Guinea pigs are small, furry rodents that make excellent pets. Can guinea pigs swim? You might be surprised to learn that, despite what you may have heard, they are not natural swimmers. They don’t have the natural buoyancy of a water-dwelling animal, so it’s against their instinct to enter the water voluntarily.
Your guinea pig is not a fish. Don’t be fooled by the way they may curl up in your bath tub or sink. Don’t believe for one second that they want to go for a swim!
Guinea pigs are land animals and their furry little bodies are not designed to stay afloat.
So please, no matter how adorable it looks- resist the urge to toss them into the pool with you. They can easily drown if they’re submerged under water for too long – just like humans!
Can Guinea Pigs Swim?
Guinea pigs are not aquatic mammals and they are not natural swimmers. Guinea pigs don’t have any webbing between their toes, so they can’t paddle like ducks and geese do. They also lack waterproofing on their fur, so if they get wet, they will shiver in cold temperatures.
They also need oxygen, which means that when submerged underwater, they will start panicking pretty quickly since water restricts air flow into the respiratory system.
So what does this mean? It means that your guinea pig can swim if it’s in danger for a very short period of time and that you should never, ever force them to enter the water. Let their instincts guide them!
If your guinea pig is in danger or needs help, then he will be able to swim with his front feet paddling furiously and his back ones high up out of the water.
However, this is not an ideal situation for your pet because swimming means they’re no longer being supported by the land beneath them and the air above them, which makes it difficult for them to breathe.
Guinea pigs also don’t like being wet; for them, it’s an unpleasant experience. When it comes down to it, swimming isn’t really something guinea pigs do well or enjoy doing.
Where Do Guinea Pigs Live In The Wild?
So where do guinea pigs live in the wild? Wild Guinea Pigs are native to South America. They tend to make their homes underground where they can hide from predators and stay warm by huddling together with other members of their species.
They also dig little tunnels that lead them into different chambers that provide protection, food storage, a bathroom area, etcetera!
As you can see from nature, the biome that they live in does not involve a lot of interaction with any kind of water body. Guinea pigs, by nature and evolution, have not been required to be closely associated with water bodies in any way. Hence, they are not natural swimmers, and definitely, swimming is something that should be avoided at all costs.
Do Guinea Pigs Enjoy Swimming?
The short answer is No!Guinea pigs do not enjoy swimming, and you should never force them to go for a swim. They are definitely not natural swimmers by any means!
They can easily drown if they’re submerged under water for too long – just like humans! It’s also important that these little creatures stay warm since, unlike other animals, their body temperatures fall rapidly when wet, which leads to hypothermia or even death in some cases.
Guinea pigs might be able to survive being submerged under water only briefly, but it could still cause injuries like shock, respiratory problems (e.g., pneumonia), heart damage (e.g., myocardial infarction) , and even death.
Their instinct is to flee, not swim! If they fall into a pool or become submerged in water, then you need to carefully lift them out as soon as possible. Don’t wait around because their fur will soak up the cold water fast, which means that hypothermia could set in very quickly if left unattended for too long.
Why You Should Not Force Your Guinea Pig To Swim?
It is not a good idea to force your guinea pig into swimming, even if they look like they are having fun. Can you imagine being forced to swim against your will? It’s an unpleasant experience for them and can cause health problems down the road, so it’s best just to avoid putting them through that kind of stress altogether!
The simple answer is that guinea pigs don’t like the water and it’s not good for them to swim. You should never force your pet into any activity that they do not enjoy or want to participate in, because then you would be teaching your little furry friend to fear you, which can lead down a path of serious behavioural problems later on!
I have seen certain articles and videos, wherein the guinea pigs are shown swimming in different water bodies such as bathtubs or small water containers. There are also certain articles teaching us how to get our guinea pigs to swim.
Please keep in mind that it is nothing short of animal cruelty if you try to train or force your guinea pig to swim. What you might consider as a fun activity is actually extreme cruelty to your pet. Never ever indulge in such activities knowingly or unknowingly.
Side Effects Of Swimming On Guinea Pigs
There are several side effects of swimming on guinea pigs.
- Causes Extreme Stress:The most important one is that it can be extremely stressful for your pet to suddenly find themselves in a new environment like the pool or lake where they cannot breathe properly because their lungs aren’t built for breathing while submerged under water! Can you imagine how terrifying that would be for your cavy?
- Hypothermia: Hypothermia is another dangerous side effect that can come about as a result of swimming. The temperature difference between your cavy’s fur & the water could cause hypothermia to set in very quickly which, left untreated, leads down a path towards death!
Hypothermia refers to when the body temperature drops so low that organs begin to fail and eventually death occurs after prolonged exposure.
- Risk Of Infection:There is always infection risk whenever an injury happens when your guinea pig is struggling hard to stay alive. Many times, guinea pigs end up enjoying themselves in their panicked attempts to climb out of the water. This can result in injuries and subsequent exposure to infections.
- Heart Damage: The stress of swimming can cause heart damage. If they are made to go for a swim, their body temperature will drop rapidly if not attended to promptly. This causes stress on their little hearts, which results in myocardial infarction (heart attack) .
It’s also important that these creatures stay warm since, unlike other animals, their body temperatures fall rapidly when wet, which means hypothermia could set in very quickly. It can cause an enormous amount of pressure on the tiny heart of your guinea pig and can even result in permanent damage to its heart.
