Are guinea pigs noisy at night? 6 tips for better sleep

You are thinking about getting guinea pigs?

Great!

Guinea pigs are great animals that bring a lot of joy. However, before you get them, there are of course a few questions to be answered. But even during the keeping of these animals, unexpected questions and problems can always arise.

Since you have landed at this article, you are obviously interested at the moment in the answer to the question whether guinea pigs are noisy at night.

And exactly this question will be answered here extensively.

Are guinea pigs diurnal or nocturnal?

Quite clearly: guinea pigs are diurnal!

This means that the main activity time of the cute furry animals is during the daytime hours – even if they feel comfortable in the dark. Although guinea pigs also have periods of rest and sleep during the day, they primarily recover at night by sleeping extensively.

This does not mean, however, that the enclosure is deserted at night: even at night it can happen that a guinea pig’s stomach growls and it will treat itself to a bite to eat.

You should also keep in mind that guinea pigs are very sociable companions who communicate a lot with each other. This happens mainly during the day, but it can also come at night once to disagreements or even a real quarrel, which is sometimes fought very loudly. Guinea pigs grumble in these cases gladly insulted before itself and that occasionally in a quite high pitch, which tears humans from the sleep and startles to wake up.

This can disturb the human night’s rest in the long run.

To prevent this problem from arising in the first place, it is therefore highly advisable to keep the guinea pigs outside the bedroom. Ideally, you have the possibility to keep the animals protected from the weather on the balcony or even in the garden.

Especially in a garden with a large run, the animals feel particularly comfortable and you are guaranteed peace at night.

3 tips to sleep well even with guinea pigs

If it is not possible to keep the guinea pigs outside, other solutions become necessary. Here are several options for you to choose how to deal with the situation.

1. earplugs

Good earplugs have already proven themselves in many problems of disturbing the peace at night and can also help to solve this case.

However, you should make sure that the earplugs absorb only certain frequencies and you can still hear your alarm clock in the morning. The classic wax earplugs, for example, work in such a way that they only dampen high frequencies, while all other frequencies can still be heard.

In our case this is especially practical, because the sounds of the mullets are almost all in the high frequency range.

2. move the enclosure to the next room

A deep and healthy sleep is important for our overall well-being.

Since guinea pigs will enrich your life not just for a few days, but ideally for many years, sleep deprivation is not a long-term solution. Especially if you are one of those sensitive people who can’t tolerate earplugs, the nightly squeaking can quickly deprive you of sleep.

In this case, only one thing helps: the guinea pigs must move to another room.

If moving to another room is not possible, guinea pigs (at this point) may not be the right animals for you.

3. habituation is everything!

There are people who could have a bomb hit next to them and they would not wake up!

Do you also belong to the category of people who, once asleep, are hard to wake up? Then you probably won’t have a problem with the nocturnal sounds of the mice and you will quickly get used to them.

However, you should keep in mind that our brain does not react to all sounds equally. Although it is well known that humans get used to (almost) everything, it is advisable to have another solution ready just in case – you never know.
Help: My guinea pigs just won’t shut up!

As already mentioned, guinea pigs are naturally diurnal. The one or other noise at night is perfectly normal, but if you have the feeling that your guinea pigs never really rest at night, you should investigate the cause!

Here it can be helpful if you have studied a little about the different sounds of the animals, so that you can find out more easily which way the wind is blowing at the moment.

1: Food

If guinea pigs are noticeably noisy at night, one possible reason may be dissatisfaction with their food.

Imagine you get only dry bread to eat every day. Sooner or later you will most likely complain about it, because your body is missing important nutrients.

This is often the case with guinea pigs that are fed only pellets. It is better to offer your guinea pigs varied food, especially fresh vegetables and lettuce.

2: Diseases

Diseases can also be a possible cause of nocturnal disturbances.

How does your guinea pig behave in general? Is it eating and drinking normally? Does it defecate and if so, does it look normal? Is your pet curious and active, or does it seem listless or even in pain? If you suspect this, a visit to your veterinarian is advisable.

3: Boredom

Are your guinea pigs actually busy?

An empty cage with a water bowl, some food and a little house is not very exciting for your animals.

If your guinea pigs are bored most of the day, it’s no wonder they’re not tired at night!

A little variety can do wonders: a wooden seesaw, a hay ball, a wooden bridge, and other items can provide fun and activity so that everyone is happy and calm again at night.

4: Loneliness

If you only keep one guinea pig so far, the noise at night is most likely due to this circumstance.

Guinea pigs need at least one partner animal to be happy and content.

If your animal lives alone so far, you should urgently look for at least one more guinea pig. Beware. Not every guinea pig gets along with every other.

Inform yourself thoroughly about the topic ‘socialization of guinea pigs’ and don’t just buy any animal at random!

5: Hunger

It is hard to sleep with a growling stomach.

Make it a habit to check both food and water before bedtime and refill if needed.

Hungry or thirsty guinea pigs will – rightly – complain at night if they can’t satisfy their needs. After all, you wouldn’t ask your child to go to bed hungry or thirsty either, would you 😉.

6: Lack of routine

Having a set routine can also help animals settle down.

If you always feed your guinea pigs at different times, the animals will also be hungry at different times and may call for new food at night.

If you stick to a feeding schedule, your guinea pigs will know exactly when they can expect food – and when they can’t!

You can, for example, also introduce an evening ‘final treat’ that you distribute before bedtime.

This should only be given after food and water have been replenished and all activities around the guinea pigs have been completed for the day. The culmination of the day, after a few repetitions, shows the animals that after that it is broadcasting time for them and you will not give them your attention again until the next day.
Conclusion: Noisy guinea pigs at night often result from human misbehavior

In addition to these reasons, there are a number of other causes that can lead to conspicuous behavior at night.

Since you know your animals best, it is now up to you to get to the bottom of the matter and identify what circumstances are currently causing your animals to be unhappy.

Perhaps the problem has already crystallized while reading this article and you can start directly with the first changes – if so, then: Go for it!