Guinea Pig Noises and Sounds Explained

Why do Guinea Pigs makes noises?

There are a variety of reasons that piggies make noises, it could be that your pig is hungry, angry, happy or contented - but how do you know one noise from another without being Doctor Dolittle?

This article hopes to give you an insight into some of the noises made by guinea pigs. Our fury friends all have different personalities and they can often act in many different and confusing ways. Hopefully this page will help you make sense of your pig's sounds.

'Wheeking'

Guinea pigs are very vocal creatures and wheeking is a classic sound. This is the high pitched squeaking sounds that a guinea pig will make. This noise represents the pig craving attention, most probably because they think that a feed is on the horizon! It's the human equivalent of banging your knife and fork on the dinner table.

A pig will be set off wheeking for a variety of reasons, generally because they have heard a sound that they associate with food, often the rustling of food packaging.

The pig should always have a supply of dry food, so the wheeking will often occur when they think that they are going to get fresh food such as vegetables. Just because your pig is wheeking does not mean that you should feed him or her straight away. If you do this your pig will wheek more and more often (and you will become more and more poor!) It is better to get your pig into a feeding routine, perhaps conditioning it to know that when it starts to get dusk it will be time for fresh veggies!

Teeth Clacking

This is the noise that a guinea pig makes by grinding it's teeth together. The pig does this as a warning sound. He/she is trying to tell you that they feel threatened and are not happy. Teeth clacking is a pre-cursor to a possible attack. Guinea pigs make this noise to both other animals and humans.

If you hear the clacking, it is probably best to back off, or you may need to separate pigs that share the same cage. Guinea Pigs rarely bite humans, but if you push your poor piggie too much, don't be surprised if he or she tries to nibble on your fingers!

Cooing

This is the sound that mothers make towards their babies. The cooing sound performs a similar function to the noises a human mother makes towards her child. It is a calming and reassuring sound for the babies. It makes them aware that their mother is present and there is no imminent danger.

Pig to Pig Noises

As we are establishing, guinea pigs are very sociable and vocal animals. They will often make an array of different sounds to each other which convey different meanings. For example, one pig may make a high pitched squeak towards another. This is a sign that he/she is upset and not happy. They may make purring noises to each other, low level purring suggests that they are happy and comfortable in each others company, however a louder purring and staccato body movements may indicate a problem between 2 pigs.

Guinea Pig Song

Most owners will never get to hear guinea pig song. Some people refute that it even exists. There are various theories as to why a guinea pig may sing and there is no accepted answer. Guinea pig song, is just that, the pig sounds as if it is singing, making long continuous noises of various pitch. The pig may stand on its back legs and it is said that all other pigs that hear the song will freeze on the spot until the song reaches its' conclusion. If you think your pig is singing, don't be worried, just enjoy it - it is indeed a rare thing!