Guinea Pigs Body Language and Behaviors Explained
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- Guinea pigs have many interesting behaviors and body language quirks.
In this video, we will talk about 18 strange things guinea pigs do and explain the meanings behind them. From spraying urine to biting and dragging their bottom, stay tuned to find out.
Freezing
Guinea pigs freeze or stand completely still when they feel threatened.
Spraying urine
More often than not, guinea pigs pee on each other to show dominance. The dominant guinea pig will pee on the subordinate, which shows its authority.
Guinea pigs also spay urine when they are marking their territory or when they are annoyed.
Sleeping with Open Eyes
Yep, you heard that right. Guinea pigs often sleep with their eyes open. They sleep with their eyes closed too, but only if they feel very safe and comfortable with their surroundings.
Guinea pigs dream during the REM stage of sleep and they twitch their ears or whiskers in response to whatever's happening in their dreams.
Eating Cecotropes
Have you ever seen your guinea pig dip its head down between its hind legs, then come up chewing?
Well, your piggy is eating their cecotropes, which are soft feces that are nutrient-rich.
Guinea pigs produce two types of droppings, fecal pellets and cecal pellets.
It is from these cecal pellets that guinea pigs get the majority of their nutrition.
Popcorning
Popcorning is when a guinea pig hops straight up in the air, sometimes repeatedly. Because of the suddenness of the jumping, it’s been called popcorning.
It usually happens when guinea pigs are very happy and excited. They’re having a good time, and literally jumping for joy!
Biting
Guinea pigs are not usually aggressive animals; however, your piggy might bite you or another piggy if they feel they are threatened or in danger.
Biting their cage
Guinea pigs' teeth grow continuously throughout their life, so they need to chew regularly to keep their teeth down to a healthy size. Chewing on their cage bars could mean they do not have enough things to chew on.
Guinea pigs may also chew on their cage bars when they are bored, nervous or frustrated.
Licking
Bonded guinea pigs show affection by grooming and licking one another. So if your piggy licks, and perhaps even try to nibble you gently, they are showing you that they love and care for you. A guinea may also be giving you a lick simply because you taste good!
Sprawling out
Sprawling is when a guinea pig lies down on its side or belly. This position indicates that your little pet is comfortable and feels safe with its surroundings.
Scent marking
If you see your guinea pigs rubbing their bottom across on the floor or against cage furnishings, it is their way of claiming the area as theirs.
Guinea pigs have scent glands slightly above their anal regions that they use to mark their territory.
In a similar manner to bottom dragging, both male and female guinea pigs urinate in different spots and on various objects in the cage to mark their territory.
Tossing head in the air
Tossing the head back in the air is common behavior guinea pigs use to show that they are annoyed or uncomfortable.
Mounting
In guinea pigs, mounting is either a sign of a reproduction response or a dominance behavior.
A dominant guinea pig will chase the other around the cage and mount on subordinate guinea pigs to place themselves as the leader and declare their place.
Running away from being picked up
Guinea pigs are prey animals, so their instinct is to run away if they feel threatened.
If you're trying to pick them up and they back away from you, it's not a rejection intrinsically but rather a natural defense.
Yawning
Guinea pigs will yawn for one of two reasons. Firstly, a yawn will come on as your piggy is getting ready for a nap. But they may also yawn as a way of showing their teeth at another piggy in order to establish dominance.
Sniffing the air
Sniffing is a guinea pig’s way to check out what is going on around them. If your guinea pig sniffs the air, it wants to see what is out there. Keep in mind that guinea pig’s sense of smell is 25 times better than a human.
Fidgeting while being held
This is often a sign that your guinea pig is just tired of being held, or needs to go to the bathroom.
Touching noses
If you notice two guinea pigs touching noses with each other, they are sniffing at each other. This is a posture that guinea pigs use when they are getting to know each other. Touching noses is like hand greetings in humans and they will touch noses to greet each other.
