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Behavior Wheeking and hopping all the time!

Furbil

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Please bear with me as I am fairly new when it comes to GP's and their behaviors. I need the opinions and answers from someone who is an expert with GP's and their behavioral patterns and noises that they are associated with. There are still certain GP behavioral patterns that are foreign to me, so I did some research on youtube regarding the noises GP's make, and what behavior they are associated with. My extensive research has concluded that the noises that my GP makes most often is "wheeking" -- but he seems to do it at all times. GP's supposedly wheek when they need your attention, or if they want to be fed; however, mine wheeks almost all the time . . . and all throughout the night, and sometimes until the early morning hours. The wheeking noises are most predominant when I open the fridge, or when it sees me eating my meal. He also gnaws on the cage when I open the fridge.

The other times when I hear my GP wheeking is when he is in a deep sleep with his eyes closed, then he opens up his eyes mid-sleep and begins wheeking; it's almost as if he is having a dream of some sort. It seems almost "human" in its behavior when he does this. He was wheeking all night last night, so I checked to see what was going on, and he was making wheeking noises while he was eating his food. Is this abnormal? I figured that GP's would stop their wheeking when they begin eating their food. He does vertical hops all the time too.

It is almost impossible to get to my fridge to make myself a meal without him noticing me, and when he notices me, he begins wheeking; and at times he begins gnawing at the cage bars non-stop until I give him something to eat. Not even the stealthiest ninja in the world can sneak past him and get a meal from the fridge without being caught by him. All he LITERALLY does is eat and sleep. He will eat for close to about half an hour, then his eyes will slowly grow shut; and then will his eyes be completely closed as he sleeps. The time he would fall asleep to when he awakes to eat more food would be estimated around 15-30 minute intervals -- then this repeats over and over again.
 

bpatters

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I'd say you've got a perfectly normal guinea pig.

Vertical hops are called popcorning. Again, perfectly normal.

If he's gnawing the cage, you probably should line the inside of the cage closest to the refrigerator with plexiglass. Guinea pigs can easily damage/break their teeth gnawing the cagebars.
 

ItsaZoo

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When you have a single guinea pig, you are their whole social network. You are literally their whole world. Everything you do is something to wheek about. And guinea pigs are foodies. You can’t get anything out of the fridge or a plastic wrapper without some wheeking.

Their digestive tracts are designed to be working day and night. If they aren’t eating throughout the day the acid in their stomachs will cause huge health problems. So make sure your guinea pig has unlimited Timothy hay available all the time. He will pick through and eat the best hay, then wheek for something better. Mine does this and I top it off with a little more fresh hay. And they can wheek and eat at the same time. Mine has her face in the hay chewing and wheeking for veggies.

Their routine is usually eat, poop, run or popcorn a bit, sleep. Then repeat. Mine does this all in about half an hour. Guinea pigs are more active in the morning and evening. But they are not like other rodents that climb or run on wheels. Mostly they eat, watch for predators, wheek at their favorite person, and then find a place to hide and sleep.

One thing they do that is interesting is they rearrange their hideys. You should have a play area or cage that is about 6 square feet or more. Get a couple of light weight hideys. They could be shoe boxes with an entrance and exit cut in the ends. I use overturned stackable bins from the Dollar Tree. They will shove the hideys around with their shoulders and arrange them either in a straight line or parallel and then run through them and do figure eights.

Another thing you can do is get a plastic wiffle ball with holes in it. Chop up carrot pieces or sweet peppers and put them in the ball. Your pig will learn to roll the ball and the food will drop out. Mine has figured out to get the ball in a corner and turn it until it’s empty.

You can also teach simple tricks, like “circle.” Take a piece of favorite food and repeat “circle” and then move the food in a circle so your pig follows it. Then give him the food. They learn slowly, but once they figure it out it’s pretty funny. And you’d be surprised how fast they can spin in a circle when they know you have a treat.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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It all sounds like normal behaviour to me. Because he's alone, all he has it YOU.

As I've said before, he needs a buddy. He needs room to run around, and play in. He needs a place to hide, if he wants to. And to do any of that, he needs a bigger cage.
 

LittleSqueakers

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I agree with the above; all sounds like typical piggie behavior. Some pigs are more vocal than others and some are more vocal in different situations, like when they're lonely and seeking others of their kind. For Tribble, it was the opposite; his wheeking seemed to be directed at his cagemates, not so much at me.

