Sometimes, guinea pigs can be clingy pets. If you just bought a few of them, they’ll likely be following you around the house.
As a result of this, you might have even thought of allowing them to live in your bedroom. But can you sleep with guinea pigs in your room?
Well, the simple answer is yes, guinea pigs can sleep in your room. However, it is not a good decision especially if you’re a new pet owner.
While there are advantages to sleeping in the same room with cavies, there are some disadvantages to it too.
Without experience, you might expose both yourself and the guinea pigs to certain risks.
Now I believe you will have many questions going through your mind. For example, “Is it okay to have guinea pigs in the bedroom?”
Just keep reading to gain further info as regards this important topic. I’m sure you’ll be able to make the right decision after reading this guide till the end.
Let’s move on!
Table of Contents
Is It Ok To Have Guinea Pigs In Your Bedroom?
It depends on your level of experience with handling these pets. If you’re a new pet parent, understanding your guinea pigs will possibly be difficult.
Keep in mind that these tiny pets have unique personalities. And if you don’t know anything about their way of life, it’s better to keep them in a cage outdoors.
For example, if you’re feeling cold, your guinea pig might be feeling warm.
Also, know that your cavies may not feel comfortable if you keep your room light on. They are already used to natural light and darkness.
So you need to study your little furry friends very well before allowing them to stay in your room.
Read further as we explain the pros and cons of having guinea pigs in your room.
Pros Of Sleeping With Your Guinea Pigs
We mentioned earlier that there are advantages to letting a guinea pig sleep in your room. Let’s take a look at some of them:
1. They’ll Receive Proper Care
There’s a popular saying that “out of sight is out of mind”. This applies to your guinea pigs too.
Due to busy schedules, there’s a chance that you may forget to visit the vet or groom your cavies. But when you constantly see them, you’ll always remember to do these things and more.
Like other small animals, your guinea pigs need lots of care and attention so that they won’t fall sick. If they sleep in your room, then you’ll quickly notice they are hungry, thirsty, sick, or bored.
2. Deep Cleaning Will Be Restricted To One Area
Sometimes, your guinea pigs can be messy. They can urinate and poop anywhere, especially if you’ve not trained them.
As a result of this, your house might be filled with poo, and food remains.
However, if these tiny pets sleep in your room, you can focus on deep-cleaning that area alone. Moreover, you won’t have to be looking for where the guinea pigs messed up.
This doesn’t mean you won’t be cleaning other parts of the house. But it simply means that you’ll know where to clean better than the other places.
3. Prevents Boredom In Guinea Pigs
Guinea pigs can experience boredom, especially if there are no toys or friends to play with. Boredom in cavies can result in loneliness, stress, and aggression.
If your guinea pigs sleep in your room, they’ll spend more time playing with you. With time, they’ll improve physically, and mentally.
4. Safe Living Environment For Them
Compared to sleeping outdoors, the room offers protection to your cavies. They’ll be safe from predators that may want to harm them outdoors.
In addition, they’ll feel comfortable if your room’s temperature is between 60° and 85° Fahrenheit.
Having an air conditioner or heater will allow you to set a favorable temperature for them. Too much cold or heat is not good for guinea pigs.
Cons Of Sleeping With Your Guinea Pig And Possible Solutions
While there are advantages to sleeping with a guinea pig, there are disadvantages too. Here are some of them:
1. Allergic Reactions
Although not common, some people have allergies when guinea pigs are around them. Oftentimes, it is not the small pets that cause allergies but their urine, food, beddings, or body fluids.
Funnily, people who suffer from this condition may not know they are reacting to guinea pigs. So they’ll keep treating the symptoms and it will continue to occur.
So if you’re experiencing any of the symptoms below when around your guinea pigs, you might be allergic to them.
- Skin rashes
- Itching
- Sneezing
- Wheezing
- Shortness of breath
- Runny nose
Possible Solutions:
- Speak with your health professional about your symptoms; they’ll provide solutions.
- Ensure your room is always clean.
- Replace the cavies’ beddings all the time.
2. Space Availability
Normally, your guinea pigs should be able to play around in their enclosures. Their living conditions should almost be the same as living in the wild.
Therefore if your room is small, it will be best to keep your cavies outdoors. Keeping them in a tight enclosure will make the pets uncomfortable and may affect their health.
Possible Solutions:
- Get a large space
- Avoid keeping many guinea pigs in one space, no matter how large
- Keep aggressive cavies in a different place because they may continue to harm the others
3. Too Much Noise
After a long day at work, you’ll possibly want to have a good night‘s rest. But bear in mind that your cavies are not nocturnal but crepuscular animals; they are active at dusk and dawn.
So if you’re not a deep sleeper, their sounds will surely wake you up at night. While you’re trying to sleep soundly, your tiny pets want to play.
Avoid sleeping with your guinea pigs if you value your sleep time.
