How long is a guinea pigs memory?

Lady Kelly

Lady Kelly

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My other half reckons Daisy used to like a chin rub, the way I remember it is that she tolerated a chin rub rather than enjoying them but around this time last year she developed ringworm and the patch came up just under her chin by her front legs. Now she will not tolerate a chin rub at all and the other half thinks it's because of the discomfort from the ringworm. Could this actually be the case? Will she still be remembering that? Or is it more likely that she has become more of a bossy and demanding lady and that's just not her favourite area to be rubbed? (She much prefers a nose rub :)))
 
Hmm I'm not 100% sure but it seems logical. Other animals can remember events that caused pain, fear or discomfort so I don't see why piggies can't. Or like you said she could just be being a diva lol!
 
Flutterby said:
Hmm I'm not 100% sure but it seems logical. Other animals can remember events that caused pain, fear or discomfort so I don't see why piggies can't. Or like you said she could just be being a diva lol!
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That's the problem with Daisy... There's no knowing which one it would be... She does like to play the diva
 
I think they do remember. I always swear that the reason Bella and Iggy are so close to me is because I brought them back to health when they were younger. I also swear the early days of anal flushes and cleaning is why Iggy hates his bits being examained now :))
 
I'm pretty sure they can remember past things that were painful or unpleasant for a long time (judging by the way my pigs react going to the vet even if they haven't been there for a long time!)
 
From what I've seen with other animals -everything from parakeets to dogs, to cats, is they most likely never forget anything that's at least important to them assuming they are healthy and not in the grips of old age. Rats and especially squirrels, etc. seem to have great memories as well. With that said, animals can be taught newer things to supersede older things. TBH, I wouldn't be surprised if many/most animals have eidetic memories.

I had an excellent talking parakeet for example, that on a couple occasions, would say a word it heard one time from me, months after the fact (it had a slew of things it'd say normally). It also had what appeared to be "favored" phrases that seemingly manifested like human popularity events, where it was spoken constantly when new, then would get phased out as newer phrases interested it more. A year or 2 later, I could go back to older phrases and it'd still remember them.

If you teach a 5 week old guinea pig to come running while saying something like "treat", or after owning a few days it learns to "wheek" when opening a plastic bag, and 8 years later it still does it, that suggests they definitely remember what's at least important to them ;)
 
I think you are all right about memory.
Jemimah had a nasty abscess about 2 years ago and she hated the daily flushing and cleaning.
Merab has a small abscess at the moment and whenever I come to take her out for treatment Jemimah runs to hide - it’s as if she remembers when this happened to her.
 
Little Piglets said:
From what I've seen with other animals -everything from parakeets to dogs, to cats, is they most likely never forget anything that's at least important to them assuming they are healthy and not in the grips of old age. Rats and especially squirrels, etc. seem to have great memories as well. With that said, animals can be taught newer things to supersede older things. TBH, I wouldn't be surprised if many/most animals have eidetic memories.

I had an excellent talking parakeet for example, that on a couple occasions, would say a word it heard one time from me, months after the fact (it had a slew of things it'd say normally). It also had what appeared to be "favored" phrases that seemingly manifested like human popularity events, where it was spoken constantly when new, then would get phased out as newer phrases interested it more. A year or 2 later, I could go back to older phrases and it'd still remember them.

If you teach a 5 week old guinea pig to come running while saying something like "treat", or after owning a few days it learns to "wheek" when opening a plastic bag, and 8 years later it still does it, that suggests they definitely remember what's at least important to them ;)
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I do a clicking noise that gets mine all wheeking and running for food but then I do it everyday so it's always fresh in their minds. Maybe I shouldn't do it for a few weeks and see if they still remember
 
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