- Pneumonia : Pneumonia is an illness that Guinea pigs can get when the tiny air sacs in their lungs fill up with fluid or mucus, which makes it difficult for oxygen to reach the blood stream. Forcing your guinea pig to swim can definitely result in them suffering from pneumonia.
- Causes Serious Physical Injury: Another risk associated with forcing your pet to swim against their will is serious physical injury. If they fall into deeper parts where they cannot stand up and walk out on their own, then it might lead to fractures etcetera. These kinds of injuries are extremely painful for guinea pigs.
- Death: If your guinea pig is submerged in water for an extended period of time, they will die!Do not let this happen to your beloved pet!
When your little furry friend is forced into an activity that they don’t want to do, then you’re taking away all the joy and fun out of it for them, which can cause problems later on when you try and force them into doing something else!
It’s not fair to your pet, so just avoid putting them through this type of stress altogether by never forcing a guinea pig to swim against their will.
What To Do If My Guinea Pig Accidentally Fell Into A Water Body?
If your guinea pig somehow fell into the pool or a water body, then getting them out immediately is extremely important since they can drown and death will ensue in no time at all.
The first thing that you have got to do is not panic! Panicking will only cause more problems for you and the little one, so just keep a cool head, take a deep breath, and work through your steps methodically!
If your little furry friend fell into the water, then try scooping them up with a pool net or anything similar that you could use as an improvised tool for this task.
Grab hold of their scruff and support their entire body, being careful to keep your hands away from their mouth since they have sharp teeth which can do some serious damage if not handled properly!
Warm Them Up: Try to warm them up by trying to towel dry their fur completely. If they are wet, then the chances of hypothermia setting in are very high, so just try and get rid of that wetness immediately!
Call For Help : You will need some assistance from someone who knows what they’re doing when it comes to helping these creatures out. Call for help & have a professional take over this situation because you definitely don’t want your pet dying on account of lack of appropriate knowledge about how to handle such situations.
Remember, if there’s no way that you’re going to be able to figure out how to save them without putting yourself in danger at all, then just call someone who knows what s/he is doing over immediately, so it becomes easier on both of you.
You should never ever leave your guinea pig unattended around any kind of body of water – they can drown just as easily as we can!
Can Guinea Pigs Swim In A Bathtub?
Guinea pigs can’t swim in any body of water, including your bathtub, a pool, a lake, or any other body of water.They are not naturally aquatic mammals and swimming does not come instinctively to them. It is because of this that it is highly recommended that you do not attempt to put your guinea pig in any kind of water body whatsoever.
If, for some very valid reason, such as trying to give your guinea pig a bath, you’re actually forced to place your guinea pig in a bathtub, then you can do so after ensuring that the water level is at a minimum .
You can place your guinea pig in a tub of water, but make sure that the depth is not too deep and over their heads because they cannot swim! Water should be at a level where they can comfortably tread on it.
Guinea pigs are not creatures that naturally know how to swim. In fact, they quite despise being in the water at all costs. They will attempt to flee from the bath tub water as fast as their little legs can take them & this might result in injuries to themselves which can be quite severe in some cases.
No matter how tempting it is for you as their parent to allow your little one to have some fun in the tub, it is not recommended that you allow your guinea pig to be near any type of body of water.
Can Guinea Pigs Swim In A Chlorine Pool ?
Guinea pigs can’t swim in a chlorine pool for many reasons.
For one thing, they are not natural swimmers and they will most likely drown if they fall into a swimming pool.
And two, they are not built to be able to hold their breath when underwater (and it’s hard enough for humans!).
They also have sensitive respiratory systems that could easily get irritated by chlorine chemicals and then cause pneumonia or other illness.Â
They lack webbing between their toes and cannot move around very easily in the water because they have a lot of fur that gets heavy when wet and they have no natural buoyancy. This means they would sink immediately if put into a pool or lake.
Chlorine is not something that should be ingested by our furry friends. That’s because it can cause some serious damage to the respiratory system and lungs, as well as other organs like the kidney or liver.
Some More Points To Keep In Mind On Swimming And Your Guinea Pig
- Never throw them into any body of water, even if it’s only a small puddle or pool.
- These little creatures should never be expected to swim against their will because that would just end up traumatising them both physically and emotionally, which could lead down an unfortunate road towards behavioural problems in future, including fear biting. So please don’t do it!
- Use steps made especially for pets so that your little buddy has a chance to get out of the water if they end up in it.
- Keep them indoors at all times, especially when swimming is occurring outdoors or near any body of water, because accidents can happen very quickly!
- Avoid getting their coats wet, since prolonged exposure could lead to hypothermia.  Â
Wrapping Up
Can Guinea Pigs swim? They absolutely CANNOT. Please don’t toss them into any bodies of water, even if it seems like fun to you at first. Remember, guinea pigs feel vulnerable when submerged under water because their natural instinct tells them that the land beneath their feet is where they should be.
Avoid letting them get wet all the time and make sure their home environment is kept warm at all times.
Guinea pigs can drown in a swimming pool, lake or even small puddles because they cannot swim against the current! Keep them indoors when you know that there’s going to be water nearby .
XoXo
Genie