Head-raising
Raising or stretching their head is another way guinea pigs show dominance. In guinea pig social circles, the higher the head, the more in charge the guinea pig appears
Hears bags rumbling...wheet wheet ( what's for dinner)
Yup! 😂
If i ruffle a chip bag they go:
WEEEEEEK WHEEEEEEEEK
Ikr!
I could just be pouring cereal. 🤣
no because all I have to do is wake up and *WEEEK WEEKK* like how does he know I'm up like HUH???
I had a rare biting piggy. I never hurt him or did anything mean to him- I loved him! - I figured out that he would bite when my hands got too close to his belly. As a small prey animal, it scared him to have anything close to his belly because he felt vulnerable. Once I realized that, I stopped getting too close to his belly and the biting stopped.
My piggy does the same thing! Every time someone pets it’s belly.
Mines bites cause he's an ass cleaning out his cage n he went up to my hand n bite me
My Guinea pig does the same when I touch her paws
Yeah one of mine does the whole "warning peck" if shes touched near the neck... including the feet.
The other doesnt like it either but she just rants at me and push my hand away if i touch jer there.
Does make it a bit difficult when they need their nails trimmed.
@@supervegito2277 wonder who trimming their nails in the wild . 🤔
Me: accidentally rustled bag of chips
My piggies: FOOD?!
Haha that happens to me too
Every night, around 8pm, my Guinea pig will push his hide out into the middle of his cage and start popcorning and running around it. I love it. So cute!
Did your Guinea pig push it in night or day?
I feel one of the most precious gifts my piggies have ever given me is sleeping on me with their eyes closed.❤
That’s Because They Trust You.
That’s sweet!
Aww www 🥺
One of my Guinea pigs nearly does backflips when he popcorns 😂
I've had piggies get so into their popcorns that they land on their side and kick their feet around for a second like they're seizing before standing back up and zooming around more. XD
Lololol😂😂
I like when theres a whole pack of them together following each other around.
That's called a piggy train :o)
They are the cutest when they stretch out and yawn🥺🥺
Oh my goodness yes! Once I got it on video 😍
There's a way induce a yawn in most guinea pigs in my experience when they are comfortable with you, usually you can "yawn" a guinea pig when they are relaxed by stroking the length of their bodies wrapping one hand around it by the shoulder and slowly working down their body like a massage.
Yes 🥰🥺my guinea pigs always stretch out their little paws and yawn❤ 🥰it's so adorable! 😍😃
Indeed! I love it when one of my guinea pigs does this!
My poor little baby died a few years back and after I did a bunch of research to find out how although it was almost all inconclusive as she was a rescue and I didn’t have that much information on her, when I found her dead she was sprawled out at the time I didn’t think much of it but I remembered and clicked the video to see and it warms my heart that she left feeling safe and comfortable ❤️
Rip 🙏
My piggy died on Christmas day last year and luckily I found her before she passed so we all held her and kissed her and told her we love her. She passed in my sisters arms because it was her guinea pig
@Sean Kerby sorry for your loss :(
My Guinea pig died peacefully as well. I just didn’t know how sick she really was. I miss her. I don’t think about her everyday like I did when it was fresher but I miss her cause she was sweet and cute. She looked it too.
Ummm..I mean, when you lose all control of your body in death, you may be laying in a peaceful position where you land but that doesn't indicate a state of comfort or safety. Sad to say. If anything, derive comfort from the fact she probably didn't know what was going on and no signs of a struggle may mean she at least lost consciousness fast. I've been there in many a guinea pigs final moments and a lot of times they die in a "flopped" or "sprawled" position but they were clearly in a lot of distress prior.
