It is believed that Guinea pigs are quiet pets, but it is not correct. They keep talking with their owners and their partners. Guinea pigs might not make loud noises, but they do express their feeling. So, how do guinea pigs communicate with each other?
Guinea pigs usually communicate orally that is easier to understand. Guinea pigs usually “grunt” when they are angry and “purr” when they are happy. They also communicate by physical signs. Mounting and grooming play a vital role in physical communication as they decide their hierarchy by this.
The calm nature of guinea pigs also helps in maintaining peace, as they say, sorry by touching their nose.
In this guide, we will explain everything about Guinea pigs’ communication, both physical and verbal. Keep reading till the end, so you don’t miss out on any vital piece of information!
Do guinea pigs verbally communicate with each other?
The body language of guinea pigs is their first manner of communication.
Usually, guinea pigs tell their partners about how they are feeling by giving them silent hints.
They might provide humans with a weird look, but they are clear with each other.
Guinea pigs communicate together verbally sometimes. We may ignore the body language signals of guinea pigs, and they will react with anger. On the other hand, guinea pigs do not leave any spaces for misunderstandings.
My guinea pigs growl at each other
A growl is a frequent talking of guinea pigs. The owner of guinea pigs will know this sound. They will get to listen to it when their guinea pigs disallow them for something, like cleaning their cage.
A growl from guinea pigs conveys to “back off.” Guinea pigs are too regional as they growl on another guinea pig who enters their region. If that guinea pig does not back off, then the fight begins within them.
If two of your guinea pigs growl at one another, then do not put them in the same cage because they have no bond yet, and they feel as alpha species. The hierarchy is essential for guinea pigs, so leave them alone at your risk.
My guinea pigs rumble at each other
One more type of communication between guinea pigs is Rumbling. This sound starts quiet and then slowly becomes loud.
You will usually hear this sound when your guinea pigs are not spayed/neutered. The reason is that rumble strutting is a guinea pig’s mating call.
Imagine a guinea pig measuring interest of the dissimilar gender when guinea pigs get rumble strut back in reply, that means that another guinea pig is ready for intercourse.
And if the rumbling sound meets grunting sound, then the first guinea pig might back off, depending on how brave they are.
If guinea pigs ignore this lack of interest, they might start circling other guinea pigs. That means that guinea pigs are choosing not to stop on one guinea pig.
My guinea pigs purr at each other
Another guinea pig sound is purr, from which your guinea pig might appear like a cat. Purr sounds have multiple meanings. It depends upon the level of the sound and the body gestures of your guinea pig.
Like, if the purr is deep and the body posture shows relaxation and calmness, then your guinea pig is happy and comfortable.
If the sound is high pitched, particularly at the end of the purr, then your guinea pigs are annoyed and upset.
A shot purr sometimes shows fear and panic in guinea pigs, and they might seem sitting silently in one place.
My guinea pigs teeth chattering at each other
When your guinea pigs roar sharply, and it explains that they are upset and angry. Teeth chattering happens when you introduce one guinea pig to another, especially when they share the same cage.
They are alerting each other not to interfere in their personal space or region.
Keep your guinea pigs apart from each other till they do not get calm and then reintroduce them. Practice this daily while this chattering gets over.
Guinea pig behavior with each other
To guinea pigs, communication is less important than body language. However, guinea pigs can hear better than seeing. They display their moods through silent hints. Guinea pigs can read these hints nicely.
Ears of guinea pigs are apparent direct features to communicate. When their ears get up straight and constant at one place, that shows they are attentive in something. Mainly they are judging if it is a danger.
Another feature of guinea pigs’ body language is resting down, and putting the head on the ground. That is essential for guinea pigs to judge who is dominant and who is submissive.
They mean, ‘I agree that I post lower in the ranking position.’ Without being affected, the dominant guinea pigs also feel a similar position, though their meanings are not the same.
When two guinea pigs find their places, no confusion will occur, and they shall get a company. Till this time, guinea pigs should not live together.
Otherwise, both guinea pigs might face the battle of power and authority, and they will continue claiming each other weak.
Guinea pig biting each other
If you have two guinea pigs as your pets, then biting is common. It often happens when they want to show dominance, gain attention, and punish other guinea pigs who break the rules.
Guinea pigs also bite each other when they are in adolescence, younger guinea pigs eat relatively older one.
Biting is normal in guinea pigs, but it should not be frequent. If you found your guinea pigs biting each other, separate them and keep them in different cages.
Guinea pig climbing on each other
Another standard behavior of showing dominance in guinea pigs is climbing on each other.
Guinea pigs usually mount on those guinea pigs whom they want to dominate. Their climbing on each other is not sexual, so do not worry about that.
They are just trying to occupy their region by showing the weaker one that they are submissive. This behavior also makes it clear that the stronger guinea pigs want to tell weaker guinea pigs that they are on top.
Guinea pig grooming each other
You can get to know that your guinea pigs have a good bond when they groom each other and share food. They will also cuddle each other and play a lot together.
When bonded guinea pigs are happy together, they jump like popcorn.
Grooming behavior is reasonable, they groom each other’s face and fur.
They make loud happy noises and follow their mates expecting them to play.
Sometimes the dominant guinea pig also asks the submissive one to groom them, this is something that helps in establishing a hierarchy in them.
How can you tell which guinea pig is dominant?
