So, how well can they see?

[Lorcan]

The boys do still get very excited about the noise of a rustling bag, and they're not unafraid to come take food from me. But I've noticed that 90% of the time, they wait before coming over. For them to come over immediately, I have to call them. Calling them sounds odd, though, it's more a case of "hey, you hungry?" and holding up the food.

So can they actually see me holding the food? I didn't think their eyesight was that great, sort of on a par with mine without correction lol, and I couldn't see someone holding up food from 6ft away. I don't think it's the smell of food, because they'd be getting that anyway, so I'm wondering what it is about the holding up the food that they're catching?

They could also just be doing it to give me some extra work, I wouldn't put it past Camowen

 

[Piggies&buns]

Sight is not their strongest sense - I think their vision only extends a few feet

 

[Lorcan]

That's what I thought! But I can't explain them deliberately waiting til I've held the food up to come over - they do it for their meals even if there's no plastic being rustled.

 

[Tnoz]

Mine can be stood on their greens and not even know it’s there lol they take food from me all the time, if I drop food in cage they hear that no problem, they amazing love my gang of 8

 

[Freela]

I feel like they see movement at a distance pretty well, they may be waiting until they see the motion of you moving the food bag or even just approaching in conjunction with the rustling-bag food cue.

 

[Hannah_xx]

Mine can be stood on their greens and not even know it’s there lol they take food from me all the time, if I drop food in cage they hear that no problem, they amazing love my gang of 8

Yes mine do that too! Sometimes I can put the food down and they stand on it looking up at me waiting for me to put it down!

 

[Lorcan]

Yes mine do that too! Sometimes I can put the food down and they stand on it looking up at me waiting for me to put it down!

I've genuinely put nuggets in my hand, my hand where I know they can see it, and let them follow my hand to find the nuggets on the floor. Otherwise I get to spend an entertaining 5 minutes watching them realise I no longer have the nuggets, so the nuggets must be in the cage, and then ANOTHER 5 minutes trying to find where I've "hidden" them. You know, right next to where they were in the first place.

I feel like they see movement at a distance pretty well, they may be waiting until they see the motion of you moving the food bag or even just approaching in conjunction with the rustling-bag food cue.

I'm guessing it's the movement, with me raising an arm up. I have a bag of pea flakes in there, and they'll stick a nose out of bed if they hear the bag, but they won't come over unless I'm like "See? Here, I have the bag!"

 

[Wiebke]

Sight is a guinea pig's weakest sense since they have evolved living in thick undergrowth. It is our strongest human sense.

Guinea pigs see sharply for only about a foot or so (about 30-50 cm) but they have a wider field of sight than us with just a small blind spot immediately before their nose (whiskers and smell cover this area) and a larger angle behind their bum. Unlike humans they can also see more what is going on above their head.
But this shorter span of sharp sight is why falls from a greater height and blind jumps are so dangerous for guinea pigs - they can't judge well where they are going and are unable to prepare for landings.

Any further distances they will react react to sudden movement (predators); you can catch their attention much more easily by waving your arm from further away when you call them.

Guinea pigs see a bit differently in the field of red colours but otherwise their colour perception is not all that different from us.
More information on senses and other body facts: Guinea Pig Facts - An Overview

 

[Lorcan]

Thank you for that, @Wiebke. It's gotta be the waving in conjunction with the rustling plastic, then. I knew about the sudden movement thing but I wasn't sure if a gentle arms-raised wave counted as one? It doesn't panic them, at least. And their vision is at least as I thought it was so I don't feel quite as daft about that either, lol.

 

[Tnoz]

I just say whoop whoop to my 8 and their wheeking mummy feed me lol I love them all so much