I Need Information On How Much Noise Guinea Pigs Make

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sophiawantsapig

sophiawantsapig

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I want a guinea pig but my parents aren't keen on the noise thing. They say the pigs will keep everyone up at night [we used to have bunnies that thumped around their cage a ton] The pigs would be staying in my room if we got a pig which just may not happen. My parents room is directly across from mine. My parents usually sleep with the door most of the way shut, and they sleep with a loud fan on. I sleep with my door completely shut and I also have a loud fan on at night so I feel that noise shouldn't be that big of a problem since my door would be shut and everyone has loud fans on. So there is a little information on the setup of my house I guess. My questions are....
1. How loud are guinea pigs when they make noise
2. How often do they make noise
3. With my bedroom door shut and loud fan on,and my parents fan on,will my parents be able to hear the pigs if they make any noise at night
4. Will the pigs make noise at night? moving around in the cage is fine or if they're drinking water that's fine if its not super loud
5. During the day with my bedroom door open will we be able to hear the guinea pigs when we're in the living room or kitchen? Will it be loud/annoying?
Please get back to me as soon as possible. I'm hoping and praying that my parents will let me get a pig or two but there won't be ANY chance of me getting one if they are going to make too much noise that will keep everyone up at night. Please be honest with your answers and don't sugar coat anything. Thanks
 
My two boys live in my room and the moment I turn the lights out at night they decide to rumble, chase eachother and chat to themselves, all this is rather loud but I personally sleep very heavily so don't hear a thing!
I guess all pigs are different but mine were very noisy when younger than they are now (it was noise every hour. From 3am!) and they're only 4 months old now.
They're noisiest at feeding time when they cry terribly because I never feed them enough!
 
Hi,

The nose level really depends on the personality of the guinea pigs. Some are not very vocal where are others are champion wheekers.

When it's veggie time or even when they hear a bag russle and THINK it might be food time they are super loud in my home. You can hear them from every room on that floor whrn they start "singing" even through closed doors.

Sleeping in the same room as them as I said depends on the guinea pigs. I occasionally sleep in my living room if I am ill as it's the closet room to a bathroom. But there are guinea pigs in the living room and I know that if I so much as move a twitch after sunrise they will start wheeking for me to get up and chop breakfast veggies. Running about during the night can also be annoying if you are a light sleeper but not as bad as wheeking.

Guinea pigs tend to be crepuscular meaning they are most active around dawn and dusk, however they also sleep in small shifts during the day and night...meaning there might always be small bursts of activity when they are not dozing.

If noise is going to be a real issue with your parents then personally I'd consider a less vocal pet. You might be really unlucky and end up with a pig that loves to sing which they won't be thanking you for.
 
Squeakz said:
Hi,

The nose level really depends on the personality of the guinea pigs. Some are not very vocal where are others are champion wheekers.

When it's veggie time or even when they hear a bag russle and THINK it might be food time they are super loud in my home. You can hear them from every room on that floor whrn they start "singing" even through closed doors.

Sleeping in the same room as them as I said depends on the guinea pigs. I occasionally sleep in my living room if I am ill as it's the closet room to a bathroom. But there are guinea pigs in the living room and I know that if I so much as move a twitch after sunrise they will start wheeking for me to get up and chop breakfast veggies. Running about during the night can also be annoying if you are a light sleeper but not as bad as wheeking.

Guinea pigs tend to be crepuscular meaning they are most active around dawn and dusk, however they also sleep in small shifts during the day and night...meaning there might always be small bursts of activity when they are not dozing.

