Sounds Piggies losing their voices

[Kenna18155]

This isn't a medical concern or anything, just something I've noticed for the amount of time I've had my piggies. I'm curious as to whether anyone else has a similar experience.

I started off with Scarlet. She was a pet store pig ("given to" aka dumped off on me by my brother), and it took her a while to get vocal. But once she was, she would squeak and wheek plenty often.

Shortly after I received her, she has three pups. I rehomed two of them, and kept the female so Scarlet could have a companion. I named her Hershey.

Now, Hershey is a freaking nightmare. (I still love her though.) She has a horrific burrowing problem that I still haven't been able to solve, she revenge pees with no restraint, and she just seems to cause trouble in any way she can. One facet of her personality is her huge vocality. She's constantly making happy little exploring noises as she walks around, and she wheeks so loudly her ears flap.

One ne thing I've noticed, though, is that Scarlet has become almost completely silent since Hershey arrived. She just seems to have lost her voice after Hershey showed up and had a voice strong enough for the both of them. However, when Hershey and Scarlet are separated for lap time or something, Scarlet seems to rediscover her vocality, making nervous squeaks and loud wheeks.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? A guinea pig losing its voice, or being drowned out by a cagemate?

 

[bpatters]

What do you mean, revenge pees? You're giving an awful lot of credit to an awfully small brain if you think the pig is peeing deliberately to spite you or her cagemate.

In all of my cages, I've had a "designated wheeker" and other (mostly) silent pigs. Occasionally they'll all sound off, like if they smell watermelon in the kitchen or if I'm way late for a meal. But otherwise they let one do the talking for all of them.

 

[Kenna18155]

Oh, it most definitely seems like revenge pee to me. I'll take her out of her cage in a towel, feed her some veggies for a minute or so, and then get out the nail clippers to trim her nails. As soon as she sees the clippers or I try to grab her paw, she scoots her butt off the towel and pees all over me. Almost every time. It seems way too planned to be coincidence -- she only does it when I'm trimming, and she has a bladder of steel when I'm just holding her.

That's really interesting! I hardly ever hear Scarlet make noise unless she's really worked up over something. The "designated wheeker" behavior is super cool. I wonder what causes it.

 

[bpatters]

She's peeing because she's scared, not because she's trying to get revenge on you. Wrap her like a burrito and she can't get off the towel. Or use a bigger towel. Or figure out another position to hold her in to cut her nails. Or get someone to hold a carrot to her mouth while you're clipping them. You can fix this. Just don't blame it on her.

 

[Kenna18155]

I don't blame her for it. I just jokingly refer to it as "revenge pee" 'cause that's what it seems like. It isn't a huge deal to me, honestly. Thank you for the tips, though!