Tag Archives: subdued

Can Guinea Pigs Feel Sad?

Guinea pigs are very social creatures who enjoy spending time with others whether with other guinea pigs or with humans inside a home.

They enjoy spending time with others.

Guinea pigs don’t give off emotions as much as we do

However, they don’t give much away in terms of what they are thinking and feeling.

They can be quite placid creatures and their facial expressions don’t tend to change a great deal.

For example, you can’t tell if a guinea pig is feeling pain as they won’t give out any emotions to let you know that something is wrong.

You have to look for other symptoms such as looking at their eating habits, the state of their poop or wear or tear on their bodies.

Whether or not guinea pigs get emotional is something that has been questioned by owners throughout the centuries.

Their abilities as prey animals

As prey animals, they have the ability to sense emotions that maybe others can’t.

If they do sense that the one that protects them is sad, they will want to know why and come to be sad as well. If they sense that their owner is scared they will be scared too.

Prey animals do have the ability to protect and watch out for one another.

This is even the case with their protectors.

It is usually quite easy to see when a guinea pig is happy.

A guinea pig who is happy will enjoy making sounds and move around, investigating new things, running, and eating lots.

But can guinea pigs feel sad?

Can guinea pigs feel sad?

In my opinion, guinea pigs do get sad. If they have the ability to feel happy then the opposite is true.

You just can’t tell that they are sad as you can with some other animals.

How do you know if your guinea pig is sad?

When I have felt that my guinea pigs aren’t quite themselves when they have usually been very quiet and subdued.

They will sit on their own and not make a sound.

As mentioned above, a happy guinea pig will be fun, alert, noisy and full movement.

A subdued and sad guinea pig won’t do this and it is a sign that things aren’t right with them.

You often get this when guinea pigs are kept on their own and do not have regular interaction.

This can affect a guinea pig as they need the stimulus of social interaction with other guinea pigs.

What to do if you think your guinea pig is sad?

There are some things you can do if you feel your guinea pig isn’t quite themselves.

  1. spend time with them. Give them quality time and attention. Speak to them often and spend time at their cage with them.
  2. If they are on their own, consider getting another guinea pig as a cage mate. This can be a tricky process at times to put two stranger guinea pigs together but it can be done. Our article about putting two guinea pigs together is a good place to start if this is something you are considering.
  3. Check if there isn’t anything medically wrong with your guinea pig. Check for physical symptoms and it might even be worth taking them to the vet for a checkup. It is better to be safe than sorry in these circumstances.