Guinea Pig Twitching: Is it dying??

One of the scariest sites when you have a guinea pig is when you see them start to switch. Naturally, you will probably start to panic. Your mind might race to the worst-case scenarios, and you might think your guinea pig is dying.

While a twitching guinea pig can certainly be a serious issue, it doesn’t always signal a life or death situation. In today’s article, we are going to discuss all the different reasons a guinea pig twitches.

My guinea pig is twitching. Is it dying?

Just because your guinea pig is twitching does not mean it is going to die. In fact, twitching can sometimes be a natural behavior for guinea pigs. Below are the main reasons why guinea pigs twitch.

Excitement: Most of the time, a guinea pig will start to twitch when they get excited. It could be when you enter the room, when you’re about to feed them, or they could be stimulated by some other external force. This is usually more common in younger guinea pigs.

They will start running around in random directions, and some will even start to do small jumps around the cage. This behavior is referred to as popcorning, and usually does not last longer than a minute or two. Your guinea pig will likely stop twitching when it runs out of energy.

Parasites: Another reason a guinea pig will start twitching is if they are infected with parasites. The most common are mites and lice. These parasites burrow into your guinea pig’s skin and cause an excruciating itch. While it usually isn’t deadly, it is a various serious condition that should be taken care of as soon as possible.

If your guinea pig has mites or lice, they will likely lay on their side and start twitching. This is their attempt to rid themselves of the parasites. Unfortunately, most parasite infections must be treated with medication. You can learn more about parasites on my article on Guinea Pig Skin Issues.

Muscle Spasms: While they are not as common, guinea pigs are still susceptible to muscle spasms. It can occur from too much activity, and can also be caused by dehydration. To help prevent muscle spasms, make sure your guinea pig always has access to fresh water.

Dreaming: You may be surprised to find out that guinea pigs dream. While it is for a much shorter time frame, guinea pigs experience REM sleep just like humans. During this deep sleep, guinea pigs may start twitching. While this can be scary as an owner, especially if their eyes are closed, they will usually stop twitching right when they wake back up.

Dying: Unfortunately, some guinea pigs will start twitching when they are dying. This could be from a range of things, including heart disease, stroke, respiratory illness, or even a tumor. If you already know your guinea pig has one of these conditions, you should call a vet immediately if they start twitching.

Conclusion

We hope this article helped shed light on some of the main reasons guinea pigs will start to twitch. As you can see form the examples given above, just because a guinea pig is twitching doesn’t mean they are dying. The key is to stay calm and observer your guinea pig in order to diagnose what is causing the twitching.