Are they ok in the dark? Do you leave a light on for your piggies?

Claire W

Claire W

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My piggies have their own room upstairs but my husband refuses to let me keep the light on for them when it gets dark. It obviously gets dark at 4-4.30ish and they are basically in the dark apart from when we put the light on to go upstairs until it gets light the following morning. This is something I have always wondered as outdoor piggies are in the dark (unless an outside light is left on for them). I know that piggies can't see well so use their other senses to move around but what do you think? Are they ok in the dark? Do you leave the light on for your piggies?
 
I have a light for my piggies as I feel bad for them keeping them in the dark. If I don't have their room light on, I keep the hall light on so they can see a bit. I also keep the light on since I have small children and I don't want the piggies to get startled if the children come running into their room or through the front hall.

Could you keep a nightlight on for them? Or have a light on a timer? I'm sure they will be fine going to bed a bit earlier if you can't do those things.
 
I’ve been thinking the same thing as I cover Percy and Pepper with a duvet in the winter as they live in my garage. I cover them at 7pm and always make sure they are uncovered by 8am. I feel a bit mean though. They don’t seem bothered by it though. I’m sure your piggies are fine.
 
Sadly he won't let me have a night light saying that they are fine in the dark as their eyesight isn't great :( When I used to have piggies living in a shed, they didn't have a light either. I feel really bad :( I am up at 6- 6.30am most mornings so open the curtains in their room ready for when it gets light so they are in the dark for around 14 hours during the winter months although I do bring them downstairs for the evening for a few hours most nights
 
In autumn/winter I put a low-wattage desk light on in the piggy room at dusk - that was when they had their own indoors room, and also now they are in the outbuilding. I don't give them their daily veg until about 8pm, and then give them their heat pads and top up their hay etc 10-11pm, so I don't want to be trying to find the light switch in the dark. I'm also not sure that it's right for them to be having it go dark, then light for a bit, repeatedly during the evening. Once I've checked them and done the heat pads I pull down the blankets under the waterproof cover, and switch off the light for the night.

As I'm always going on about him leaving lights on unnecessarily, my OH sometimes says why do I leave the light on in the piggy room, but it is for them, and I make sure to use an energy efficient bulb too.
 
I leave them with just natural lighting, mostly, they seem to enjoy being in the dark, especially Blod who doesnt see too well- she's much more lively at night.

In winter I pop the light on for an hour about 5 or 6pm while I feed them, poop scoop, etc but its usually lights off by 7pm- although as @Qualcast&Flymo says, if I know I'll need the light on later I leave it on until I've done, to avoid suddenly scaring them with a big sudden light changes.
 
Mine get natural lighting, the light only goes on in the dark if i'm doing something in their room. Other than that it's the natural light from their room window :)
 
I might be the oddball here but I always have a night light on in my room and the downstairs dining room area. My boars are in my dining room.

I like nightlights 🙈

In the winter I leave a low wattage CFL lamp on because I don’t get home from work until aboug 6-7pm and right now darkness arrives around 4-430. At night the desk lamp goes off and only the nightlight stays on (I never this off as this helps me see to get water at night too from the kitchen).
 
My piggies are 'in the dark', when I'm not at home. Usually I'm not at home before six in the evening (or later).
But it's not completely dark, because the street lights outside keep it from getting completely dark.

When I'm at home, I usually have the lights on in the living room where their cage is, but I sometimes have the feeling that they are waiting for me to go to bed in the evening.
Then it's piggy party time (in the dark).
 
I leave the blinds open in the piggy room. So they have natural light and when it goes dark, it goes dark.

Not sure if they operate like a lot of species? But many animals rely on daylight hours for their internal body clocks and to distinguish seasons. So my guys will know it’s winter hours, though the central heating and lack of temperature drop may be confusing for them 🤦🏻‍♀️😂
 
Mine are by windows so I go by natural light. As I'm in the kitchen to cook as it gets dark and have to put on the light they naturally have an extension of this, but basically they have short days in winter and long in summer which they are fine with. There is a big foraging session at 'dusk' and then they will all settle down so I poop pick and see to George at this point when everyone is lively and interested anyway. Then I put the light off to indicate they won't be disturbed again. If we are going to be out in the day until dark I leave on the neighbouring kitchen light so they have an idea that something will still happen when I get in!

I was once told that Monks in the old days before artificial light still kept their religious offices at the same 'time' but that in winter they made their hours shorter in order to fit everything in before it got dark!

My mum has always insists on leaving a light on the landing because she can't sleep in the dark (?) and it drives me nuts as it messes up my natural sleep/wake cycle. We have to have black out curtains now because of a particularly intrusive streetlight here, but luckily I can rely on George to start rumbling as the sun comes up to keep my body-clock set right!
 
Ours are in the living room so the light is on until other half goes to bed then they are in the dark until we open the curtains in the morning
 
Mine are in the garage. So when it gets dark it's dark except for supper time when the light goes on. I always let them know it's supper time though before I get into the garage.
 
I understand all of this and too like many good owners consider the lights aspect, but when it’s late and are still in the indoor run I leave the hutch lights on which are battery touch operated and they seem to be quite happy about them.
 

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In my opinion they don't need a light on as they have poor eyesight anyway. In the wild they'd be in tall grass and wouldn't really need to see much anyway; they rely more on their hearing and smell.

Curtains are open in the morning and get closed when it gets dark (same in the shed). They seem to come alive in the dark and this is normally when zoomies and popcorns happen.

You are looking at their situation through the eyes of a human, a species which relies heavily on sight. So the idea of them being in the dark may be bothering you much more than it bothers them.

But by all means put a light on if that's what you want and gives you peace of mind 🙂
 
outside, mine have our outdoor lights attached to the house but now they're inside for the winter and since they're in my bedroom, I turn my lights completely off when I go to bed. it doesn't seem to bother them, and I can hear them walking around even in total darkness
some ppl decorate the top of the cage with fairy lights which looks pretty and gives light if your able to do that
u'd just need to make sure they can't reach/bite them
 
Mine have had a light on, because I need a light on. I tend to leave a light, generally the hall light, on all night in case I need the toilet or something because I can't see without glasses/contacts, which means the piggies usually have to deal with that too.
 
Our piggies are in their own shed, but we don't leave a light on, the lights are on when they are fed and tucked in for the night but other than that it's just natural light, I hadn't thought about a night light 🤔 but they seem happy enough without.
 
Mine are in a shed which doesn’t have lighting but even if it did, I wouldn’t leave one on

(it has large windows with plenty of natural light )
 
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The most noticeable thing about rodents and lights shows up when I have to do back into the mouse room and turn the light on, after they have decided I have safely gone to bed.

You have never seen such a lot of disgusted looking mice scrabbling back to bed or freezing in mid wheel run and pretending they aren't there! It all goes quiet, then I go back out and the wheels all start up again. They will come out and play when I take them out in the daylight, but only to oblige me, they only really relax and become real mice when it's dark
 
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