Behavior: Worried about guinea pig laying around a lot

[Aayla Secura]

Hey everyone, I'm a first time guinea pig owner with two (female) guinea pigs whom I adopted from the city pound almost 2 months ago. Lately, one of them (Sprinkles) is almost always laying inside the towel shed, and I wonder if it is because she is bored. (The other one, Butterball, is more energetic and runs laps every day).

Here are some more details:
- They both were originally stray guinea pigs and I was told they might take a long time to truly warm up.
- They live in a 2x3 C&C cage which they were extremely happy about when I first got it for them. I know that they should probably live in a larger cage and would consider getting them one if people here believe that this is the main problem.
- Sprinkles (the one I'm worried about) is definitely fatter than Butterball and I was told by the vet to watch her weight, so this might be the problem too.
- I am a medical student currently on clinical rotations so I am gone most of the day, but I still give them about an hour of floor time a day (though they actually prefer the cage and get bored on the floor, I think because it has more toys in it or maybe because it's less scary). I don't consider myself really touchy feely with them though so maybe I should spend more "bonding" time with them on my lap.
- Their cage has a food bowl, a water bottle, two tunnels, a hay nest, some hanging toys (which they ignore), and what used to be a wooden tunnel that they have chewed down. I've recently bought them two cozy saks to help them keep warm during the San Francisco cold; still waiting for those to arrive.

Comments are highly appreciated!

[Aayla Secura]

Forgot to mention (now that I can no longer edit my post) - the "towel shed" is just a towel draped over one corner. That is where Sprinkles spends most of her time sitting around...

[Ly&Pigs]

How old is Sprinkles? Some pigs are more spastic and like to run around and do laps while others are laid back and prefer to chill out more than anything.

[Aayla Secura]

Originally Posted by Ly&Pigs

How old is Sprinkles? Some pigs are more spastic and like to run around and do laps while others are laid back and prefer to chill out more than anything.

They are both 2 years old. It's relieving to hear that this may be normal behavior!

[Ly&Pigs]

Since she's two, it's pretty normal for some pigs that age and older to just lay about and chill out.

[JD In Van]

They may be active at a period of time you're not there very often too. Depending what your shifts are like. They're dawn/dusk animals so if you're gone at breakfast and supperish times you're probably missing their perky period.