New Owners Advice

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Heather2306

Heather2306

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, not sure if I'm posting this in the relevant area. We adopted two 4 month old boys on Friday. They are adorable but as I've never owned Guinea pigs before not sure if some of their behaviour is normal or not. Every so often they get a bit hyper, jumping up and sort of twitching....it's hard to describe! They have been scratching themselves a lot too. Is this "normal" behaviour? We are taking them to the vet for a check up tomorrow just to be sure. Thanks.
 
The jumping and twitching is called popcorning.. it means they are happy and excited.. The scratching however could be any number of things and is best checked out by your vet... Welcome to the world of piggies :love:
 
The jumping up and twitching is called popcorning and is totally normal and shows happiness.

The vet will be able to put your mind at ease regarding the scratching.
 
Thanks for the info :-) Good to know my boys are happy! Not scratching as much now either but going to vet on Friday for a wee check up.
 
Congrats on your boys.Do you have provisions if they fall out and you need to split into pairskFour boars can be unstable.
 
Hi, I only have 2......they are 4 months old :-)
 
Thank you :-) I have another question....hope no-one gets tired of my questions! When we have our boys ( Munch and Nibbles) out for a little play and cuddle, they are very vocal. Is this normal? They don't seem distressed, can anyone explain what the noises mean? Thanks.
 
Heather2306 said:
Thank you :-) I have another question....hope no-one gets tired of my questions! When we have our boys ( Munch and Nibbles) out for a little play and cuddle, they are very vocal. Is this normal? They don't seem distressed, can anyone explain what the noises mean? Thanks.
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The jumping is a happy thing! And the scratching can be normal, or it can be something like ringworm, which one of my pigs got shortly after I adopted her. It's not dangerous, it's just uncomfortable.

As for vocalizations, guinea pig noises are somewhat easy to interpret. You probably know that a long, high pitched screeching "wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeek" means they're scared. The "wheek wheek wheek!" can be anything from excitement to "feed me!" Little wheeks they make when they're curious and exploring, like when you take them out for playtime. Sometimes noises like "clicking" or "chattering" mean "stay away." Chattering can occur if the boys are still working out who is dominant pig. My girls rumble when they're in heat.
 
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