If noise is going to be a real issue with your parents then personally I'd consider a less vocal pet. You might be really unlucky and end up with a pig that loves to sing which they won't be thanking you for.
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:agr:
Mine are also in the living room, and I also occasionally sleep there if I am ill, generally if I have a cough and don't want to keep Mr Critter awake. I also put the fan on, which in our case is an air purifier, to drown out the noise of general piggy movement and the ticking clock we have. I usually sleep through it unless one of them gets up for a drink from the water bottle - CLACK-CLACK-CLACK, which tends to wake me up. Young piggies will sometimes burn off energy by running round and around their cage, and this can be at any time of day or night. Also sometimes they will chase each other, usually briefly. They may also have mini dominance squabbles.
The other thing to think of which may or may not be relevant to you is that piggies generally live 5-7 years, sometimes less, sometimes more, and it may be worth considering if there are likely to be any major changes in your life during that time - changes to the spare time you have, for example with studies, work or a change of social life, or even the possibility of moving. Would your parents be willing to take care of them if you can no longer do so? It's not meant as a judgemental question and I don't know your age or circumstances, but for many people living with their parents, a lot can change in 7 years. :)
 
Critter said:
:agr:
Mine are also in the living room, and I also occasionally sleep there if I am ill, generally if I have a cough and don't want to keep Mr Critter awake. I also put the fan on, which in our case is an air purifier, to drown out the noise of general piggy movement and the ticking clock we have. I usually sleep through it unless one of them gets up for a drink from the water bottle - CLACK-CLACK-CLACK, which tends to wake me up. Young piggies will sometimes burn off energy by running round and around their cage, and this can be at any time of day or night. Also sometimes they will chase each other, usually briefly. They may also have mini dominance squabbles.
The other thing to think of which may or may not be relevant to you is that piggies generally live 5-7 years, sometimes less, sometimes more, and it may be worth considering if there are likely to be any major changes in your life during that time - changes to the spare time you have, for example with studies, work or a change of social life, or even the possibility of moving. Would your parents be willing to take care of them if you can no longer do so? It's not meant as a judgemental question and I don't know your age or circumstances, but for many people living with their parents, a lot can change in 7 years. :)
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I am a teenager and plan on making them my responsibility. I will take them with my when i move out one day, and as for school i am homeschooled so i am home 99% of the day. Thank you for your reply! Definitely helpful.
 
My two boys are not particularly vocal. Blitzen will chatter quietly to himself while he's pottering around, and Comet will get quite vocal if he thinks you've neglected to feed him, but that's about it. Comet makes more noise when he decides it's zoomies time because he's intent on making the cage an obstacle course when he does it, and he does that on a daily basis.

As for the water bottles, I find that they make less noise from drinking from my current glass bottles than they ever did with plastic bottles but I might just be imagining that.
 
My pigs have always lived in my bedroom with me. I don't find they make that much noise and can always sleep. The only thing that rouses me is if Mo decides to chew on his bars which he does do- like today at 3 am lol. He'll wheek if he's super excited or if I'm taking to long to get his veg sorted out but I love the sound of their wheeking so it doesn't bother me. Mo is a rumbler but he only usually does this when I'm cleaning him out or stroking him so you wouldn't hear this out of my room anyway. My brother sleeps in the room next door to me and he is never woken up or complained so I don't think you'd have too much of a problem but again some are more vocal then others and some don't make that much noise at all. :)
 
Critter said:
:agr:
I usually sleep through it unless one of them gets up for a drink from the water bottle - CLACK-CLACK-CLACK, which tends to wake me up.
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Oh my don't remind me about the water bottles and glass is much louder than plastic.
 
I'm not sure why our guinea pigs feel they have to punch the water bottle spout with their tongues, much louder than the other pets using water bottles :P
 
Squeakz said:
I'm not sure why our guinea pigs feel they have to punch the water bottle spout with their tongues, much louder than the other pets using water bottles :P
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Hey I've had so many plastic water bottles basically demolished because my piggies did exactly that, lol. Eventually the spout would always fall off. The glass bottles I use seem to be quieter anyway but even if they were louder I'd use them, saves replacing the bottles every 6-8 weeks.
 
Squeakz said:
Hi,

The nose level really depends on the personality of the guinea pigs. Some are not very vocal where are others are champion wheekers.