A little tip on how to pick guinea pigs up:
Dont immediately pick them up, you should put your hand in front of them, then pet them, after a few seconds you can pick them up, if they sqeak or keep jumping that means they arent really in the "mood" to be picked up. And the way i pick up MY guinea pigs is that i put my thumbs on their back, and the rest of my fingers on top, then i just fix my position when theyre in my hands so i can pet them. And sometimes when you go to put them bacm in theyre cage, they'll probably try and jump out of your hands, if your close to the ground of the cage, let them go, but if your a little bit high up, its not recommended to let them jump, or they will end up hurting another guinea pig, or themselves🙂
Good advice here. Been keeping pigs for almost thirty years now, I find there are some variations to this method depending on the guinea pig. My boy responds to a little head and ear scruffle before I run the length of his body with my hand before picking him up. Whatever the preferred method of interaction the guinea pig appreciates before a pick up, never snatch at them like I've seen too many pet store runners do. They snatch them up like a hawk would and it pisses me off.
Whenever I do a little tidying up on the cage or bring the treats and stuff they always popcorn and it is the cutest thing ever! They just love hoping around and getting hyped for the treat or the nice clean space for them to make a mess of again!
My Guinea pigs love to do the sprawling out and sleep with their eyes closed when I’m playin with my Nintendo. They go under the tv that has a pillow for them, I lower the volume and they do it
Doesn't they pee everywhere if left outside?
@@pifandrei5743 mmm not all the time! but make sure u keep the cage door open (I’m not sure what cage you have but if you don’t open it from top then keep the cage door open so if they need to go pee maybe they could go in the bathroom in the cage!)
Awwww (๑•ᴗ•๑)♡ So CuTe❤ꈍᴗꈍ
Thank you for all the tips! I was worried something was wrong when one of my Guinea pigs was mounting the other.
Same
Same 😭 I thought they are gay for a second 🥲
@@avachoo7059 LMAOOO
Guinea pig horses
Sometimes my guinea pigs bite me because they think my finger is a piece of grass 😂
Adorable and informative; thanks! 🌼
Guinea pigs have a great sense of smelling, they can recognize humans by how the human walks and speaks, they also love music as one of the few domestic animals. ❤
Thank you for this informative and helpful video!
Great, it's really nice to have animations and videos that show the guinea pigs behaviours while you're explaining the behaviours 😃
What about staring
@@MitchellBPYao The guinea pig may be sleeping with eyes open? or seeks attention if it has a close bond with the human.
@@MitchellBPYao I read its vecause they'd like some attention like a little pat
Thank you for making this video so I can know more about guinea pigs
One of my pigs nibbles me and then proceeds to lick me as if it’s an apology. It’s not that she’s scared of me since she eats out of my hand, popcorns almost 24/7 and sprawls out even when I walk past. She’s called Little My, if you know Moomins ya know ;)
Aww I’m loving these piggy videos! Keep up the good work. :) I got a New Guinea Pig to love yesterday and I’m so happy. His name is Furrn 😂 Lots of From Furrn, Daisy (my other Guinea pig) and I to everyone!
Answered my Observations, thank you ^.)❤️
Tip for others. If youre guinea pigs stand afwully still but standing you might want to make sure there okay. 1 time my 3d guinea pig was standing awfully still, still breathing but her sisters were being very energetic. A little time later she was in the same exact spot. She never moved. I tried giving her her favorite treat but she didnt want it. I did something I never wanted to do wich was try to scare her (not to hard, guinea pigs can die of shock)
So I grabbed her with my hands from ABOVE wich guinea pigs can easily mistake with a bird but she didnt even flinch. Not even when I picked her up for real. I said it to my mom, she said to wake up my dad, he was a little frustrated that I woke him up at first but came jumping out of bed once he heard what was going on. We raced to the vet but we were to late. We could choose. Let her suffer but give her a goodbye or give her a painless death. We chose for the painless one because nothing deseves to be in such pain if it cant be saved. My little brother was gonna go to a party but when he heard that our guinea pig wasnt gonna make it he didnt even go. Now for some reason, there is this saying at school that I twisted my guinea pigs neck. Ussually not even said it was because she was in pain but I wasnt even there at her death. My dad got with a car and we just saw her die because of an injection on camera. It was 1 way to say goodbye. So if ur guinea pig ever sits awfully still, keep an eye on him or her.
