Instead, imagine a low repetitive grumbling noise. When listening for a guinea pig’s purr, don’t think of a cat’s purr. Wheeking has not been recorded as a vocalization in wild guinea pig populations, suggesting that it may be a noise specifically produced to communicate with people.
In some cases, they may even use this vocalization to remind their owner that they are hungry. Wheeking is most commonly expressed when guinea pigs are anticipating food. It always maintains its distinct “wheek” sound but can vary in intensity, pitch, frequency, and repetition. The wheeking guinea pigs noise is possibly one of the most iconic guinea pig calls. You’ve probably heard this guinea pig noise more times than you can put a number to. This “wheeek wheeeek” sound normally starts low and increases in pitch towards the end of each-drawn out “wheek”. Listed below are some of the most common guinea pig noises and their interpretations Wheeking While we can’t be completely confident of a guinea pig’s intent each time it makes a noise, we can use research and context to make an educated assumption. The idea of noises guinea pigs make being something they created to communicate with us, their humans, is so sweet and heartwarming! Are There Specific Guinea Pig Sounds with Specific Meanings?Ĭonsidering the social structure, auditory capabilities, and consistent context in which most guinea pig noises are produced, it is very likely that their sounds have specific meanings. While we may not be able to hear every nuance in a guinea pig’s chatter, we can hear a decent amount, and some findings even suggest that there is a guinea pig sound specific to interactions with humans, wheeking. This is great because it allows us to hear variations in guinea pigs’ calls so we can differentiate them and discover their meanings. The good news is that guinea pigs and humans have a lot of similarities in our internal ear structure, allowing for similar interpretations of certain sounds. This tells us that no matter what kinds of guinea pig noises are being made, even in group settings, each guinea pig has an individualized sound that is distinguishable amongst each other.
This suggests that guinea pigs may be able to recognize individuals by their voice. Mother guinea pigs even have the ability to distinguish their babies’ calls from the calls of other young guinea pigs. Researchers have found that guinea pigs’ brains light up in different areas depending on what calls they are exposed to. They also lived in small groups for protection, so they needed to communicate to maintain a social hierarchy and to warn others of danger. The ancestors of these pocket-sized pets were just as defenseless, making them the perfect prey animal. If you think about the natural origins of guinea pigs, it makes sense that they would need to communicate amongst themselves. Let’s explore the meaning behind guinea pigs’ diverse noises so you can better understand what all that chatter is about! Do Guinea Pigs Speak to Each Other? They could be expressing their emotions ranging from happiness or frustration.įor most people, guinea pig noises may be funny or entertaining, however, experienced guinea pig owners and researchers have found meaning in these sounds. Usually when my guinea pigs are as vocal as they were in our vlog, it could mean several things.
There was lots of wheeking and chattering, mostly at each other signaling different emotions. While filming our last vlog, you may realize that all throughout the video both of my guinea pigs were very vocal. These chatty pets tend to make quite a ruckus with their squeals, chirps, and chatter, but what does it all mean? The origin of their name is mostly unknown, but you might be right in guessing that the latter part of their name has something to do with all of the noises they make. Guinea pigs did not originate in New Guinea and they are not pigs.
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