Guinea Pig Noises & What They Mean

Hey guys! Today's video is an updated version of guinea pig noises or sounds and their meaning. I wanted to do a guinea pig noises video where I provided more information on what the sounds can and could mean. So without further ado, let's get into the video! Weaking Guinea pigs weak to tell humans that they would like some food. They often weak when they hear certain sounds that they connect to food, such as footsteps, the sound of the fridge opening or a bag wrinkling. Once one of your guinea pigs starts weaking, the others will often follow or will start running around in their cage. Interestingly, this sound only addresses the human. In the wild, guinea pigs weak when they think there might be danger, but that sound isn't as loud as their weaking for food, so guinea pigs in the wild don't actually weak that loudly to talk to their fellow pig friends. Only our domestic guinea pigs do that to remind their human that they would like a snack. It translates to, human, I know you just fed me 20 seconds ago, but I would still like some cucumber. Chutting Chutting is a relaxing background noise that guinea pigs often make when they are running around or exploring or just relaxing in their cage. It sounds as if they're talking to themselves. It's generally believed to be a happy sound, one that relaxed and content guinea pigs make. This sound translates to, I like whatever I'm doing and I'm super happy with myself. So essentially, that sound describes my guinea pig, Mini. Rumbo strutting Rumbo strutting is a low sound. It often goes hand in hand with a guinea pig shaking its butt and moving around slowly. This sound is used to show dominance, it's used by male guinea pigs to woo a female guinea pig and it's used to calm down fighting guinea pigs. Female guinea pigs make that sound as well, for example when they want to establish themselves as a boss or when it's the time of the month where they could become pregnant. Since it's also used to establish a rank system and to show who's boss, the sound can also be the beginning of a fight between guinea pigs. Because the sound is used in so many different situations, there isn't really a translation for it. Purring Purring is very context dependent. Guinea pigs aren't like cats, so a purr doesn't automatically mean that a guinea pig is happy or content. There's two totally opposite translations for purring. One is, I like this, and the other is, I don't like this, please leave me alone. When a guinea pig purrs because it likes something, you will usually hear this sound when you feed them their favorite veggies, they explore a new hidey, or they get to have some floor time. If you pet their butt for example, something which is associated with showing dominance amongst guinea pigs, and you hear this sound, your guinea pig is telling you to back off. Only two of my guinea pigs use purring as an appreciation sound, the rest only purrs when they're annoyed. The two piggies who make this sound while eating had teeth problems before and only started making this sound after their surgeries. So I don't know if these things are related, but that's how purring as a sign of appreciation of food started in both these guinea pigs' cases. Teeth chattering This sound can be directed at other guinea pigs, at you, or at a sound or situation. Your guinea pig is bothered by something and doesn't like what's happening. It warns other guinea pigs to back off, or warns them the situation might turn out to be dangerous. It can also be a sign of pain. It's not unusual to hear this sound. Chirping Unfortunately, I don't have an audio clip of one of my guinea pigs chirping, but it sounds as if a bird has landed in your cage. The only guinea pig who has ever made that sound is little one. The sound is extremely rare to hear and it usually means that a guinea pig perceives themselves to be in danger. Only perceived to be in danger because guinea pigs get startled all the time and don't make that sound often. Little one used to do this when he was a very very young guinea pig and it always happened during the night, waking me up. Little one is the only one of my guinea pigs who really goes to sleep, so he closes his eyes and doesn't wake up because there's a tiny noise. So what happened was that Peppers, Frida and Sylvester, the guinea pigs he was living with at the time, went on the second level to explore or sleep or whatever. Little one woke up, hadn't seen that the others had moved to the upper level and went into full panic mode that he was suddenly very much alone. The only thing that could calm little one down was to reunite him with a herd. Not even food work, he just continued on chirping and freezing until I managed to move the others to the lower level. Fun fact, our domestic guinea pigs almost never make this sound while guinea pigs in the wild produce it way more often and it seems to be some kind of stress relief for guinea pigs in the wild. Complaining You will often hear this sound when your guinea pigs eat or sleep. They make it when another guinea pig sits too close to them or seems to be invading One loud squeak sound Not exactly the same sound that guinea pigs make when they are weaking for food. It usually means that they are in pain, for example if you heard them while clipping their nails or when they are shocked because another guinea pig has bitten them. If you don't know why your guinea pig might be in pain, you need to see a vet. These were a few sounds that I could think of. I hope you enjoyed this video and see you guys next time. Bye!