My Pigs Don't Wheek

[Rosanna Kapur]

I adopted my two pigs nearly three weeks ago from a local rescue. They have a big set up with plenty of space and seemed to have settled into their home okay.
However they never wheek, which is something I was really looking forward too.
They don't come running for their veggies either and won't come out to eat them unless I sit and talk to them for half an hour. Even if they're left alone, the veg will stay their until I sit and talk to them.
Basically, I'm worried they're not happy and I'm not sure what I can change to ensure they are.

 

[Wiebke]

I adopted my two pigs nearly three weeks ago from a local rescue. They have a big set up with plenty of space and seemed to have settled into their home okay.
However they never wheek, which is something I was really looking forward too.
They don't come running for their veggies either and won't come out to eat them unless I sit and talk to them for half an hour. Even if they're left alone, the veg will stay their until I sit and talk to them.
Basically, I'm worried they're not happy and I'm not sure what I can change to ensure they are.

Give it more time, be patient and persist. They have likely never had much in the way of human interaction.
You may find the tips in this link here helpful: How To Understand Guinea Pig Instincts And Speak Piggy Body Language

 

[sport_billy]

Hello, honestly all sounds really normal. With our first two piggies I had to set up a video camera to see if they ever came out! Have a read of these threads below they will help.

They will come out of their shells honestly. It can take a while to gain pigs trust and takes time and patience but you will get there. We have all gone through it believe me. Maybe hold their food with your hand into their hidey so they associate you hand with food, this is what we did with our most timid piggy 'Putt' four years later she was a piggy who would climb onto my lap so you can get there I promise

Settling in and interacting with your guinea pigs:
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
How To Understand Guinea Pig Instincts And Speak Piggy Body Language
How To Pick Up Your Guinea Pig

 

[Critter]

Completely agree. It can take anything from days to many months for them to relax around their humans and really trust them. My first piggy had not been used to human interaction. She had been bought as a pet but no-one bothered about her. She was very timid when she came to me, and it was like little baby-steps of confidence over the following months. Eventually when she found her voice she was the loudest of them all! I could hardly believe it!
With lots of patience and they'll get there. They take longer to trust generally than many other rodents, but once they do you'll likely have a very rewarding and lovely bond

 

[Wigwig]

They might not be wheekers, Archie almost never wheeks, even for food. The only time he wheeks is when he has been very distressed and is pleased to see us. But its not exactly happy? More like "please dont let the situation happen again thank god your here to change it". Of course hes a happy boy so that almost never happens.
Very different to other guinea pigs I have seen, they almost always are wheeking, I always loved wheeks but since archie I now worry if they are not quite the happy sound one thinks?

 

[Freela]

Three weeks after coming home is still pretty early days, especially if they haven't had a lot of human interaction (or positive interaction) before. It's also not a lot of time to learn the new routine (my experience is that my pigs do most of their wheeking when they can predictably recognize that something they like is coming and get excited about it- so, for instance, they will wheek first thing in the morning when I grab the hay bag and they know hay is coming, or they will wheek in the evening when I start putting up baby gates in the hall because they know they are coming out and getting treats.) It did take my pigs longer than 3 weeks to learn the basic routine and the sights/sounds that preceded them so that they could start up an anticipatory chorus of wheeking because they know what comes next. So I would say give it some more time, pigs take a little while to warm up and settle in, especially if their start to life was not the greatest.

 

[VickiA]

Piggies are Like humans in that they all have different personalities. Ted is not much of a wheeker but Mollie never stops. Some piggies rarely wheek - it's just who they are. But give it time. It will all be worth it the first time you hear that welcome. They just have to settle in first.