Wheeking in response to the fridge being opened is an extremely common learned behavior among guinea pigs. All of the pigs I've brought home (other than the pair I got as young pups) have all had that response. (They also love plastic grocery bag sounds!) All of them stopped this behavior within a week or so as they adjusted to their new routine at my house and learned they will ONLY ever get fed at breakfast and dinner time and learned the time of day and routine leading up to breakfast and dinner. Eventually, they learned to disregard the sound of the fridge opening: it no longer signaled that they were about to get fed.

If you don't want a pig wheeking and bar-chewing and carrying on every time you open the fridge, my suggestion would be to set a new routine where the pig gets fed at the same time every day and gets nothing to eat outside of those times. NEVER feed them when they start wheeking and bar chewing in response to the fridge opening, because this teaches them that this behavior gets them food.
 

Soecara

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If you don't want a pig wheeking and bar-chewing and carrying on every time you open the fridge, my suggestion would be to set a new routine where the pig gets fed at the same time every day and gets nothing to eat outside of those times. NEVER feed them when they start wheeking and bar chewing in response to the fridge opening, because this teaches them that this behavior gets them food.

Just to be absolutely clear, when it is said give nothing to eat outside those times the food being referred to is fresh vegetables/green food, guinea pigs should always have 24/7 access to as much hay as they want.

I agree having a set routine is a good way to cut down on unwanted wheeking. It can also help if you also teach them another special signal that green food is on its way, such as making a particular sound or saying a particular phrase in a particular way (just make sure to pick something you won't accidentally do outside of when you are intending to feed him) that way they learn it takes more than just the fridge opening to mean they are getting green food.

Also make sure to track his weight with at least a weekly weigh in. This is because something being not quite right with their weight (eg. sudden drastic weight change, slow but sustained weight loss, failing to gain weight while still growing, etc.) is usually the first sign you will get that something could be wrong.
 

Furbil

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My GP will continue to gnaw on the cage until I give him some carrots or Romaine lettuce. He did this for 15 minutes nonstop, even after I filled his bowl with pellets and gave him a lot of Timothy hay. He will eat until he eventually falls asleep. He fell asleep with his head in the food bowl a couple of times. It appears as if he also eats his own poop, or something that looks like poop, but a little lighter in color and texture. This is bizarre, and I don't want him to get sick by eating his own poop, because I care for him. I also don't want to overfeed him, and I'm not entirely sure how much food is allowed for him each day.

How many times should fully mature GP's eat per day? From the pictures I have seen in the avatars here on this thread; it appears that my GP may be a little younger than most -- but I am not entirely sure. I now do realize that plastic grocery bags grabs his attention. I am oftentimes stunned at just how smart GP's are; and they are very sociable creatures and intelligent. The wiffle ball and stackable bins sounds like an excellent idea. The cage where my GP dwells in is not that spacious: it is only 6 square feet. The pet store where I got my GP didn't have any larger cages, and one of the employees said that the cage I now have is ideal for my GP. I can't help but give in to the demands of my GP when he begins wheeking for food, even when there's already pellets and hay still in the cage. Maybe because I care a lot for this creature, and this can be either good, or "maybe" a bad thing.

Thanks to all for the help and advice!
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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My GP will continue to gnaw on the cage until I give him some carrots or Romaine lettuce. He did this for 15 minutes nonstop, even after I filled his bowl with pellets and gave him a lot of Timothy hay. He will eat until he eventually falls asleep. He fell asleep with his head in the food bowl a couple of times. It appears as if he also eats his own poop, or something that looks like poop, but a little lighter in color and texture. This is bizarre, and I don't want him to get sick by eating his own poop, because I care for him. I also don't want to overfeed him, and I'm not entirely sure how much food is allowed for him each day.

How many times should fully mature GP's eat per day? From the pictures I have seen in the avatars here on this thread; it appears that my GP may be a little younger than most -- but I am not entirely sure. I now do realize that plastic grocery bags grabs his attention. I am oftentimes stunned at just how smart GP's are; and they are very sociable creatures and intelligent. The wiffle ball and stackable bins sounds like an excellent idea. The cage where my GP dwells in is not that spacious: it is only 6 square feet. The pet store where I got my GP didn't have any larger cages, and one of the employees said that the cage I now have is ideal for my GP. I can't help but give in to the demands of my GP when he begins wheeking for food, even when there's already pellets and hay still in the cage. Maybe because I care a lot for this creature, and this can be either good, or "maybe" a bad thing.

Thanks to all for the help and advice!

"Eating his poop" is normal behaviour. Guinea pigs produce poop, and cecal pellets that they ingest for added nutrition. He won't get sick from it.

As far as a cage goes, do NOT listen to the pet store employee as to the needs of your guinea pig. They're there to sell product, and more often than not couldn't give a rip about your pigs well being.

