Do Guinea Pigs Play Dead? (Find Out Now)

As a piggie parent, you’re gonna experience a lot of surprising things with your cavies. One of them may be finding your piggy flat on its back and motionless. You’ll almost believe it’s dead, but can guinea pigs really play dead?

Yes, guinea pigs can play dead. This mostly happens when they sense a predator or stranger around them. Your guinea pig may lay down flat and motionless to make the predator think it’s dead. The hope is that the predator will lose interest and go away.

Guinea pigs playing dead is a natural defense mechanism. If you see your guinea pig doing this, don’t be alarmed.

Just know that it’s normal behavior and they’re not actually dying on you.

But, how do you know if your cavy is playing dead? In this blog post, I’ll be telling you all you need to know about why guinea pigs play dead.

Why Do Guinea Pigs Play Dead? 

Guinea pigs play dead due to fear of being attacked by a predator. This could be a household pet, a wild animal, or even you.

Of all the ways our cavies have developed to evade predators, playing dead is the most creative. Asides being creative, it’s also a bit risky (but our brilliant little pals don’t know that). 

New piggies may also feign death a lot more than older ones. That’s because they’re still trying to figure out their environment. Plus every little thing scares the living daylights out of them. 

If you’ve just gotten your new cavies, here’s a list of things that can scare them:

Other Guinea Pigs

If you already own guinea pigs and just got a new one, it may be scared of the others. First off, the others may have already bonded and may gang up against the new piggie. Things like this can scare the new cavy and make it play dead.

You

Many first time piggie owners have experienced this. It’s quite common for your fur baby to be terrified of you at first. And it may take a lot of effort to convince it that you’re not a piggie-eating machine. 

Your little cavy most likely pictures you as a giant and is scared of you. So when you try to forcefully play with it, you end up making it scared. This can also make your cavy play dead.

Loud noises

Sudden loud noises can make humans to try jumping out of their skin (me included). Now imagine what it’s like for our cavies who have a pro sense of hearing. Loud sounds can scare them terribly and make them go into shock. At other times, they may interpret the sound as danger and feign death.

Examples of these triggering loud noises include:

• Dropping of pots or pans
• Doors slamming shut
• Dogs barking
• Fireworks
• Loud music
• Hammering noises

Predators 

Guinea pigs are prey animals hence they live in fear for most of their lives. They’re always scared that something might eat them. And yes, there are certain predators that can scare your fur babies. Their fear is justified because these animals can actually eat them. 

The piggie-killing animals include:

• Eagles
• Hawks
• Rats 
• Snakes

Please not that this isn’t an exhaustive list.

I don’t blame our cavies for being so scared. Because oh boy, a lot of animals see them as good. And that would make anyone wanna play dead everyday.

Have you had your guinea pig for a while and you STILL aren’t getting the love from your fur babies? Take a look at Why is My Guinea Pig Still Scared of Me? (The Alarming Truth)

How Long Does a Guinea Pig Play Dead? 

A guinea pig can play dead for up to one hour. Mostly, they just play dead until they feel safe enough to become active. Guinea pigs’ senses help them to detect predators around them. They’re a pro at sensing danger even before it gets to them.

So until their senses tells them they’re safe, they just might keep playing dead. You can help them to become active by identifying the potential threat first. 

Then deal with the threat (or threats) and ensure your cavy’s environment is calm. Doing that will help in calming your cavy and it’ll become active again.

How Do You Know If Your Guinea Pig Is Playing Dead? 

Check your guinea pig’s eyes. If it’s playing dead, its eyes will still be shiny and show signs of life.

Guinea pigs sleep (and play dead) with their eyes open so this should be easy to do. If you’re still not sure if your cavy is playing dead or not, there are other ways to find out.

You can gently place your hand on your guinea pigs tummy. You should feel slight movements around your cavy’s tummy – showing that your fur baby is still breathing AND alive.

You can also try stroking its fur and making soft noises. If your piggie responds then you know it was just playing dead.

Will My Guinea Pig Ever Stop Being Scared Of Me? 

Surely, with time your guinea pig will stop being scared of you and become your buddy. It’s quite normal for your guinea pig to be scared of you at first. You’re not alone in this trust me (I experienced it too).

So what should you do?

Be patient and build a relationship with your cavy step by step. It’s almost the same as building human relationships. It requires commitment and perseverance. Like humans, all guinea pigs have their different personalities. And that’s where your patience comes to play. 

One piggie may bond with you quickly but it might take longer for it to happen with another one. That’s because they’re different (as they should be). 

Regardless of that my friend, be assured that the bonding will happen. Don’t feel bad anymore…okay?

Do Your Guinea Pigs Play Dead? (Pet Parents Speak Out) 

Apparently, a good number of guinea pigs like playing dead. And a few owners have been lucky to witness this scary (yet somewhat funny) scenario.

I manually surveyed 57 guinea pig owners to see if they’ve ever noticed This research contains the reasons why the cavies played dead. I’ll also include a few tips on what they did to help their fur babies. 

