean they are less active or lazy in the daytime but more active in the early mornings and evenings. This helps them to save their energy and makes them active all the time.
How to know if the guinea pig is sleeping?
Usually, they keep their eyes open so it is hard to know if a guinea pig is sleeping or not. There are a few signs which will let you know while your guinea pig is asleep. They are:
- While they are still almost in trance and not active at all.
- When a guinea pig is in deep sleep, its ears twitch, and in case its eyes are open there will be a rapid movement in their eyes.
- Guinea pigs close their eyes while they feel safe and secure and mostly they sleep in a dark and safe place. Mostly sleep in an open place which makes them feel vulnerable.
Are guinea pigs the only animals that sleep with their eyes open?
No, guinea pigs are not the only animals that sleep with their eyes open. There are many species that do not operate the eyes like other animals and humans. Some mammals sleep the way guinea pigs do.
- Insects even do not have eyelids as others have.
- Fishes also do not have eyelids and sleep with open eyes. They do not feel dry in their eyeballs and need to blink.
So guinea pigs’ behavior is not strange as there are many mammals too which have the same behavior as guinea pigs.
Do guinea pigs blink their eyes?
Yes, guinea pigs blink their eyes to protect and moist their eyes because the eyelids of guinea pigs protect their eyes and also help to remove the dust particles and dirt from the eyes.
This is how acting as a shield for the eyes and that’s why they have to blink their eyes but they blink rarely and at different rates depending upon health and conditions too. Also, the guinea pig who blinks more feels safer.
Final Thoughts
Yes, guinea pigs also close their eyes but not more often. There are many conditions behind this while they close or blink their eyes. Most of the time they sleep with their eyes open because it is their instinct habit as they are prey animals and they have to be active all the time to save their lives. So this habit of guinea pigs does not change while they are living in a domesticated and safe environment.
Also, they rarely sleep for more than a few minutes and take about 4 hours of sleep in several intervals in the form of small naps. They also have to blink their eyes to keep them safe from moisture or dust particles. So in short guinea pigs only close their eyes when they feel safe and secure environment.
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