Deaf Guinea Pig?

[Queensmii]

Hello everybody! So I have my lil piggy named Tucker whom I actually adopted from a pet store back in September. I only learned recently how bad it is to get a guinea pig from the pet store and I won't do it again if I ever got him a friend. Shelter or rescue it is! However, I have noticed a couple strange things going on with Tucker. Ever since I've gotten him, he's always been VERY calm, but generally pretty friendly. He doesn't run from noise and go to his hide out. Once I dropped a fan in my room (where his cage is kept) and he continued to eat like he'd heard nothing. My mom then suggested that he may actually be deaf (which of course I don't mind in the slightest), but I was wondering if anyone has had a similar problem. I've tried things like clapping behind him or snapping my fingers, but his ears don't twitch. I also recently had to vacuum my room and went next to his cage and lone and behold the lil guy was sleeping! He had no response to the vacuum and only woke up when I tapped the side of his cage. His health is completely fine and he popcorns and runs around a lot! Does anyone have any problems like this? Is it something I should be concerned about? And if I ever did bond him with another guinea pig, would I need to have any special accommodations? Thank you!

 

[Lady Kelly]

I don't have any experience of this but it does sound like he could be deaf. Have you tried playing noises of guinea pigs wheeking from you tube etc so see if he looks around for them? I don't imagine it would have too much impact on bonding but maybe finding a rescue that might have a calm older boar to pair with him might help. I'm more thinking a lively baby might fall into the "sneaking up on him" category which could upset him. Going to tag @furryfriends (TEAS) as she has a lot of experience with special needs piggies and if anyone has come across a deaf piggy it will be Debbie

 

[Freela]

A lot of pigs don't like unaccustomed loud noises (though they will stop reacting to typical noises that they hear all the time.) It seems very plausible that if he slept through a vacuum next to head he may not have normal hearing (my pigs all hate the vacuum.) I'm not sure that there would be any way to know for sure other than the kids of general signs you have already described. I've never had a deaf pig but have had a couple that developed cataracts and they did fine with other pigs and didn't need any accommodations. Pigs really a lot on scent, so being blind or deaf is not as much of a hindrance as it might be to us!

 

[Queensmii]

I don't have any experience of this but it does sound like he could be deaf. Have you tried playing noises of guinea pigs wheeking from you tube etc so see if he looks around for them? I don't imagine it would have too much impact on bonding but maybe finding a rescue that might have a calm older boar to pair with him might help. I'm more thinking a lively baby might fall into the "sneaking up on him" category which could upset him. Going to tag @furryfriends (TEAS) as she has a lot of experience with special needs piggies and if anyone has come across a deaf piggy it will be Debbie

Thank you for the quick response! And yes, I have tried to play some wheeking noises or general chatter, but Tucker just continues doing what he usually does. If he's eating, he continues to eat. If he's sleeping, he continues to sleep. And thank you; I'll defiantly keep that in mind once I get him a friend.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Thank you for the quick response! And yes, I have tried to play some wheeking noises or general chatter, but Tucker just continues doing what he usually does. If he's eating, he continues to eat. If he's sleeping, he continues to sleep. And thank you; I'll defiantly keep that in mind once I get him a friend.

I have had experience of a piggy with cataracts and the only time she just to start teeth chattering/showing annoyance was when my then baby, Lily, was bombing around the cage like a mad thing and I put it down to just appearing right next to poor Willow without any warning. Willow was never aggressive with it luckily, she'd just tell her off a little

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

I don't have any experience of this but it does sound like he could be deaf. Have you tried playing noises of guinea pigs wheeking from you tube etc so see if he looks around for them? I don't imagine it would have too much impact on bonding but maybe finding a rescue that might have a calm older boar to pair with him might help. I'm more thinking a lively baby might fall into the "sneaking up on him" category which could upset him. Going to tag @furryfriends (TEAS) as she has a lot of experience with special needs piggies and if anyone has come across a deaf piggy it will be Debbie

We've got a number of deaf/blind guinea pigs. Those with hearing loss, are generally very confident and don't react to loud noises. However, all our deaf piggies are blind too, so they aren't going to get the visual cues either.

 

[Queensmii]

A lot of pigs don't like unaccustomed loud noises (though they will stop reacting to typical noises that they hear all the time.) It seems very plausible that if he slept through a vacuum next to head he may not have normal hearing (my pigs all hate the vacuum.) I'm not sure that there would be any way to know for sure other than the kids of general signs you have already described. I've never had a deaf pig but have had a couple that developed cataracts and they did fine with other pigs and didn't need any accommodations. Pigs really a lot on scent, so being blind or deaf is not as much of a hindrance as it might be to us!

Yeah; I used to have a piggy named Ella and I know for sure she didn't like the vacuum at all. And alright! It's kind of a relief to know that it's not a hindrance to him if he is.

 

[AD12]

I'd definitely get him a friend as soon as you can. Piggies need piggy company.