When it's veggie time or even when they hear a bag russle and THINK it might be food time they are super loud in my home. You can hear them from every room on that floor whrn they start "singing" even through closed doors.

Sleeping in the same room as them as I said depends on the guinea pigs. I occasionally sleep in my living room if I am ill as it's the closet room to a bathroom. But there are guinea pigs in the living room and I know that if I so much as move a twitch after sunrise they will start wheeking for me to get up and chop breakfast veggies. Running about during the night can also be annoying if you are a light sleeper but not as bad as wheeking.

Guinea pigs tend to be crepuscular meaning they are most active around dawn and dusk, however they also sleep in small shifts during the day and night...meaning there might always be small bursts of activity when they are not dozing.

If noise is going to be a real issue with your parents then personally I'd consider a less vocal pet. You might be really unlucky and end up with a pig that loves to sing which they won't be thanking you for.
Click to expand...
Thanks
Jesse's pigs said:
My pigs have always lived in my bedroom with me. I don't find they make that much noise and can always sleep. The only thing that rouses me is if Mo decides to chew on his bars which he does do- like today at 3 am lol. He'll wheek if he's super excited or if I'm taking to long to get his veg sorted out but I love the sound of their wheeking so it doesn't bother me. Mo is a rumbler but he only usually does this when I'm cleaning him out or stroking him so you wouldn't hear this out of my room anyway. My brother sleeps in the room next door to me and he is never woken up or complained so I don't think you'd have too much of a problem but again some are more vocal then others and some don't make that much noise at all. :)
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Yeah my brother has a room next to me. My friends have guinea pigs and their mom says they only really make noise when you talk to them, they think theyre getting food, or when you pet them. But i wanted to come here to get a better idea of if thats for most guinea pigs or if its like dogs where some are more vocal than others. Thanks for the info
 
My two guinea pigs live in the dining room and whistle loudly for food. They do the odd whizz around their cage but nothing major.

My last three lived in my bedroom and one of them liked to click her teeth against their ceramic water bowl. I loved hearing their little noises at night. They definately werent at all loud.
 
Thanks for the replies I've gotten so far! They have been helpful. My mom said if my dads okay with it I can get a guinea pig but she pretty much thinks he's going to say no and there won't be any changing his mind. Wish me luck as I try to talk him into letting me get one soon!
 
Get wo if you can as they are herd animals and guinea pig companionship is very important to them. I realise thatbit isnt totally up to you.

Good luck.
 
When they are hungry they make a loud noise or if you are cutting veggies opening fridge etc and they're familiar with the noise. The only time I hear my pigs is when they're happy and I'm playing with them or when I am coming up the stairs to see them they let out a big squeak :) it's a lovely sound and it's nothing like hamsters or anything like that. Noodle went through a faze of bitting the cage but it was only so she could be with mo mo xx
 
Our piggies are close to us but we rarely hear them at night. They don't often drink from their water bottle either. Being woken up or kept awake is really not an issue.
 
It really depends on the guinea pigs in question, but I can say that I had trouble sleeping when one of out younger pigs was quarantined in my room... she was new and still really fearful in the daytime, so she would come out at night to run manically in circles, popcorn, eat, and incessantly click the water bottle. At the cottage the pigs sleep on the same floor as my parents, and we have had some pairs that are quite quiet, but one pair who drove her nuts because they would have nightly arguments about who go to sleep where, completely with tussling noises and submission shrieks from whichever pig lost the favorite sleeping spot! Also be aware that guinea pigs can wheek quite loudly (I've been able to hear one of my pigs wheeking two floors up- she was very shrill!) and although this is generally when they expect food so it may not occur at night, it is definitely not a quiet sound!
 
My two when they were younger lived outside my room which is pretty much inside my room because I used to have the door partly open and they would be very active at night time once the lights went of and you could hear them chasing each other around the cage. Now that they are lazy teenagers they rumble a lot when they are in season but the zoomies are saved only for dinner time so there is less noise. They live out in the family room now.
 
