Sleeps Alot

[WeekerMomma]

I recently adopted 2 more guinea pig girls. I have a total of 4. The people i got them off of said they had them for about 3 years but wasn't sure of there age. One of my females is acting normal and eating etc. But ive noticed her laying down and resting more in the cage or in one of the hides, i've had guinea pigs for years and i have never had one rest and sleep this much. She has been to a vet and nothing out of the ordinary. I'm hoping she is just feeling so relaxed in her new home she rests more. I suspect she is an older piggy so any advice would be great I'm just a worried momma.

 

[Wiebke]

I recently adopted 2 more guinea pig girls. I have a total of 4. The people i got them off of said they had them for about 3 years but wasn't sure of there age. One of my females is acting normal and eating etc. But ive noticed her laying down and resting more in the cage or in one of the hides, i've had guinea pigs for years and i have never had one rest and sleep this much. She has been to a vet and nothing out of the ordinary. I'm hoping she is just feeling so relaxed in her new home she rests more. I suspect she is an older piggy so any advice would be great I'm just a worried momma.

Hi and welcome

If your vet has not been able to find any obvious health problem and her weight is stable during the weekly weigh-in, then I am afraid you just have to live with how she is. I very much doubt that she is quite simply so relaxed but it is sadly so vague a symptom that it is extremely hard to pin down. You were right to have her checked out, though. I strongly suspect that something is not quite right.

As the heart has no obvious issues (not everything will necessarily show up), it can be that she has a metabolic problem with one of the glands or smaller organs but that is unfortunately an area where guinea pigs and other small rodents are lagging badly behind and where because of the different metabolism tried and tested medications for other species are generally not very effective. But I am only guessing.

Just try to enjoy her as she is and cherish every day with her. In the end, life with pets is not about the length but the quality of it. As long as you give your piggies as many happy todays filled with love and your good care and enjoy your interactions on many different levels with them, you cannot fail because that is how they are measuring their lives by; however long or short you have your individual piggies. It's always quality over quantity that counts in the end.

You may find these links here interesting and helpful:
Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support Levels
Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs (looks at lots of different areas)

I hope that we can get to see your piggies at some point. For uploading pictures, we recommend to use the Attach files button by your post when you write it; it works for all formats. For videos we recommend to upload on a public setting on platform that doesn't require a membership sign-in and then copy/pasting it across. Our forum pre-dates social media and we run entirely on voluntary member donations.