There are so many DIY cage ideas for your pig on this forum: Further, you can purchase an ideal cage directly from here if you so choose. I did see the cage for your pig in another thread and it is FAR too small for him.

This forum also provides excellent guidelines for nutrition for your little friend. But the advice you've been given is correct, you need to train him when it's food time and not let him train YOU. Too many snacks CAN make him sick, they can make him refuse his own food that he needs the most, and can lead to costly, painful, or even fatal health issues down the road.

If you care for him as much as I think you do, you need to make these changes for his well being. He's depending on you!
 

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The diet of a guinea pig over 6 months of age should be as follows, unlimited grass hay, 1/8 cup of pellets per day, 1 cup of vegetables per day. That 1 cup of vegetable should include a low calcium, low sugar, but high vitamin C vegetable, a good choice for this is bell peppers, that is because guinea pigs can't produce their own vitamin C so without a good source of it in their diet they can develop Scurvy.

Hay is by far the most important part of their diet, and should make up between 80% to 90% of everything he eats in a day. Hay is what keeps their constantly growing teeth ground down, and their digestive systems moving properly. If you over feed vegetables you risk him not eating enough hay, which could lead to his teeth overgrowing and once that happens once it may never be able to be fully corrected.

If you really have to give in to his wheeking instead of giving him vegetables try giving him a little bit more fresh hay.
 

Furbil

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I probably take him out of his cage once a day to pet him. I thought he was going to bite my face once, but he actually pressed his face against my nose. He's very calm when I handle him or pick him up, and I never seem to have an issue taking him out of the cage. He tends to fall asleep a lot when I put him on my lap. I don't know if this is normal, or maybe he may not be feeling well. I am not sure because I am quite new to understanding GP's and their behavior.
 

LittleSqueakers

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He must be very relaxed around you to fall asleep in your lap! Many pigs will start out by sitting there tense, wide-eyed and terrified until they get used to the lap-routine.

It's great that you give your pig special attention every day, but it's important to know that lap-time is not a substitute for floor-time, when they get time out of their cage to run around freely in a safe, large-area environment and explore. Ideally, you should give your pig floor-time for at least an hour every day, or as close to that as possible. Floor-time is very important for exercise and stimulation, even for pigs with a large cage, and especially for those living in a smaller cage.
 

Furbil

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I would usually pick him up and take him out of the cage and let him roam around on my couch. He hops a lot to where it almost gets me to jump up startled. He'll hop around a lot and run really fast back and forth. And every time I open a grocery bag he hops even more and wheeks. He's really aggressive.
 

bpatters

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He's not aggressive at all. Aggression involves fighting/scratching/biting/attacking.

You've got an active guinea pig that sounds very normal to me. But if his behavior bothers you, you probably should rehome him to someone who can just enjoy him.
 

Furbil

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Sometimes he'll act as if he's my boss. He'll wheek or gnaw on the cage whenever he wants spinach, carrots, or romaine lettuce. And if I don't give him any, he'll continue to hop around until I do, and he won't stop until he gets some. He's absolutely fearless. He treats me like I'm his butler.
 

ItsaZoo

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I love your comment about being treated as the butler! I’m the cook and maid - I do the food prep, serving and cleanup. But I love the attitude these little critters have. Mine stares at my husband like she’s the boss, but when she hears my voice she ignores him completely. And if the dog gets a treat she starts pacing and wheeks at the top of her lungs. I can’t believe how much personality they have. She gives me something to laugh at every day so that’s worth the servant duties.
 

Furbil

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I have learned a lot from my GP. He actually made me more sensitive to the care and needs of others. It is almost as if someone purposely designed GP's for that reason.
 

ItsaZoo

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I agree completely. I got my GP after saying goodbye to a sweet old dog. The house was so empty and I was so miserable. Then I saw this little GP at the humane society and adopting her was one of the best things I ever did. I really didn’t know how to care for her at first but these forums helped so much. She got me through a rough patch. Later we adopted a dog and inherited a cat. I love being the zookeeper!
 

Furbil

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I don't want to get into a discussion about religion; but I actually prayed to God to help me to get rid me of any bitterness, anger, or resentment in my heart. I've been dealing with such negativity since I was a child, and it never went away no matter how hard I tried on my own. As soon as I realized that I can't figure this out on my own and prayed to God, something led me to get a Guinea Pig from the pet store. I am not the same person that I was before that, and I am thankful to God anyways.

I would always have a difficult time in picking up my GP when he was in the cage, and he wheeked every time Itried to do so. I became more sensitive to the GP over time, and now Ican almost pick up the GP every time without him wheeking at all. He even bumps his nose against mine in a friendly way.
 
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