Possible Solutions:
- Wear earbuds to sleep
- Provide enough chewable toys for the guinea pigs to keep them busy
- Do not keep a single guinea pig in the room; make sure they are in pairs to prevent boredom
- Provide enough hay and water for them before you sleep; hunger and thirst can cause noises in guinea pigs
4. Smelly and Messy Room Environment
Note that your little furry friends are messy animals. They poop and pee all the time, especially after eating too much food.
Also, guinea pigs can be smelly, especially males because of their grease glands. Keeping many of them in the same cage will possibly make your room stinky.
Living in that kind of environment can be unhealthy. For this reason, you must create a cleaning schedule and stick to it.
Without taking this key action, your room will not only be messy, but it will also have a unique, unpleasant odor.
Possible Solutions:
- If you’re always busy, hire a good home cleaner
- Allow fresh air into the room
- Litter-box train the guinea pigs
- Use an air-freshener with mild scents
- Groom the guinea pigs regularly to reduce their odor.
5. Rodent Infestation
Rats may invade your room if they see guinea pigs there. Often, if you don’t keep your guinea pigs’ cage clean, these rodents will find their way in.
Sometimes, flies can also enter your room making the place uncomfortable for living. Situations like this can be unpleasant, not only to your small pets but also to you.
If the rats are not satisfied after eating your guinea pigs’ food, they’ll likely feed on your materials. Therefore, It is always better to be safe than sorry!
Possible Solutions:
- Ensure your guinea pigs’ cage is slightly above the ground level.
- Get rid of all food remnants quickly and clean the place.
- Change their beddings frequently
- Store your guinea pigs’ food in containers with lids.
- Always check your room for holes that rodents can pass through and fill them up.
How To Sleep With A Guinea Pig
Even though sleeping with a guinea pig is not advisable, it is possible. However, make sure you’re wide awake or else, you may not like the outcome.
Here are some of the things that can happen if your guinea pigs sleep with you on the bed:
- Rolling over on the bed and harming them in the process
- Soiling your clothes with guinea pigs’ poop and urine
- Your cavy may fall to the ground if your bed is high
With the possible issues listed above, sleeping with a guinea pig is not a good idea. It will be best to cuddle them to sleep, then silently place them in their cage before sleeping.
Guinea Pig Sleeping Positions and Its Meaning
Surprisingly, guinea pigs sleep in the same position as when they are awake. Sometimes, they sleep with their heads facing the front direction.
Other times, they lay their heads down or lie on their sides to sleep.
If you’re a new pet parent, you may not know when your guinea pigs are sleeping. They may pay attention to something of interest and doze off at that moment.
Funnily, their eyes are always wide open when sleeping in case they sense danger. Also, your guinea pig may not close her eyes when sleeping if the environment is a new or strange one.
But if the living environment is comfortable and safe, your cavies will likely close their eyes when sleeping.
Related Questions
Do Guinea Pigs Sleep With Their Eyes Open?
Yes, most guinea pigs hardly close their eyes while sleeping. This is one of the ways they protect themselves from sudden harm.
Remember we said guinea pigs are prey animals. So they need to always be alert in case something goes wrong so that they can run.
Regardless, if you make these pets feel safe, they’ll likely sleep with their eyes closed.
How Do I Know If My Guinea Pig Is Sleeping?
Once you notice that your guinea pigs remain unusually calm, then they are sleeping.
Usually, you’ll notice that your cavies are in their favorite sleeping spot even when their eyes are open.
Lack of activity and quietness are the major signs that your guinea pig is already in dreamland.
Can Guinea Pigs Fall Asleep On You?
Yes, guinea pigs can fall asleep on you only if they trust you. Naturally, guinea pigs have trust issues because they are prey animals.
This means that, due to their small nature, large animals always want to hunt them for food.
As a result, these small pets are always on the lookout for danger. So if you’ve not created a bond with them, your guinea pigs may see you as a predator too.
However, if you have created a bond with them, then your guinea pigs can fall asleep on you.
Do Guinea Pigs Sleep At Night Or Day?
Amazingly, guinea pigs sleep both at night and during the day. They don’t sleep for long hours at a stretch like humans and some animals do.
Instead, these small animals only sleep for short periods throughout the day and night. Nevertheless, they can be active and noisy at night.
Watching your cavies sleep will create a funny sight. They’ll keep sleeping and waking at intervals to play and eat.
Their sleeping period ranges from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on their activity levels.
Final Thoughts
Take note of a few key points before you leave.
Although you can sleep with guinea pigs in the same room, it is not advisable.
Study your cavies’ personalities before allowing them to stay in your room.
If you’re allergic to guinea pigs, it will be best you keep them in a separate enclosure.
Practice good hygiene all the time if you stay in the same room with your little furry friends.
Finally, ensure you create a bond with your guinea pigs. By this, they’ll always feel free whenever you are around them.
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