Here are my research highlights:

• Some piggie owners said their guinea pig played dead because of thunder sounds.
• Two owners said their cavies played dead to avoid being transported. 
• One piggie owner said her cavy feigned death when he got a new cagemate.
• A few owners mentioned that their piggies played dead when dogs came close to them.
• One piggie owner said her piggie plays dead whenever there’s lightning. 
• Several others have never seen their piggies playing dead.

71.9% (41 piggie owners) have seen their cavies playing dead. The reasons range from other house pets to thunder and lightning. 

28.1% (16 piggie owners) have never seen their piggies playing dead. 

And….I picked up some helpful tips:

• Gain your piggies trust before attempting to carry them.
• Use curtains to block off lightning flashes.
• Separate the other pets from your guinea pigs. 

How Do Guinea Pigs Act When They Are Dying? 

Dying guinea pigs have a hard time breathing and moving. If your guinea pig is dying, you’ll notice a lot of symptoms that are…really horrible to watch. 

These symptoms may include the following:

• Sluggishness
• Inability to move
• Lack of appetite
• Poor coat condition
• Labored breathing
• Seizures 
• Depression

The sad part about this is that your fur baby might not survive once a lot of these symptoms pop up.

Guinea pigs are fragile yet they’re very good at hiding illnesses. So most of the time (when things become very obvious), they’re already dying. 

That’s why it’s important that you examine and weigh your piggies weekly. Typically, loss of weight is the first sign you’ll see when you’re fur babies are getting sick.

Why Do Guinea Pigs Drop Dead? 

Guinea pigs can drop dead due to infections or delayed treatments. Internal injuries and poisoning can play a role in causing guinea pigs to drop dead.

Your piggie may show symptoms of an illness now and die in a few hours. Yes, it’s that bad. 

For more clarity, let’s talk about some major reasons why guinea pigs sometimes drop dead.

1. Internal injuries

Now, it’s possible for you to be unaware that your fur baby has an internal injury. These types of injuries are the worst and can make your cavy drop dead suddenly. That sounds awful doesn’t it?

Internal injuries in piggies may mean a lot of things. It could be abscesses, ear infections, lungs or even bone infections. All of these can kill your piggie before you get a chance to say jack.

That’s not all about internal injuries. We’ve still got things like stomach problems. Digestive or stomach issues can also kill guinea pigs quickly.

They might be caused by a sudden change of diet or toxic food. Point is, watch what you feed your furry friends.

And yes, you might have heard of urinary tract problems. This one had quite a reputation for taking the lives of guinea pigs. I’m talking about issues like kidney and bladder stones. They’re commonly caused by high calcium foods. They’re also very fatal.

If you want o know more about guinea pig care, check out Will an Abscess Kill a Guinea Pig? (What You Need to Know) and Can Guinea Pigs Suffer or Die From Depression? (Find Out Now) You should check them out.

2. Sudden illness

Sudden illnesses can happen when you expose your piggies to toxic stuff. And the common culprits in this case are toxic smells like perfumes. Aromatic oils too can cause upper respiratory tract infection in piggies. 

Dust is also a common cause of sudden illnesses in guinea pigs. They all lead to upper respiratory infections. 

Some symptoms of upper respiratory infections include:

• Runny nose
• Red eyes
• Difficulty in breathing
• Sneezing 
• Coughing
• Seizures 

Respiratory infections are particularly bad because they can be transmitted. So if one of your cavies dies from a respiratory infection, check the others. 

It’s most likely that they’re infected and may drop dead too. I know it’s sad but it is what it is. We just gotta be vigilant.

3. Carbon monoxide poisoning

Carbon monoxide can kill your guinea pigs if they inhale it for long. It’s toxic to humans too (so It’ll wreck our little cavies).

Carbon monoxide in your cavy’s body will stop the transport of oxygen in the body. This’ll result in suffocation and probably death. So it’s best to keep your cavies away from any item or tool that can emit smoke. 

Try not to let people smoke near your guinea pigs area. Also keep them away from places like the furnace or garage. If you’re careful, you’ve got nothing to worry about.

What Happens When A Guinea Pig Dies? 

When your guinea pig dies, the first thing that should happen is letting its companions grieve. Yes it’s a very sad time for them (and for you too). You can put the dead cavy back in its cage for a few minutes. This is to make sure its partners say their farewells. 

After the grieving, take all the other cavies to the vet for check-up. This will help you to ensure that no disease was transmitted to them. And that’ll go a long way in preventing other sudden deaths.

Things To Remember About Guinea Pigs Playing Dead

So when next you’re asked if guinea pigs can play dead, I hope you can confidently say yes.  

Remember that a calm and safe environment will calm your furry pals’ anxiety. So there’ll be no need for them to play dead since there’s no danger. 

If you happen to find your cavy laying down flat and playing dead, I hope you remember what to do.

It’s just two steps; identify the threat and eliminate it to calm your cavy.

I’m happy that you stuck with me to the end.

You rock!