Jealousy In Piggies

winifredandalp

winifredandalp

Junior Guinea Pig
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Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever experienced guinea pigs getting jealous? Like, if you praise one piggy and not the other will they get jealous? Or can they get jealous of another guinea pig's relationship with other piggies? I find it quite fascinating if they experience human emotions like this!
 
Hiya,
Mmm I’m not sure if they do I’m afraid. It takes a young child time to learn jealousy as I don’t think it’s a primary emotion (like happy or sad) I’m thinking that Guinea pigs have smaller brains than us so perhaps their emotions are different. It’s a good thought though and I would love to get into the head of either one of my 3 girly guinea piggies to see what they’re really thinking. :roll: Xx
 
I'm also not sure whether piggies are capable of having and expressing such emotions, but sometimes when I'm petting Maisie, Alice will want some fuss too. She'll walk straight over to where my hand is and kind of raise her head a little - which I interpret as, come on then mum, where's my fuss!
 
Thanks for your replies, everyone! I find them quite interesting!
Hoppity.K said:
Hiya,
Mmm I’m not sure if they do I’m afraid. It takes a young child time to learn jealousy as I don’t think it’s a primary emotion (like happy or sad) I’m thinking that Guinea pigs have smaller brains than us so perhaps their emotions are different. It’s a good thought though and I would love to get into the head of either one of my 3 girly guinea piggies to see what they’re really thinking. :roll: Xx
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furryfriends (TEAS) said:
All animals are as intelligent as they need to be in order to survive. Guinea pigs are not capable of having emotions such as jealousy.
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VickiA said:
Piggies do understand pack/herd mentality in terms of hierarchy. I always pet the alpha sow first.
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and @Janey oops!
 
Haha I used to pretend that my late Peter got jealous. He was the man in my life until I met the other half. Then he used to headbutt my hand while I was trying to text (at the start of the relationship) I know it was because I stopped stroking rather than jealously but I can't pretend lol
 
It makes it funner to pretend!
Lady Kelly said:
Haha I used to pretend that my late Peter got jealous. He was the man in my life until I met the other half. Then he used to headbutt my hand while I was trying to text (at the start of the relationship) I know it was because I stopped stroking rather than jealously but I can't pretend lol
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winifredandalp said:
It makes it funner to pretend!
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It really doesn't help that Peter never wee's on anyone during laptime so I gave him to the other half for a cuddle on one of his visits to my flat, popped to the toilet and when I came back Peter was back in the cage because he had wee'd all over him :))
 
How romantic! The men in your life fighting for your love ❤️ Hahah
Lady Kelly said:
It really doesn't help that Peter never wee's on anyone during laptime so I gave him to the other half for a cuddle on one of his visits to my flat, popped to the toilet and when I came back Peter was back in the cage because he had wee'd all over him :))
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Lady Kelly said:
It really doesn't help that Peter never wee's on anyone during laptime so I gave him to the other half for a cuddle on one of his visits to my flat, popped to the toilet and when I came back Peter was back in the cage because he had wee'd all over him :))
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That made me giggle!
 
I haven't witnessed jealousy, unless it's the "I want a treat, too" kind. But I often wonder about guilt... Alice sometimes pees in their pellet bowl, and I think she knows it's wrong. She hides in the fleece forest and looks at me emptying the soaked pellets with one eye, her nose pointing downwards, and looks so remorseful and cute. In contrast, she normally comes to me for a fuss and is popcorning excitedly when I'm cleaning the pellet bowl, because she knows it's food time.
 
Aw, how cute! I haven't had my piggies long enough for them to be *that* confident around me, they let me put my hand in the cage and handfeed them and squeak when i talk to them etc :) But one time, the first time I saw Winifred out of her hidey hole when I first got the girls, I saw her munching on a bit of broccoli in her bed, looking really guilty because she knows if she eats in her bed, she poos in her bed! hahah
RosieMaia said:
I haven't witnessed jealousy, unless it's the "I want a treat, too" kind. But I often wonder about guilt... Alice sometimes pees in their pellet bowl, and I think she knows it's wrong. She hides in the fleece forest and looks at me emptying the soaked pellets with one eye, her nose pointing downwards, and looks so remorseful and cute. In contrast, she normally comes to me for a fuss and is popcorning excitedly when I'm cleaning the pellet bowl, because she knows it's food time.
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I do find watching their behaviors fascinating. They really are bright little animals that don't get enough credit for their intelligence, though I always try to remember they have 'pig intelligence' rather than human intelligence. Jealousy is a sophisticated emotion that I am not convinced that guinea pigs experience in the way that humans do, but I am very confident that my pigs are aware when the other pigs gets a treat and are quick to hustle over so that they may also get a treat (or try to steal the treat from the luckier piggie.) I also had a very dominant sow who did not like to share lap time with other piggies. She would chase them off and get very aggressive if we tried to hold two on our laps at the same time. As far as she was concerned, we were HER people and no one else's. She was a queen bee who did not share well in most regards!
 
When I give Mo a cuddle and then go to stroke Steve, Mo will immediately run over to my hand and push himself under it. And if I have Mo out for a cuddle and not Steve, Steve will run over to the closest corner of his cage and sit there watching.
 
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