Sleeping habits

[CCGPRC]

Does anyone know the actual sleeping habits of guinea-pigs in the wild? We just assume they sleep at night when the lights go out, same as us, but I'm wondering should I leave their light on all the time? Do they understand light and dark? They nap so much during the day, do they tend to do this rather than have one big sleep like humans?

 

[Little Piggles]

I'm pretty sure that they sleep in the night time too.

My reasoning for this is that our cat mithers to be let out at dawn every morning (so about 4: 00 - 4:30 at this time of year) and as we have no cat flap, I have to get up and let him out (otherwise he WILL find as many ways as possible to try and wake us up:{ zzz )

Anyway, my girls are always snuggled away. They don't make a peep when the door is opened. At any other time of the day - from about 7am onwards, they shout like mad thinking they're going to get something to eat when you even think about opening the door!

So a bit of a random reason, but just my observations!

 

[ajb]

I think wild cavies are active in twilight, dawn and dusk. But this behavior seems to have vanished from domestic piggies; they sleep when they feel like it, which seems to be to sleep for an hour/eat for an hour.