So what was wrong with it? I'm not taking my pig to the vet cause it stands up.
@@FreePigeon i mean if it doesnt move in the slightest while thd others a just pumneling around. That might mean something isnt right.
@@FreePigeon and what was wrong with it? She had a lot of gas in her stomach and we were to late bringing her to the vet.
Well done video!!
My guinea pig only bites the cage when I bring ✨ greens ✨ because they are wayyy too excited for dinnerr
Informative 😍😍👏
Omg I’m so glad I googled this topic I thought my piggy was sick or dying when actually she is sprawling out and comfortable I actually have a very comfortable piggy she always squeaks for me and with me she always popcorn, and she sleeps with her eyes closed all the time and just recently within the last couple of months I noticed that sprawling and she’s sprawling outside of her hideout. I’m so relieved
You forgot they lick when you sweat, because of the salt.
Ty very informative video
Thank you for these helpful information. It all gives me a sense of understanding.
Very helpful ❤❤❤
Nice!
This video was very helpful!!! I have two male guinea pigs and I always wondered why are they mounting on eachother, finally got the answer :p
Thank you so much for this video!
fr my dad would say theyre gay💀
@@rlpbri I thought that too lol
@@rlpbri Same lmao
My Guinea Pig would always squeal for treats once the Sun rose. It was fine during the winter at 7:00am but pretty annoying during the Summer when the sun would come out at like 4:00am LOL. Still loved him to death though. He died around 2 years ago.
Lovely piggies ❤
Intresting
Piggies are so adorable
Wow. Very Nice
Thank you
Aww I miss my piggies Rusty and Dexter! They were good boys :)
Actually sometimes yawning can mean that they’ve been in a fight and the one who lost yawns.
my piggys always run away from being picked up but when their being held they love it and its just cause their scared weve only had them for about a month
Same lol
My Guinea pig was really scared at first, but he’s warmed up now. He lets me pick him up (unlike the first week or two that I got him)
this realy helped me take care of mine
I love my guinea pigs Freya and Eisa!
I didn’t know Guinea Pigs have the EXACT SAME BEHAVIOURS AS BUNNYS? AND MY TWO RABBITS DO 1:44 exactly like they do!
I just got one yesterday thank you for the info
You have 2 get two not 1.
You know what, I am happy my two male guinea pigs don't pee on eachother
Wow!!!!!!
my guinea pigs love sitting like me lol its so funny to see
Guinea pigs are very intelligent! When I tell mine to go in his house to enjoy a treat he goes right in!
Good To Know.😊
I have never seen this animal but anyway I can learn it from you 🤩
nice
6:15 hey! That’s miffy and another piggie (I forgot her name) they belong to someone called Erin’s ark you should go check her piggie videos out!
guinea pigs LOVE showing dominance and like "im the queen/king"
Sprawling we call it pancaking in my house
I love hearing that noise when they hear the plastic bag
4:25 made me tear up because i had a class guinea who recently passed away and he would always lick me when i held him, i miss him so much
me: *accidentally opens fridge in my guinea pig’s room*
guinea pigs: FOOOD🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥‼️‼️‼️💥💥💥
Yall noticed how he skipped #17😭
I didn't notice until you pointed it out
Did you film this on my birthday 😅
Now I know why my guinea pig raises his read at me all the time
Just a lot of pee and poo. But they’re so cute!
And small, silly and smelly, enjoying my time with my new one
My Guinea pigs did some of these things, sprawling, licking, popcorning, see now this is what I mean when I say they are my little angels, I wish you could see them, THEY ARE SOOO CUTE ❤️
*plastic bag rustling* my guinea pigs: WHEEK WHEEK WHEEK WHEEK
This man could be capping about anything in this video and ima believe it
My guinea pig had cancer and couldn't eat or poop and he was in alot of pain but he was still popcorning so what does that mean?