If one guinea pig is proved dominant in the house, life becomes even. You can quickly tell which one the ruler is of the fancy castle. Observe their grooming habits to determine the same.
Dominant guinea pigs will spend their time being groomed from submissive guinea pigs. The dominant guinea pig will hardly take time in grooming the other one.
If their grooming stays for days, then the relationship sets up. The dominant guinea pigs will ask for grooming through hints. The submissive guinea pigs will obey them, and they will not stop until they are ordered.
If the conditioning is short, then the relationship is still not fixed. The obedient guinea pigs may agree for their task, not by their wish, but they might have desires for alpha position. That describes that they may show dominance after.
How do guinea pigs establish dominance
Guinea pigs might seem cute and adorable, but they could be clever. Until alpha position is established, guinea pigs enter into physical meetings when any of them agrees. Mounting is a regular example of it.
When you get guinea pigs mounting on other guinea pigs without rumble strutting, they are not calling for intercourse. Guinea pigs define their alpha position.
It matters how the different guinea pigs respond to this, some agree. The tasks are established then between stronger and weaker.
Be careful of false pregnancies resulting from male and female climbing or putting dry grass into the mouth to make a nest.
No doubt other guinea pigs who do not accept it will take action through their teeth and claws, or even tear the fur of the guinea pig who is mounting. That is called barbering, and it should not be approved.
Keep eyes on your guinea pigs and observe their body language. We can not let this happen.
How do you know if your guinea pigs are getting along?
We accepted that two unbonded guinea pigs should not live together until they are bonded with each other. That pops up one question, how you understand this? The answer is very simple gets from noticing the body language of guinea pigs.
Prepare a play space or cage, and put your pets into it. Any of your pets should not have been to this place earlier. It must be new to them.
Wait for hints of positive communication and carefully observe your guinea pigs behavior:
- No reaction at first is healthy. If the guinea pigs feel happy to avoid each other, then it is a good beginning.
- Resting or sitting together is a real hint, which means that guinea pigs are ready to share their spaces.
- Circling upon the back or side, this explains that they are relaxed. Guinea pigs would never sit quietly if they are scared or trust the other guinea pigs.
- If the guinea pigs put their feet flat touch each other’s nose then it shows that kind and close interconnection has started.
- Grooming one another is a significant feature of the guinea pigs bonding procedure. Guinea pigs who carry aggression will not give grooming back.
Keep practicing this procedure and extend the time for guinea pigs to look at each other every time. If you find the calm and silent, then you have nothing to worry about, they will get along.
That means your guinea pigs will believe each other as required to communicate non-verbally in the future, and they will share their cages.
When to separate two guinea pigs
Suppose two guinea pigs feel anger and hate for each other, that very moment, they must be placed far from each other.
Disapproval of guinea pigs can spoil things quickly. Guinea pigs carrying hatred is not less than any problem.
Do not ignore these signs. Get your guinea pigs apart and offer both of them separate happy environments before reintroducing them.
- Grunting and growling: Grunts are important warnings from guinea pigs. If their grunt gets replaced by growling, then there is shortly an issue.
- Climbing on each other: It is hard to receive by guinea pigs in the end.
- Chasing each other: It may appear like guinea pigs are playing, but guinea pigs run after with intentions of biting each other.
- Getting into action: Must stop guinea pigs if you find them fighting through their claws or even teeth.
Once your pets are reintroduced, keep checking them from time to time. They may start from where they ended up their fight. But if you are lucky enough, then one of your guinea pigs will apologize.
How do guinea pigs say sorry
Guinea pigs apologize by touch each other’s noses. Even sometimes they rub their noses, which seems adorable.
They also try to use these tricks on other guinea pigs. Their apology gets accepted when the bond between them is excellent, however, it takes some time.
Guinea pigs are stubborn sometimes. They can carry bad moods for many days if they are angry.
You will get to know when they took an apology, as both guinea pigs will sit on their seats if one walks away the other one will get upset. So it is better to keep them in different places until the matter gets over.
How do guinea pigs communicate with their babies
There is a mentality that guinea pigs do not care for their babies. That is not correct. They do take care of their babies until they come to a certain age.
Guinea pigs can not hear and see for a few days after birth, which means they can not communicate.
Fortunately, they are born with the nature of survival. They live in their nesting corner, which their mother makes while being pregnant.
Mostly, guinea pigs feed their babies multiple times in a day, in their kind. When guinea pigs make an enclosure for their babies, they are also attentive to protect their enclosure from predators.
When baby guinea pigs turn three weeks old, they start eating solid food and stop themselves from drinking milk. After this, mother guinea pigs don’t pay much attention in teaching to their babies.
They may play together, but they will not be trained about any manners and behaviors. Due to this, every guinea pig is different from other guinea pigs. Their behavior is a result of nature and has little to do with nurturing.
Guinea pigs are believed to be quiet creatures, but they convey their messages very clearly. Don’t think your guinea pigs are emotionless just because they are sitting silent. They are clearly expressing words without any noise.
If you get expertise in this way of talking and communicating, you and your guinea pigs will have a great, long-lasting positive relationship.
Commonly, all guinea pigs know what they are saying to each other or what they are communicating about. At last, you must know and learn about their language.
Source: The effect of human interaction on guinea pig behavior, Reduction in aggression and dominance status in guinea pigs, Social confrontation in male guinea pig.