![]() ![]() Before they became domesticated, guinea pigs roamed freely in the mountainous region of the Andes, and although that meant they could roam around with no limits… it had its downsides. But life hasn’t always been so reliable for your pampered piggy. Nowadays, your furball won’t really have as many things to worry about when snoozing in their warm and cozy pet palace. Why are piggies such nervous little animals? To establish this, we need to travel a long way back in history to the cavy’s wild South American ancestors. Why Do Guinea Pigs Sleep With Their Eyes Open? ![]() However, don’t be upset if they never get to this point with you! Cavies are nervous little creatures and they often can’t help but keep their eyes open when sleeping. This is a rare sight and points to a strong bond of trust in your human-furfball relationship. You can tell a piggy feels really comfortable and safe around you when they close their eyes. In fact, you’re likely to find your piggy sleeping upright on their feet but unusually still. They may look like they have drifted into a trance-like state or be staring aimlessly into the distance. If you feel like you’ve never witnessed your guinea pig sleeping, then the chances are that you have, the wide-open piggy eyes have just been tricking you into thinking they’re awake! Sometimes, the only way to catch your cavy in the act of napping is to notice a distinct lack of movement. Believe it or not, it’s much more common for guinea pigs to sleep with their eyes wide open. When did guinea pigs start sleeping with their eyes open and, more importantly, why?ĭo Guinea Pigs Sleep With Their Eyes Open or Closed?Ī piggy can occasionally be spotted getting some (literal) shut-eye but it’s actually quite rare. In this article, we’ll attempt to unpick this strange behavior. In fact, they’re some of the lightest sleeping mammals and as they’re naturally nervous, fretful animals, they even rarely close their eyes when they’re asleep. As they aren’t strictly nocturnal or diurnal, they’re kings and queens of the power nap. Guinea pigs are crepuscular animals which means that they’re most active at dawn and at dusk. Well, fear not, because your cute cavy absolutely does get some shut-eye, even if only a little. So, if you never see your piggy sleep… then when do they rest? Do they even sleep at all? The alpha male and females are like the leaders of the group and they sleep right in the middle of the pile so they can be the most protected from any danger that might come along in the night.When was the last time you saw your guinea pig take a nice long nap? If you’re anything like most piggy parents, the answer will likely be that you can’t exactly remember. Sometimes you can get up to 100 otters all sleeping together in what we call an Otter raft! Meerkats They will often also hold hands and wrap themselves in seaweed to stop them floating away from each other. This is great for them as it stops any land based animals that might want to eat them from getting to them. Otters love the water so much they use it as their bed! They also keep one eye open so they can keep a look out for predators while they have a snooze. When they sleep they only shut down half their brain, the other half stays awake so they can keep getting air to breathe. This could be a problem when they go to sleep but their brains have evolved in a very clever way to fix this. DolphinsĪlthough dolphins live under the water they still need to breathe air just like humans do. The less time they’re asleep, the less time they can get attacked. They do this so that they are not exposed for too long to predators that might attack them. The other weird thing about Giraffes is that they will only sleep for around 30 minutes each day! And they tend to only sleep for 5 minutes at a time. Giraffes are another animal that can sleep standing up to help them quickly get away from predators. ![]()
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