Guinea pig noises and their meaning

Guinea pigs communicate not only with body language, but also with sounds – Shutterstock / Miroslav Hlavko

Guinea pig noise is a science in itself. The various, sometimes funny-sounding sounds can vary greatly depending on the condition and situation of the animal. Below you will find a selection of the most important sounds made by guinea pigs and their possible meanings.

Bumping: guinea pig noises during courtship

The term brommel refers to a humming noise that guinea pig masters, in particular, use to court the females who are willing to mate. A rodent that fusses usually wants to show off its qualities as a lover. Most of the time, the male moves his buttocks, straightens his legs and lowers his head while walking around the female.

However, the bumbling and this type of posture can also be a threatening gesture. Lay like this Guinea pig With the help of the special hum, the ranking order is also determined, for example in a pure buck group. When female guinea pigs babble, they are usually in heat, i.e. ready to be mated by the love-mad guinea-bucks.

Chirping: A guinea pig sound when stressed?

When a guinea pig chirps, it almost sounds like there’s a bird in the house. The sound that the little rodents make for up to 20 minutes, while usually shaking the whole body, is one of the loudest sounds guinea pigs are capable of.

The meaning of the sound has not yet been clarified. However, it is believed that guinea pigs chirp when they are trying to cope with stress. This can be triggered by various reasons:

• social overload, for example when an animal cannot cope with its role in the hierarchy of the group
• inconsistencies in the ranking
• Pains

Guinea pigs also make these noises when an animal is sick or has died. In short: When the rodents chirp, they are usually unsettled and nervous.

Cooing: Sounds used to calm guinea pigs

A guinea pig’s coo sounds a little like a cat’s purr. Unlike the house tiger, however, the noise does not indicate well-being.

Guinea pigs coo when they want to calm each other down. This can be the case, for example, when the small animals feel pressured, for example because other animals are becoming obtrusive. Even if people do something that the rodents don’t want, guinea pigs often make the quiet noises. They try to get their owner to stop. Since guinea pigs are prey animals, this can happen when they are picked up or stroked, for example.

Loud squeaks or screams

Loud squeaking can have several meanings in guinea pigs:

• hunger
• Fear, panic and pain – then the squeak sounds shrill
• Call to find the group again – for example, when an animal has gone away and wants to return

In the following video you can hear the three sounds of banging, screaming and chirping:

Moaning: Guinea pig noises when eating and feeling good

If guinea pigs muck softly or squeak quietly and calmly, they use these noises to signal that they are happy. A quiet muckling noise can often be heard as a feel-good sound when guinea pigs are happily relaxing or eating next to each other.

Chattering teeth: warning signal and threatening gesture

Chattering of teeth often occurs in the context of disputes about the order of precedence. It is a sign of showing off and is used for threatening. Chattering teeth in guinea pigs is often the first step to a serious argument. If your rodent clatters at you, it means something like: leave me alone!

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