Guineapig: Animal behaviour and problems.

      General information

      Hardly another small mammal has in the last decades       become more significant for the human being than the guinea       pig. In our mechanized century the southamerican rodents       obviously represent an important link between nature and       technology.

      It, however, took quite some time indeed until the real needs       of the guinea pigs became known and people began to       change their ideas. Here is a summary of the most important       insights:

Guinea pigs are tribe animals; they never ought to be kept individually.
Guinea pigs are animals always ready to take flight; they always should have the possibility to escape from human love and care.
Guinea pigs need a lot of space and an interesting enclosure with a variety of fittings.

The purchase of guinea pigs must be thought over carefully. Beware of making rash decisions and buy these animals in a first enthusiasm or if whining children put pressure on you! Guinea pigs are good-natured and have a soft fur. It's no wonder that unfortunately all too often they are being considered as a living toy for children. Guinea pigs want to be kept in a very good way, i. e. they need enough room, a substantially structurated enclosure, hiding places, gnawing material, appropriate food etc. They don't want to be carried around all the time. Such situations can frighten them and send them into panic.

Social behaviour

Guinea pigs living in the wild form colonies. They are most interesting animals, like to establish contact and to move around if they are being offered the necessary space and much variety. In case there is enough room, it is possible to keep one castrated male and several females. Guinea pigs feel well in large groups.They do need the contact with other animals of the same species. Under no circumstance can guinea pigs be kept individually as singles!

Guinea pigs are animals living in tribes! Guinea pigs very much need the contact with animals of the same species and a large habitat and living space and, therefore, a human being could never be a substitute. The ideal is to keep a whole group of guinea pigs and to offer them an attractive enclosure outdoors. With much variety and enough dry places to sleep and some hiding places.

In the open countryside one can often find tracks within areas inhabited by guinea pigs. These are paths often used by the tribe. They walk in a certain formation, mostly in single file. The cubs are kept in the middle in order to protect them, whereas experienced animals form the front and the end of the small group. This "contact walking" and the odours and noises emitted by every single animal give a feeling of safety and security to all the members of the group. When the animals are eating, one of the guinea pigs sits away to keep watch over the group. At the very moment the guinea pig hears a noise, he starts to squeak so that the others may immediatley get themselves to safety. There is a social ranking within the group which permits the animals to live together in peace.

Behavioural disturbances

When guinea pigs are gnawing at the grating of the cage although they have enough gnawing possibilities at disposal in the cage, this means that they would like to go outside. Frightened animals get into panic if somebody wants to take them out of the cage. Always speak calmly and never suddenly appear in front of or even above the animal (like an enemy). Coprophagy or wallpaper and carpet eating are not to be understood as abnormal behaviour, but more likely as normal needs which at most are being worked off the wrong object.

Man-Animal communication

Guinea pigs do not like to be carried around which has absolutely to be respected. This, however, doesn't mean that the animals do not want to have contact with human beings. Some like to be caressed or eat dandelion out of one's hand, but they should always have the possibility to retire. Their body language helps us to understand them. For instance, when they are frightened, curious or want to repel us. Also the vocalization has its meaning for he human being: Squeaking means begging for food (sounds like the whistling of a kettle). The chattering of teeth is a threatening gesture: "Leave me alone!".

Animals "talk" to their fellow species by body posture, position of the tale, facial expression, vocalization and many more. Iif the human being has the position of companion and substitute for fellow species, then he must try to make up a little bit for the big deficit. The easisest way to to this is to talk calmly to his pets. Animals are extremely capable of learning and also guinea pigs understand very quickly what words or the tone of voice want to say.

Undesirable behaviour

If guinea pigs can enjoy free run only once in a while, they naturally gnaw at everything available: Carpets, furniture or even wires. From men's point of view this behaviour is, of course, undesirable. It is, however, only a result of keeping the animal in ways not approriate to his species. Guinea pigs don't want to move freely just on command, and gnawing is part of their basic needs. It is up to us human beings who keep an animal, to avoid such clashes of interests. The guinea pigs always ought to have at their disposal a large habitat offering many places to hide where they can feel safe and sound and where they can to a large extent live their natural behaviour patterns. This way it hardly ever comes to an undesired behaviour.

Mood barometer

Can guinea pigs get "angry"? Yes, they can bite if they get frightened or are treated the wrong way. As a rule they are, however, peace-loving animals. Males may become enemies when they fight for a female. This can end in heavy biting with injuries. The females repel pushy males showing their big gnawing teeth with wide-open mouth. The body language of the guinea pigs shows their mood in a most reliable way. From the position of the ears one can detect if an animal feels safe, frightened or even aggressive. If the guinea pig jumps in the air, this does not mean that fleas are around but indicates that the animal wants to play!

Psychology of animals

Guinea pigs are very gregarious animals. They live according to the social life pattern within the tribe and can show the whole spectrum of their behaviour only in their dealings with animals of the same species. Since they are practically defenceless against enemies, they have learned to take flight as quick as a lighting and to hide in critical situations. Besides that they are very curious, need a spacious habitat and much occupation. Everybody who is able to recognize this, already knows a lot about the psyche of the guinea pig.