As far as can be ascertained, guinea
pig behaviour has not changed noticeably since they were first
domesticated. Generally, guinea pigs are herd animals, prefering
to live in groups as they feel that there is safety in numbers.
The more individual animals that a predator has to chase, the
more it is likely to become confused and not make a successful
kill.
Perhaps the easiest way to learn about how your guinea pig
is feeling is to break down its daily behaviour into small,
easily recognisable actions.
Body Language
One of the more common things you will see a guinea pig do
is jumping on the spot. This is often called "pop-corning"
by guinea pig enthusiasts and it is literally a jump for joy!
They do this when they are in a happy mood (with our guinea
pigs this is usually when their cages have just been cleaned
out and they have been fed). The guinea pig will jump straight
up in the air from a standing start just for the fun of it
- it looks just like popcorn jumping and cooking in a pan!
A happy, relaxed guinea pig will lie stretched out almost
flat on the floor of its cage or outside on the ground in
its run. When doing this, it is obvious to see that the guinea
pig is comfortable and at ease in his environment.
Guinea pigs also have a repertoire of behaviours when they
meet others. Guinea pigs will greet each other by touching
noses - this is a very friendly gesture. However, stiff-legged
stance means that he or she is trying to exert dominance over
another, and the animal will usually rise up with its legs
very stiff. A stance such as this is usually a warning of
any advances by other animals and if the intruder does not
back off a fight may well take place.
If when you are stroking your guinea pig he suddenly throws
his head back as if to throw your hand off, he is quite simply
saying "get off - I don't want that now!". He will
become very upset if you don't do as he says!
Most guinea pigs enjoy being tickled under their chins and
will lift their heads higher and higher when you do this,
closing their eyes and looking very happy and content. They
also like having their heads scratched - especially behind
the ears.
Guinea pig noises
Guinea pigs are very vocal animals and communicate by using
a series of squeaks and grunts. Although nobody can really
claim to having Dr Doolittle's gift of being able to talk
to animals and understand exactly what their guinea pigs are
saying to each other, there are a number of sounds which are
common and recognisable to all guinea pig owners. These can
be interpreted as follows...
"Wheeking" - a noise somewhere
between a high-pitched squeak and a whistle - is the sound that
most people associate with guinea pigs. Sometimes it is used
as a warning of danger between animals, but can also be a cry
for attention... for example when they are aware that you are
about to feed them. Noises associated with food (the opening
of a food bin lid or the rustling of a bag) usually sets of
a loud chorus of "wheeks" in our shed.
;
The sound of chattering teeth is
a warning to guinea pigs and humans alike to stay away. It is
often accompanied by a sideways swaying "war dance"
and what looks like a huge yawn but is actually the guinea pig
showing what a fine set of teeth he has with which to bite!
This "purring" sound is
one of happiness and is often heard when something pleases the
guinea pig such as a favourite food being given. It is also
the sound made by a male when a new female is introduced to
him.
The "cooing" of a guinea
pig is generally used to reassure each other that all is well,
particularly mothers to their young. If your guinea pig makes
this sound to you it means they are quite happy to accept you
as part of their family.
Finally there is the "guinea
pig song" - a sound which has become almost legendary amongst
guinea pig fanciers, and no-one appears to be able to give a
definite reason for it.
"Anyone keeping just a few pets will
probably never hear it, and in 30 years I have heard it
no more than a dozen times. It usually happens when I am
busy in the shed and the cavies are all contentedly bustling
around their cages. The peace is suddenly shattered by a
bird-like cheeping, all on one note and getting louder and
louder. A complete silence comes over the whole shed as
everyone, including me, freezes to the spot. When I get
over the shock, I try to find the guinea pig who is making
this strange, ethereal sound by moving slowly in the direction
of the noise. The culprit is not hard to identify: all the
others are flattened on the floor with eyes wide, while
the 'singer' is upright with his neck stretched and sometimes
with one, or both front feet lifted. My appearance in front
of the cage does not seem to faze him - he goes on with
his strange cheeping until he is finished. The whole episode
lasts for 20 seconds or so. The chirper is nearly always
an adolescent boar and my theory is that he is experiencing
a latent urge to voice the alarm call used by his ancestors
thousands of years ago, before domestication bred out the
need for it, rendering sentinels unnecessary. I call it
the 'sentinel' sound."
We have been fortunate enough to hear this song just a few
times and have been lucky enough to record it to share with
you here...
Cavy
Intelligence
Many people may tell you that guinea pigs are not the brightest
of animals... and even amongst cavy enthusiasts there seems
to be a consensus of opinion that they are in fact quite stupid!
I believe however that although guinea pigs may have a different
kind of intelligence than that of other animals and popular
pets, different should not be perceived as inferior... after
all there really is little point in comparing a dog with a parrot
and arguing which is the smarter. The value of the intelligence
of any animal lies in how well they fit a particular species'
survival needs and when viewed in that way it can be seen that
guinea pigs are actually as bright as they need to be.
Although scientific study has shown that guinea pigs have
difficulty in solving abstract problems, it has also been
shown they are strong associative learners -- which means
they can learn to link up events quickly (eg, associating
the sound of the rustle of a paper bag with the imminent arrival
of food!). For evidence of this take a look at this video
we made of our guinea pig Bella who we have taught a simple
trick - turning circles when asked in order to receive a dandelion
leaf...
They also have a very good sense of geography, and will learn
the locations of objects, and the paths between them, very
quickly. This is a skill that guinea pigs rely on in the wild
-- or in the garden, in the case of "free range"
piggies. It allows them to memorise many alternate paths between
their home base and their food sources, so as to outrun predators.
Their social behaviour is also quite complex. In the wild,
guinea pigs will work together to evade predators or to achieve
goals, such as reaching a food source. When in open areas,
such as grazing on the lawn, they will take turns watching
out for each other. These are forms of intelligence that reflect
the guinea pig's herd instincts. Unfortunatley, this is a
side of guinea pigs that many owners never get to see. When
kept as single animals, guinea pigs tend to become bored and
will huddle in one place for a long time. But when paired
with a friend and given an interesting environment, guinea
pigs show surprisingly complex behaviours.
Guinea pigs are never aggressive toward humans, and it is
very rare for them to bite. Mature males are known to fight
one another over territory or mates, however, and you need
to keep this in mind when choosing pets. As a general rule,
two females will get along better than two males. But we have
have our two males together for years and they get along just
fine.
