Gimz
Teenage Guinea Pig
What is the difference between a stressed out squeaking guinea pig and an excited squeaking happy one?
Whilst Ruby is very relaxed and mostly only gives out little squeaks, Treacle on the other hand is very different and we like to think a bit of a nutter. She is more easy spooked by movement, but is also the main cage pop corning piggie. She squeaks like mad when you take her out of her cage, then quietens down when moved to another room in the house, but she loves to explore and doesn't sit still for long. Sometimes when sat on my lap or shoulder she will start building up her squeaks from little ones to work up to a full vocal stream, ignoring food right next to her. Then after a good squeak she then will stop abruptly and will munch down on some parsley without a care in the world and remains calm for a while.
I thought she might be calling out for her sister Ruby, so last night my wife and I sat with them on a shoulder each, right next to each other. After a few excited piggie kisses and squeaks between them, Ruby settled down at my neck like usual and just chilled out. Treacle went back to squeaking mildly, sitting still, then building up to a good ole squeakathon. Ruby seemed to ignore Treacle completely. Then Treacle again chewed on some apple pieces, snuggled in and went generally quiet. So what is Treacle saying when she behaves like this?
When I take her back to her cage, as soon as I get to the kitchen door she again squeaks like mad, high pitched and wriggles about all over the place. It only gets more vocal the nearer I get to her cage in our utility room. But she is clearly not unhappy, because when back in her cage she runs around to check every corner and then either eats or starts popcorning. I think she is just excited at this point to go back to her cage and doesn't mind who knows it. Ruby on the other hand is pretty relaxed about the return journey too.
I just want to be sure I understand treacle's behaviour and needs and so that I can recognise an unhappy stressed out squeak from an excited "I'm going exploring" or "I'm going back to my cage" squeak.
Whilst Ruby is very relaxed and mostly only gives out little squeaks, Treacle on the other hand is very different and we like to think a bit of a nutter. She is more easy spooked by movement, but is also the main cage pop corning piggie. She squeaks like mad when you take her out of her cage, then quietens down when moved to another room in the house, but she loves to explore and doesn't sit still for long. Sometimes when sat on my lap or shoulder she will start building up her squeaks from little ones to work up to a full vocal stream, ignoring food right next to her. Then after a good squeak she then will stop abruptly and will munch down on some parsley without a care in the world and remains calm for a while.
I thought she might be calling out for her sister Ruby, so last night my wife and I sat with them on a shoulder each, right next to each other. After a few excited piggie kisses and squeaks between them, Ruby settled down at my neck like usual and just chilled out. Treacle went back to squeaking mildly, sitting still, then building up to a good ole squeakathon. Ruby seemed to ignore Treacle completely. Then Treacle again chewed on some apple pieces, snuggled in and went generally quiet. So what is Treacle saying when she behaves like this?
When I take her back to her cage, as soon as I get to the kitchen door she again squeaks like mad, high pitched and wriggles about all over the place. It only gets more vocal the nearer I get to her cage in our utility room. But she is clearly not unhappy, because when back in her cage she runs around to check every corner and then either eats or starts popcorning. I think she is just excited at this point to go back to her cage and doesn't mind who knows it. Ruby on the other hand is pretty relaxed about the return journey too.
I just want to be sure I understand treacle's behaviour and needs and so that I can recognise an unhappy stressed out squeak from an excited "I'm going exploring" or "I'm going back to my cage" squeak.