Guinea pigs never popcorn

[Princess_Harriet]

Hello all,
I know this isn't a very important question but I am curious to know, why don't my guinea pigs ever popcorn? They are all young and have a large cage and get floor time and free roam time quite a bit. Any special reason why they never popcorn? Sylvia had been kept in a small cage for her first few months and popcorned when she went in a big cage for the first time and I occasionally see one or two popcorns after cage clean but other than that they never do it. Is it something I'm doing wrong?

 

[Siikibam]

In general, they stop popcorning as much when they get a little older. But it’s not anything you are/not doing. Some popcorn more than others, just like some of us like running while others don’t. Mine don’t really popcorn anymore. The most the boys will do when I tell them it’s hay time is to rumble and circle each other.

 

[Hope4gem]

My girls are just under a year old and occassionally popcorn with a clean cage or when rumble-strutting, but that's it. I don't think it's anything you're doing. Like you, my girls also have a large cage. They are quite spoiled, but don't popcorn that often.

 

[My Piggies]

Totally agree. My 3.5 year old Daisy and Oscar only occasionally popcorn when it's veggie time, their cage has just been cleaned or rumble-strutting. My old girl Violet hasn't popcorned since she was about 2.5. I think it just depends on their personality. Violet was never really much of a popcorner, whereas Daisy has tons of energy for a 3 and a half year old

 

[Freela]

Some pigs are just more excitable than others. Right now we have little baby Tomie and she is nowhere NEAR as bouncy as Leela was as a baby. We had some that popcorned often and some that very seldom did. I also found that it decreased as they got older.... even the ones that popcorned like crazy as babies didn't do so as adults, even young adults.

 

[Featheryfriend]

Different pigs show excitement in different ways for sure. When one of the younger pigs starts popcorning it can be contagious, but outside of the occasional group popcorn fest most of mine aren't very poppy. Older and larger pigs seem more likely to zoom instead, or simply plonk down and yell about whatever new stimuli.

It is nice to see a middle-aged piggy popcorning but they're more likely to let me know they're busy and engaged by making contented noises, behaving curiously, and perhaps rumblestrutting around. As long as your pigs aren't vegetating in the corner, they're probably happy.

 

[KathT]

All my pigs bar two are ‘middle aged’ and rarely popcorn anymore. The older ones do a sort of lazy jump - just the once mind - and that’s it! I thought one of my boars was having a seizure once (when he was younger) but no, it was just his unusual popcorning!

 

[Hannah_xx]

Newton is a serial popcorner. He is over a year old. He’s always rumble strutting and popcorning whenever and for whatever reason lol.
All his girls are a bit older now, so they don’t popcorn much anymore. Opal sometimes gets a little excited and does a couple which is cute, especially if Newton has set her off. Mary, bless her, she’s around 5 years old. She never popcorns anymore but sometimes when excited she does a cute fast shuffle on her tip toes, she’ll do a few laps of whatever she’s enjoying. It’s very sweet watching her big bum wiggle as she does it
Lottie is still young, so she’s MeNtAL . She often does laps of her cage, bouncing off the walls..and off poor Emily lol

 

[StevieWanda]

I have 2 girlies one of which has never popcorned (or at least not since I’ve had them!). The other regularly popcorns when I hold her in my lap or when they’re playing together in their cage. My prior piggy very rarely popcorned and we had her for about 8 Years... I think maybe it’s down to their unique personalities!

 

[Zanzan]

I agree.....my Pepper has always been a reserved soul. I have never in three years seen her popcorn or show excitement about anything. But she has always seemed happy pottering around and watching the world go by. If she was human she would definitely be an introvert.