Guinea pigs are very noisy pets and every squeak they make means something, whether it’s directed at you, another guinea pig or just about anything.
By learning what guinea pig sounds mean, you can understand your pet a whole lot better and even notice signs of illness it displays with its little sounds.
Here are all the sounds we will be discussing in this article:
- Wheeking
- Chutting
- Rumble-strutting
- Purring
- Teeth-Chattering
- Chirping
- Complaining
- A loud Squeak!
- Calling out
- Hooting
- Coughing
- Snorting
Let’s talk a little more about the sounds.
Now, not all of these sounds are happy sounds, some of them indicate illness or pain. But it is very important to understand these sounds too.
For most of the sounds, I have included YouTube videos so you can not only learn about the sound, but know what it sounds like, too.
Now let’s discuss each sound with more detail.
Wheeking
Wheeking is a sound that means your guinea pig wants food, and is usually triggered when they notice a sound or an action that they connect to food.
Some examples of this are hearing a bag wrinkling, seeing you opening the fridge door or just when they know it’s feeding time. This is a sound you will probably hear quite a bit from your piggies and is often loud.
Chutting
Chutting is a contented sound, which means that a guinea pig is calm and happy with its surroundings; they often make this noise when they are comfortably exploring an area.
If they chut around you, this means that they are very relaxed and happy with you, which is great! Chutting is often heard quite a bit, but isn’t super loud like wheeking can be.
Rumble-strutting
The sound rumble-strutting has several different meanings. Most often, it is used to show dominance, but it is also used when guinea pigs are mating. This sound can be the start of fights, but it is also used to calm fighting guinea pigs down.
Don’t be alarmed if you hear this sound though, it doesn’t usually mean there will be a fight; in fact, guinea pigs make this sound very often, and don’t usually fight.
Purring
Some people say that purring is a happy sound, while others believe it is a sound that signifies that the guinea pig is annoyed.
In my personal experiences with guinea pigs they have always used purring to indicate that they were annoyed. My guinea pigs often make this sound when they hear a noise that they don’t like.
Teeth-chattering
When a guinea pig teeth-chatters, it usually means that it’s annoyed by something and wants it to stop. This sound could be directed at you, another guinea pig or anything, really.
My guinea pigs often teeth chatter at me when I’m too slow to give them food and at each other when one of them does something annoying. Teeth-chattering is not unusual to hear.
Chirping
Chirping is a sound that means that a guinea pig perceives itself to be in danger. It really sounds like a bird chirping. The funny thing about this is that guinea pigs get scared all the time, but they hardly ever make this sound.
In fact, I have had two guinea pigs for quite awhile, and they have only chirped once before.
Complaining
Guinea pigs will usually complain when another guinea pig is chasing it; if they don’t want to share their food or another guinea pig is too close to them, etc.
Often, when I give my guinea pigs one large piece of food for them to share, they will chase each other to get the treat and complain—a lot. Complaining is another sound that guinea pigs often make.
A loud squeak!
A loud, sharp squeak means that your guinea pig is in pain. You may hear this sound when you are clipping their nails if you get too close to the quick—a blood vessel that is in guinea pig nails— or if the guinea pig is squeezed.
If your guinea pig makes this sound and you don’t know why, give it a quick check find out; if you still don’t know why it made the sound, you may want to take it to the vet.
Calling out
Calling out is a sound that guinea pigs sometimes make when they’re separated but can see each other; it is pretty much guinea pigs calling out to each other.
I don’t usually hear this sound very much from my guinea pigs. If you hear this sound during an introduction, the guinea pigs may be ready to live together!
Hooting
Hooting (click here to see the video) is a sound that sometimes means that something is stuck in their throat (if this is the case it will usually be followed by coughing).
If you hear it a lot, like every day, it could indicate heart or breathing issues or other health conditions. In this case, you should see a vet.
Coughing
There are several reasons for coughing. One reason is they are choking on something and they’re trying to get it out of their throat, or they could have dust in their nose.
But if your guinea pig just is coughing a lot throughout the day it could be a sign of illness, which means you should take it to the vet.
Snorting
Snorting (sorry, no video, but it sounds somewhat like when you quickly blow air out of your nose) is a sound that is sometimes heard during introductions. This sound shows dominance towards other guinea pigs and pretty much means, ‘back off!’ and is a warning sign for others.
You won’t (or shouldn’t, at least) hear this sound too often. If you do hear this a lot from your guinea pigs, you may need to watch them to make sure that they don’t start fighting.
In summary
So these were several different noises that guinea pigs make and their meanings. I hope this has been helpful in helping you understand what your guinea pig is saying whether it’s talking to you or another guinea pig.
Just for a quick recap, these are some sounds you will probably hear quite often:
- Wheeking
- Chutting
- Rumble-strutting (especially from males)
- Purring
- Teeth-chattering
- Complaining
Here are some sounds that may be a sign of illness or pain:
- A loud squeak!
- Hooting
- Coughing
Here are some sounds that show dominance:
- Rumble-strutting
- Teeth-chattering
- Snorting
Lastly, here are some sounds that are rarer then others:
- Calling out (not too rare, but rarer than sounds like complaining or chutting)
- Chirping
I hope this article has been very helpful for interpreting your piggie’s sounds.
Helpfull.