guinea pigs

[budge]

hello

i rehomed two guinea pigs two weeks ago. A male and female. Its a long story. Not nice.
My friend agreed to take the female and i have kept the male.
Never had guinea pigs before. Well tell a lie i have. But not since i was 8.

Got the guinea pig a nice new indoor hutch and lots of homely stuff to make him happy.
However he kept sqeaking. Coming up to the cage and squeaking at me. Most disturbing as i though he was upset etc.
I asked at the vet when i took him for a health check and they said that they squeak when they are hungry and as he is painfully underweight i should feed him. So i have done. All the freaking time. That pig eats better than us lot. butkeep squeaking.
When i was inthe pet shop they told me that he was lonely so i got him a friend. Now they both squeak. Despite me feeding them.

Is squeaking a good sign? I pick them out the cage and cuddle them and they seem to like that and the squeaking is quieter but when they see my they squeak from the cage as if they are demented. My rabbit hates the squeaking too. Makes him bang his back legs of the ground in anger.

does anyone know anything about guinea pigs?
I want happy pigs.

 

[hennaly]

Lots of piggies squeek to talk to you, as soon as i go in the garden my piggie squeeks at me even if there is food in his cage, if we cuddle him he chats away to us.
I would say if he has a constant supply of food and have been vet checked he is just talking.

 

[Mummy-D]

Hi budge!

I have got 2 guinea pigs and mine squeak a lot lol!! i cant even open the cupboard where i keep the hoover & also their food without them going demented lol!! Even if i have just fed them they always seem to be squeaking for something.

I tend to give them their pellets in the morning, then when i get in from work middle of afternoon i give them a big pile of timothy hay to eat which they love and i dont think you can overfeed them hay.

Then about 6 o clock, i give them a carrot or apple - the moment they hear me take the chopping board out of the kitchen cupboard and start chopping they squeal for britain.

What are you feeding them and how often?

 

[Urchin]

When i was inthe pet shop they told me that he was lonely so i got him a friend. Now they both squeak.

 

[Kelly G]

Hi budge

I dont know a lot about guinea pigs but my neighbour has them and hers squeak a lot too, they can be really loud too, sometimes, in a morning i hear them in my bedroom s

 

[daftscotslass]

I'm a bit piggy daft, I have 5 of them and used to volunteer at a rescue

Squeaking is usually a good thing. Mine are very demanding of food and will "wheek wheek" whenever I walk into the kitchen/diner which is where they live. They need unlimited hay, a few different types of veggies a day (fruit should only be a treat a couple of times a week) and good quality pellets (not a mix, they are a bugger for selective feeding i.e. picking out the bits they like).

www.guinealynx.info has information on piggy nutrition and health

www.cavyspirit.com general info on their care

 

[budge]

thankyou you everyone for your replies!
mummy d they have a bowl of pellets (burgess) in the morning. then they are put out in the run for the day to graze. I sling in a couple of brocolli floretts, cauli leaves, carrots, baby tomatoes, green beans and cucumber amd maybe some apple. they scoff that then start squeaking when they see me.
then at night when they come in i give them both apple and green beans because they told me its the best way to tame them by giving them food. For crying out loud they ought to be helping me around the house and making me cups of tea by now

 

[hennaly]

thankyou you everyone for your replies!
mummy d they have a bowl of pellets (burgess) in the morning. then they are put out in the run for the day to graze. I sling in a couple of brocolli floretts, cauli leaves, carrots, baby tomatoes, green beans and cucumber amd maybe some apple. they scoff that then start squeaking when they see me.
then at night when they come in i give them both apple and green beans because they told me its the best way to tame them by giving them food. For crying out loud they ought to be helping me around the house and making me cups of tea by now

they sound like a couple of spoilt kids demanding sweets

 

[A&J]

They sound just like our guinea pigs they squeak all the time. Just a point though we use to give ours a bit of apple a day but the vet told us that you should give them apple as a treat say once a week as too much apple can cause bad month ulcers.

 

[budge]

They sound just like our guinea pigs they squeak all the time. Just a point though we use to give ours a bit of apple a day but the vet told us that you should give them apple as a treat say once a week as too much apple can cause bad month ulcers.

yeah i was told that too. i don't give all the veg i listed all in one go. i give maybe two items of veg in their pen.

 

[budge]

to those of you with guinea pigs. what mix have you got ? two males? two females? etc.

i have two males and was wondering if i can add another in the future

 

[A&J]

We have always kept all females as males guinea pigs can become territorial. I was thinking about this earlier and maybe the squeaking is that he is missing his female friend depending on how long they was together for...but there again that does not explain why the newer guinea pig is sqeuaking

Try this website out http://www.jackiesguineapiggies.com/gui ... ounds.html


It has sound recording of different guinea pigs squeaking and tells you the possible reason for that type of squeaking.

 

[budge]

thats fantastic that site is

its put my mind at rest. My piggies purr loads when i have them and i thought it was an unhappy sound but obviously its coz they like me petting them. awwwwww
also the wheek wheek sound they do is for food but also for when they are needing each other so it says onthat site.
That makes loads of sense - if i have Jet then Rex will wheek wheek for him from the cage or from one of my daughters arms. aww. And to think ive been shovelling green beans down him each time he has done it when all he wanted was his cage mate.

 

[Jade&Evie]

if i have Jet then Rex will wheek wheek for him from the cage or from one of my daughters arms.

is he ginger with a cone shaped hair do....

 

[badgergirl]

Ah, welcome to pigdom!

I've always had female pigs, or one male with a harem of girls. There are people I know who have all-male herds, but they require a lot more space, and it's the exception rather than the rule.

They'll always squeak for more food. ALWAYS. If it rattles, it could be food. If you've got it, it could be food. If someone else has got it, it could be food. And if you've nothing, you could potentially be on your way to get food.

Have you heard any 'chirping' yet? Not all pigs do it, and it's the weirdest sound if they do. General consensus is that they're communicating with the mothership.

 

[A&J]

I am pleased that you found the site useful (sp?) and that it has put your mind at rest,

 

[budge]

if i have Jet then Rex will wheek wheek for him from the cage or from one of my daughters arms.

is he ginger with a cone shaped hair do....

YES!!! thats why i named him that