Medina
Junior Guinea Pig
Hello!
I'm still new here and trying to learn...
I just adopted and I'm trying to post my questions in the right places, so if anything is out of place, let me know!
Question 1: How do I know wheeking vs shrieking?
Example: I feel like he's just very happy to see me, and when I pet him, he does start chutting and even lays down until he looks like he's going to sleep... but obviously I want to make sure he's doing well. When I stop, he starts up again. Sometimes he does it out of the blue, but when I check, he seems ok... I thought it was an attention thing, but sometimes he'll go on for a few minutes after I have left and he can no longer see me. I've only picked him up once (to clean his cage) because he's still in a new home and I don't want to stress him.
Question 2: Wheeking when he sees my hamster... is this bad?
So my piggy and my hamster are in the landing of my home. This is the best area because during the day they get natural sunlight, and at night, it gets truly dark. I think it gives their environment a natural feel. They are NOT beside each other, but rather across from one another, about 6 ft (2 meters) apart. I thought guinea pigs couldn't see very well, but when he sees her, he starts up! Wheek wheek wheeeek!
She isn't bothered. At all. In fact, she climbs high enough to see him and watches him curiously. The first night this happened, Panda (hamster) let out one or two tiny chirp sounds, which I know is her way of saying she's a little annoyed by his noise... Other than that she has gone back to doing her usual routine and now ignores him completely. He will continue until I cover his cage with a sheet.
She is nocturnal, so this only happens at night and I'm not worried about covering his cage by that time.
Is it bad? Is he scared or interested? Should they be in separate rooms? I feel like it's non-aggressive, but I really don't want to stress him out.
Question 3:
As I said before, I'm avoiding holding him until I feel he's 100% comfortable with petting and eating from hands. However, I do think he loves attention and craves petting and has never bitten me (only gentle nibbles when he's looking for treats haha). So when should I feel okay with holding him?
That's all for now! Any help is greatly appreciated!
I'm still new here and trying to learn...
I just adopted and I'm trying to post my questions in the right places, so if anything is out of place, let me know!
Question 1: How do I know wheeking vs shrieking?
Example: I feel like he's just very happy to see me, and when I pet him, he does start chutting and even lays down until he looks like he's going to sleep... but obviously I want to make sure he's doing well. When I stop, he starts up again. Sometimes he does it out of the blue, but when I check, he seems ok... I thought it was an attention thing, but sometimes he'll go on for a few minutes after I have left and he can no longer see me. I've only picked him up once (to clean his cage) because he's still in a new home and I don't want to stress him.
Question 2: Wheeking when he sees my hamster... is this bad?
So my piggy and my hamster are in the landing of my home. This is the best area because during the day they get natural sunlight, and at night, it gets truly dark. I think it gives their environment a natural feel. They are NOT beside each other, but rather across from one another, about 6 ft (2 meters) apart. I thought guinea pigs couldn't see very well, but when he sees her, he starts up! Wheek wheek wheeeek!
She isn't bothered. At all. In fact, she climbs high enough to see him and watches him curiously. The first night this happened, Panda (hamster) let out one or two tiny chirp sounds, which I know is her way of saying she's a little annoyed by his noise... Other than that she has gone back to doing her usual routine and now ignores him completely. He will continue until I cover his cage with a sheet.
She is nocturnal, so this only happens at night and I'm not worried about covering his cage by that time.
Is it bad? Is he scared or interested? Should they be in separate rooms? I feel like it's non-aggressive, but I really don't want to stress him out.
Question 3:
As I said before, I'm avoiding holding him until I feel he's 100% comfortable with petting and eating from hands. However, I do think he loves attention and craves petting and has never bitten me (only gentle nibbles when he's looking for treats haha). So when should I feel okay with holding him?
That's all for now! Any help is greatly appreciated!
