If you have a guinea pig, chances are at one point or another you’ve seen your guinea pig sit back on their haunches, curl up and tuck their face down like they’re giving themselves a bath, only to see them eating… something… when they resurface. (hint: it’s poop. That something is poop 💩 😂)

*frrrrp* oops!

“EW!” You’re thinking. WHY IS MY GUINEA PIG EATING POOP?! 🤢 Won’t they get sick?!

Not to fear! While it seems gross to us humans who would surely get sick if we ate our poop, guinea pigs eating their own poop is actually perfectly normal guinea pig behavior! The fancy term for guinea pigs eating their poop is coprophagia, which sounds like a beautiful tropical island. An island of poop, apparently. While guinea pigs will occasionally eat one of their ‘pellets’ from their cage, most often they’re eating a special kind of poop that their body makes called a cecal pellet. This poop is nutrient-dense and softer than the harder, more uniform brown ‘beans’ you see sprinkled around.

Why do guinea pigs eat their poop, you ask? Guinea pigs, like some other herbivores, actually digest their food twice. They eat their food, it goes through their digestive tract, their body makes poop #1 (the cecal pellet). They eat that poop, and then their body makes poop #2 (ha…poop… #2…), the regular poop we all know and… love?

So the next time you see your guinea pig having a snack from ‘down under’, don’t fret. They’re just doin’ what guinea pigs do. Just maybe don’t kiss them on the lips next time. 😉

Want answers to more guinea pig questions, step-by-step care instructions and a whole lot more? Check out The Guinea Pig Guide official book here!