Now i understand why my male piggy mounts my other male piggy :,)
my kids 2 male guinea pigs do this as well.. glad i don't have to have that conversation explaining the other thing to them :D :D
Same with mine lol
Our family calls sprawling "flopping"!!
Here!
Oh thanks you too
I just got a guinea pig, this will definetly become handy! Also, i have seen my guinea pig popcorn a few times, only when i gave him red peppers or cucumbers.
You need two of them. Having just one is cruel.
@@dowogenesthedog7186 Ok, who told you to get up in my business? Cause if your trying to get up in my business i will not hesitate from doing anything that community guidlines cannot handle. Also, why not? Im keeping him clean, safe and secure, healthy.. I mean, what do you want from me! Im doing the best i fucking can!!
@@michaelzxx5121 there’s no need to be aggressive to that person, typically Guinea pigs are herd animals, and when you only have one they are at risk of having depression and dying from depression. It’s just always best to have more than one so that they have that companionship that we can’t give them that another Guinea pig can. I can give you some tips if you like I have two boys of my own, that I have had for almost a year now and even I’m still learning new things about them
@@ivylyons2303 Thank you but im pretty much underage and my parents only got one. They dont have the best relationship with animals, so a second on would litterally make my parents wanna pack up and leave. But other than that, i always pet him after school or before school, i hand feed him and i also play with him. I care about him a lot and i would never want anything to happen to my baby. The last person that owned him, never took him to the vet, never took him outside and put him in one small cage with a few more guinea pigs. The first time i saw him i knew that i wasnt gonna let anybody hurt him.
One of my guinea pigs freezes everytime anybody enters my room if its not me. Guinea pigs usually throw their head back when petting their head.
My Guinea pig yanks on the cage too get my attention for food all the time lol
W0W!
In my experience chewing the cage bars means they found out it makes annoying noise, so they do it when they want something more tasty than old boring hay. :D
What does it mean if ur pig just stays in a sprawling position and squeak when ur near
Amen
I saw them mounting 💀
i have two female guinea pigs the same age about half a year and one is named cinnamon (smaller than Sugar) and one is named Sugar (bigger than Cinnamon) even tho she is smaller, Cinnamon is way more dominent than sugar lol
My late piggie named Bunny. He would bite the cage bars as a way to tell me to hurry the eff up 😂😂 if i would take too long feeding the others 😂
My Guinea pig kept mounting on my other Guinea pig and I thought he just wanted a piggy back 😂😅 6:30
Yeah I’m most definitely not getting one they pee on things and others… most definitely not about to be dealing with tht😂😂😂 I’m glad I did research
Yeah, I made that mistake when I got my first guinea pig didn’t look into it first and then we got another guy after that since we thought we know enough about guinea pigs for the first one we didn’t if you do end up feeding the guinea pigs you might just wanna end up giving it more attention rather than getting a second one it’s a lot more work and sometimes they hate each other and then you have to get a separate cage and then maybe even get two more pay so they get along tell me might not even get along
I have one he past away few months ago his name is Chill
soo i just got my guinea pig yesterday, when i first saw them. They were very scared til i put them in my legs and they started to approach me. but what i rly am worried about is they close their eyes while sleeping, i do some researches then found that it means that they are comfortable with the surroundings, but i also found answers that it means theres some hazzards aroung, my room are clean but i dont rly know why they close their eyes.
closing eyes is a positive sign and indicates they feel safe
@@dibbymau may i ask, is it safe for guinea pig to go inside my shirt? and btw i dont really know why my guinea pigs keep crawling into my neck, do you know why?
@@yoonminieyue those are normal behaviours to go around your neck!! if you don’t already make sure you have a friend for your piggie. The pig room on youtube has great informational videos coming from someone who works in petcare
tysm i got one and i wanted to know what hes doing a stuf
My family and I raised piggies when I was a kid. We never put them in a cage. Cardboard boxes served us well. They chewed up the cardboard...it kept their teeth sharp, and it gave them something to do. They could crawl out whenever they wanted, but they always came back for the food.
