Rumblestrutting

[SallyM79]

Could someone please describe what rumblestrutting is? I think one of my girls is doing it but not sure. Is she trying to establish dominance? They have been here for almost 4 weeks now.
Also, what does teeth chattering sound and look like?
Sorry for the basic questions but we are new to guinea pig ownership!

 

[xToNix]

Hi Sally. If you search rumblestrutting and teeth chattering on YouTube, you’ll see some examples. Rumblestrutting is where piggies make quite a deep noise and sway their hips while following another pig around the cage and as you say is a dominance thing but can also be playful in my experience. Teeth chattering is quite a harsh constant snapping of the teeth noise and the pig will usually be facing another as a way of saying back off. Be prepared (with a towel or oven glove, not your bare hands) if you hear this noise as it may be an indication that a fight is about to break out. Sometimes they do it to me if I’ve been getting them out of their cage a lot to give them medicine lol.