Alike, some of the other animals, guinea pigs also significantly have short and long term memory. They like following their daily routine without any distortion as it gives them a sense of happiness and satisfaction. But how long do guinea pigs remember things?
Guinea pigs have a short memory that lasts about a few minutes. Despite this, guinea pigs remember crucial information for a longer period. If something has an emotional touch to it, they intend to remember it for a long time. This includes the relationship with their owners and cage mates.
The emotional resonance here also implies protection and a sense of safety. Guinea pigs are very impulsive toward survival.
If they once have been head-on heads with danger or harm, they will attempt to avoid it in the future.
Like danger, guinea pigs also have a sense of pleasure in them. Therefore they love doing their activities on a loop.
The kind of memory pattern that guinea pigs have in them biologically is quite adorable and mind-blowing sometimes.
Do guinea pigs have a memory?
The answer is yes, partially, they have one. Guinea pig can only remember things for about a few minutes, and then it might get erased from their minds after a while.
They only tend to remember things for the long term, which are essential to them for their own sake or benefit.
For example: Guinea pigs in the wild used to remember their way back home. Although this instinct is missing in our domestic guinea pigs, they still are smart at the activities they do.
If one’s pet becomes used to and is quite aware of their daily routine, it will make your life much easier if nothing happens because the pet who knows all of their requirements will be much easier to handle.
How long is the memory of a guinea pig?
How long the memory would stay will directly depend upon the degree of extremes. The memory of guinea pigs would tend to cling more to the most favorable and unfavorable experiences of their lives.
Indulging their owners in a joyful activity with themselves might be restored by them in their long term memory as a pleasant memory.
Pets might not recall bathing them, feeding them daily as it may appear as a usual daily routine to them, but your’s one harsh scolding may turn the tables of your relationship with your pet, from liking to disliking.
Long term memory can also prove to be a little challenging when it comes to training the pets.
It may by any chance they have injured themselves in training, then the incident will be staying in their heads for the time being.
That would make the training part more difficult, as the lousy experience clings longer than the good ones.
What information do guinea pigs remember?
Guinea pigs can recall all the good and nasty experiences that have happened to them.
They possess a sense of vision, smell, and sound.
For example: They will commit to certain foods as per their liking and will develop a taste for them. Then they would preferably choose that particular food of their choice over the others since they have already developed taste buds for it.
If your pet has generated a taste for raisin so they will choose it over and over above any other food.
They are also very good at recalling any bad or good experience. If guinea pigs know that the following instructions will earn them a pie, then they will inculcate this habit into them to keep getting the pie further.
If they know that chewing a wire produced a shock the last time, then they will make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
Have you ever wondered why guinea pigs do not react to their so-called given names initially, but later they do? It’s so because they get familiar with the name due to the repetition of its several times.
They can also do well in learning numbers. Of course, they can’t recite it for you.
But indeed they can learn how many stairs it takes to reach the second floor of the building.
By continuous efforts and training, guinea pigs could prove themselves as to be the right pet if trained with utmost patience and generosity.
Do guinea pigs remember their siblings?
Yes, guinea pigs remember their siblings through smell. Siblings are raised together, so they very much recognize each other through scent.
The astonishing part here is they even mate with their siblings irrespective of their biological connection.
Family bond obstructs nowhere to them in their mating process. It’s the bond that is considered a matter of concern for mating and for living together.
If a pair of guinea pigs are supposed to live with each other in the same cage, they must have a strong bond between them, or else the former won’t likely take place.
Having a pair of gender opposite siblings is better than having a non-biological couple.
More possibly, the siblings are going to have a sense of belongingness and smell for each other, the same age, and most likely the equal temperament.
Certainty or uncertainty any one of the two could be taken to a veterinarian due to a checkup then the aroma may change, and this would create a sense of doubt into the other one.
He may refuse to accept the former as the spouse, but the chances of this to happen reduces in the case of siblings because they have been together for so long and is not only the scent that bonds them together.
Do guinea pigs remember their parents?
Certainly not, they only remember their parents for a particular period. Guinea pigs do not share a similar parent-child bond like that of their siblings with their parents.
Once the mother gives birth to her babies to the nest, she won’t be paying much heed to the nest anymore.
The female parent may eat her babies if triggered by the confusion, which is a one-time thing, out of uncertainty.
The mother will stay on the other side of the nest and distract the prey from eating her babies, and this nature is being passed on from wild guinea pigs.
The matriarch only comes once in a day to feed and nurture the children with milk and thus leaving no time for bond formation.
A mother takes care of the child only until the weaning period, which is 4 weeks after its born and later, when the child touches adulthood, all the bonds and connections are forgotten with time.
Do guinea pigs remember their lost cagemate?
Yes, and it is the hardest part for a guinea pig to pass through. They scream, cry, and get extremely sad for their lost mate.
Some may also die because they are genuinely unable to handle the separation. It broke and tore their hearts apart.
The absence of the pet’s companion might have worsened the scenario. They might search for the cue to find them wherever possible, and they might also anticipate their disappearance.
If, in any case, the lost mate is dead, it would be of best interest if the corpse is shown to the mate. The pet may cling around the dead for a while, but least it would be a wake-up call for the left one to say a final goodbye to the deceased.
That is where the tragedy starts; for the following few days, you might find them furious, destructive, withdrawn, and ensnared doing nothing.
That is when the owner has to come onto its foot to be more empathetic and kind when their pets need their love the most.
That may also impact them being inflexible in choosing any new companion for a time because they have freshly lost a dear mate to them.