One thing I learned: never boop a piggy on the nose. Touching noses is one thing; booping is another. They don't like it, and sometimes they will bite. They''re dopey-looking in a way, but they're much faster than people think, and their teeth are sharp.
Really? I boop my piggies’ noses all the time lol 😮 they have never tried to bite me. Maybe because they are still young - less than a year old.
I found 2 guinea pigs out in the cold and I'm trying to care for them. Right now the cage I have them is a small bird cage but that's all I have. I ordered a big 8 square foot cage that's coming tomorrow and I know I'm supposed to feed them hay and veggies and pellets. I'm just trying to find the best cheapest option for lining there cage. I have 5 1x1 absorbent pads coming and 5 30x18 inch washable fleece blankets so far. Should I line the bottom of the cage with paper and then the absorbent pads with the fleece on that? Should I use towels or shirts along with it and how often would I need to wash there sheets. Also would newspaper be a good idea in the bottom of the cage since we use so much of it?
If you have fleece blankets and peepee pads you don’t need newspaper. Yes you can use towels as well I do I use towels, blankets, and peepee pads. Timothy hay is a must, for a cage you can buy off Amazon a cube storage organizer for like 50 to 60 bucks. Yes they can have veggies but absolutely no iceburg lettuce it’s bad for there stomach, I usually feed mine spinach, Romain lettuce, and kale they can also have carrots, celery, broccoli, bell peppers. It’s also good to get them toys as well which you can get from petsmart or petco and also make sure they have enrichments as well. This might all be overwhelming all this information if you have any more questions you’re more than welcome to message just let me know
I know you just took the baby’s in but over time you will learn what they like and don’t like. Right now they’re probably scared so once you have the cage set up right and everything for them let them get used to the environment and slowly introduce yourself to them if that makes sense
If they gnaw on the cage you may want to give them something else to gnaw on, something more than hay. They rly like to have some wood in the cage too.
We just got 2 young male guinea pigs abt 2 weeks ago. At first the black one was mounting the brown one in the dominance treatment. But in their new environment with us, it was the black one that ran into their house all the time, and the brown one checking us out while we tried communicating. Then for days the brown one was mounting the black one. Now, a week later, the black one is mounting HIM again. Evidently they trade off in being "boss". Does that happen only when they're young or do they change their roles with each other all their lives?
That means that the other guinea pig won't except him as the dominant piggy you may have gotten two dominant guinea pigs. It can take them a while to figure it out.
I've seen my boys eat their poop many times.
You said 18 thing, where is number 17 haha?
#17 was missed and #11 is done twice but there is still only 17 behaviours.
I liked the most of this video that you used hamster to visualise Guinea pigs. Especially „guinea pigs“ grabbing stuff, which, spoiler, they can’t do
Hey you missed #17..
Who has noticed it??
Thx a lot cuz my pet never slept with his eyes open
When I had a guinea pigs, they slept eyes closed😘
what does it mean when my Guinea Pig shakes their butt?
if it’s to another piggy it’s called rumblestrutting it displays dominance or if it’s female to male it’s ready to mate
My Guinea pig has plenty to chew on and eat and he still bites the Side of his cage. It usually only happens if I need to refill his water or if I have veggies
Yeah, my piggy also chews on his cage whenever he wants something. Usually treats, or saying "it's dinner/hay refill time!"
When he makes that teeth noise does it mean it's hungry or scared of me being too close
9:17 is it the same if they do it fast infront of the other guinea pig?
dawg why my pig run from me but does everything to show its comfy
Can i ask we have 2 pighies They're separated and that one urinates in one corner and then lies down on it
I don't like it too much but is it normal or not?
You should have 3
And not seperate
@@kowhaifan1249 We can't have 3 guinea pigs
We don't have space for 3 piggies
And they've only been separated for a while
@@skinny_potato_666_ yea that is how they show dominance and it is completely normal.