Must admit, I couldn't sleep in a room with my two, but they've lived directly outside the bedroom and I've been fine with their night time zoomies/idiocy. That said, I'm used to having animals in the house and silence bothers me a lot more than the dog pottering about or the pigs chatting to eachother! Seconding others in the hay thing though, it gets EVERYWHERE, as does their hair! I find more of theirs than I do the dogs!

Also seconding the "get two, they need other pigs for company" thing. They're herd animals, they don't do well on their own, usually and it's no more work to have two. You still need about 8 square feet of space (minimum), you still need the food and veggies and hay and things, it's just better for everyone involved if you have two. Hope that helps!
 
sophiawantsapig said:
Thanks for the replies I've gotten so far! They have been helpful. My mom said if my dads okay with it I can get a guinea pig but she pretty much thinks he's going to say no and there won't be any changing his mind. Wish me luck as I try to talk him into letting me get one soon!
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I only just caught this...please do not think of only getting one, it is actually illegal to only keep one in some countries as it's considered cruel.
 
I could probably sleep near my pigs but noise doesn't bother me, they do like to run around and chew things though so just be aware that they won't be silent as they're most active at dusk and dawn. As I say, it wouldn't bother me but they will always do their natural behaviours like eat, chew, chat and move around.

As others have said, you can't just have one as they would be incredibly lonely. It isn't fair for them to live alone for the 5-8 years of their life.

Also it's worth thinking about space if they will be in your room. 2 girls require a minimum of 5 foot by 2 foot cage and for 2 males it's 5 foot by 2 foot minimum.

It would be worth showing your parents this thread too so they can get an idea :)
 
You have to get 2 as it's cruel otherwise, you may love a guinea madly & want to cuddle it often, they will love that BUT you will never replace another guinea pig. Imagine if you talked Swahili if nobody talked your language you would feel very alone & that is the same with a piggie. So please get 2. Noise, the only time mine go mental is when they here there food being prepared. The water bottle tends to be a bit rattling,
But they have to drink. I would think it highly unlikely that they will disturb anyone. The one thing you Must do is give them routine, i.e. Cleaned out 7am, sweep the cage, empty the hay trays, feed 7.30. Go for through the same routine at 7.pm & feed at 7.30pm.
Just so long as you do the same time everyday. I always give mine laptime about 6pm if you decide to get 2 we can advise you on that & where. I'm not trying to put you off but you need to commit 100% to them.
Regarding your dad show him this forum, so he can see what you do. You might find that your parents drool over the piggies. Piggies are fairly cheap to buy & keep but if something goes wrong health wise, you are looking at VERY expensive vet fees. So you have to take that into account.

If you don't want noise never put 4 hamsters in your room.
 
My suggestion would be to speak to some reputable rescues. Going for slightly older, fully grown guinea pigs can help as they don't feel as much need to bounce around (though that again depends on the piggy and my Jemima used to bound around like a baby regularly!). A reputable rescue will have spent time with the piggies and can recommend a calmer pairing to you, it's not going to guarantee they won't make too much noise but it will help perhaps reassure your parents that you haven't just rehomed two complete nutjobs :lol!:
 
Fweeper said:
Must admit, I couldn't sleep in a room with my two, but they've lived directly outside the bedroom and I've been fine with their night time zoomies/idiocy. That said, I'm used to having animals in the house and silence bothers me a lot more than the dog pottering about or the pigs chatting to eachother! Seconding others in the hay thing though, it gets EVERYWHERE, as does their hair! I find more of theirs than I do the dogs!

Also seconding the "get two, they need other pigs for company" thing. They're herd animals, they don't do well on their own, usually and it's no more work to have two. You still need about 8 square feet of space (minimum), you still need the food and veggies and hay and things, it's just better for everyone involved if you have two. Hope that helps!
Click to expand...
I will definitely be getting 2 pigs.
 
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