Gradually they might like to bond with another mate willingly, but it shouldn’t be your will forcing them against theirs, or else they will turn rebellious. Unlike us, it’s difficult for them to let go of their familial bonds at least for a few weeks.
Do guinea pigs remember their owners
Many studies and experiments conducted have mildly indicated that guinea pigs can distinguish human beings primarily based on their scents. They can differentiate their owner’s from others with the help of body scent.
Though it’s still not something that scientists and researchers are quite sure of how they distinct their human owners.
Nevertheless, they are also a social creature in detecting moods through facial expressions. If your pet finds you in a happy go Lucky mood, then they will seek this opportunity to get treats and to get them dressed up.
Supposedly if you are in a lousy temperament, they will understand this as well and would try to stay out of your way.
Remarkably, they happen to follow only the good and bad mood or expressions and thereby will not understand neutral behavior or emotions.
With time all the facial behavior and expressions will befit into their memory, which means they will recognize bits and parts of their owner’s response.
If resettled into a new owner’s place, this might result in a change in their behavior, routine, and all the more discomforting them until they become used to the new changes.
The relocation may also make them miss the old home, routine work, and, most importantly, the previous owner’s affection, behavior, and expressions.
In such a case, forcing them to adapt and form new bonds might be exhausting for them.
Also, it will take some time to build a relationship of trust and affection, but once this bond is formed, you will be cherished by your pet. All you need is a little bit of patience and warmth, which will come by the course of time.
Do guinea pigs remember places?
Guinea pigs make it sure to learn about their surroundings and habitat. Because they are driven to safety and security, and they do not wish to jeopardize it. They intend to have detailed information on their surroundings.
They memorize information, such as how many stairs it takes to reach the second floor, when it’s snack time, or where to rush amid danger and much more such stuff.
Guinea pigs are confined to the premises of their room. So if they escape, they will find it challenging to make their way back home. The only way to return is to sniff out the prints of the familiar terrain.
Your pet will remember the place of their habitat that is their cage and quickly become familiar with it. If they love their cage, then they are most likely to return. But if they dislike the place, they dwell in it, and they are probably going to show resistance to the same place.
That can be a little tedious for you because they might hide somewhere where it’s difficult for you to reach out right before the sleep time out of pure contempt towards the hutch.
One way you might think to lock them during that time, but it will be all in vain because soon they will learn and memorize and discover new ways to hide, evoking the hide and seek game.
Well, this issue can be adequately dealt with only through resetting up the hutch once and for all. Only if a positive atmosphere has been created, will the pet adopt the changes quickly without any restrain? Before resettling, do keep in mind your pet’s entertainment purposes and bonds.
Guinea pigs are awestruck to new experiences and changes. They always look for something that excites them.
They might get bored of playing the same stuff and the same games every day, so vary their entertainment needs as often as needed.
That can be taken as one exception to their love for repetition.
Do guinea pigs remember their names?
Of course, they do respond to their names. Let’s say you have named your pet as Charlie.
Initially, there might be no response to this name, but eventually, the pet might start reacting to this name until the pet has grasped it as a call.
As soon as the name is being called, they will respond, come, and go back to their usual business.
Now let’s say, Charlie, being rehomed to some other place. And the family renamed Charlie as Jack.
At first, it’s evident that there will be no response from Charlie by being called Jack. But eventually, Charlie will become responsive to the new name Jack.
That all comes under the pattern that we have discussed above. The pets here remember the names neither Charlie nor Jack, but on repetitive calling, they memorize the pattern of the sound.
Repeat CHA-R-LIE on the loop, and your pet will undoubtedly pick it up and memorize the sounds.
Again the word JA-C-K has different intonations and patterns, so it will take your pet some time to pick it up and respond accordingly.
It’s only because of the repetition of words, which helps them memorize the pattern again and again.
This intonation technique can also be beneficial in training your pets. The various vocal commands like sit, stand and run if used in repetition.
It will help you prepare your pet much more efficiently and quickly, thus building up a better communication understanding between you and your pet.
Do guinea pigs remember abuse? I accidentally hurt my guinea pig and now she hates me?
Guinea pigs have a sharp long term memory, especially when it comes to bad experiences.
If you accidentally hurt your pet, apologize immediately to the counterpart of the accident.
Remember, they have a short-term memory, so all you need to do is to merge the incident and apologize together, so they do not hold on to the accident part for a more extended period.
The various ways you can apologize is by giving them their favorite food to eat, petting them, grooming them, and making them listen to their favorite music.
All your efforts to apologize might be in total vain for the time being, considering the course of action you are expected to be a little subtle. You ought to be patient for a while.
If you already share a strong bond with your pet, it would be more comfortable to do. Instead, if you’re at a budding phase of your relationship, then it may be a challenge to overcome.
They can often hold anger, grudge longer than you expect them to hold. Because guinea pigs remember they can’t let go of the bad experiences so quickly.
For say, you accidentally drop a glass of water onto them, so the next time they will try and keep a safe distance whenever they see you holding one.
Their memory is a wonderful gift to them. Right after a pleasure-inducing experience or a mishap, guinea pigs try recalling every single minute detail for their benefit and future help.
They certainly wish to pertain to all kinds of pleasure and pain.
Be it good or bad, the things that matter to them will take place in their long term memory.
Pets also remember their pet parents’ mood and behave accordingly, which can sometimes be a mood booster.
So if they find you in a happy mood, they will not forget to lighten you up even more and make you feel blessed if nothing more.
So the focusing part here is, you should be in the excellent book of your pet always to enjoy their presence more vividly and vibrantly.
Sources: A water-maze test of learning ability for guinea-pigs, Brain and body growth of guinea-pigs,