Can anyone tell me what this sound means??

[puapig]

We recently got two piggies, my first time I'm usually a rattie fan they are brothers, about 2 months old, whenever we put them back in their cage they make this sound.. it's like a cross between a motor bike and a space ship landing in my dining room LOL please forgive the mess, and you'll have to turn the video sound all the way up to hear it because if I get any closer they stop I just want to know if they are happy or angry..what I can be doing to keep them happy and make them like us

[bazookagoof]

It sounds like purring, but I'm not 100% certain. If they're not fighting each other, that's definitely a good sign.

(There are a few more experienced members here, check back later and give them time to see this thread.) 

[Bean]

Welcome to Wheekers and to the world of guinea pigs!

It sounds like rumblestrutting to me - when they make the noise, are they holding their heads still (even while walking around), and swaying their bottoms from side to side? It's most commonly a dominance behaviour (often tied in with getting attention) - the one parading themself is sort of saying 'Look at me! I'm the man!'. They're doing it when you put them back in their cage to tell the other one (they can both be doing it!) it's their turf.

With you having two boys, you may get quite a bit of this as they go through their teenage years (anything from around now up to about a year) as they work out their pecking order. Some male pairs work out who will be boss without any fuss, others have to iron things out, others decide they can't get along.

The key thing to help boys get along is space - they need a bigger area to get away from each other and have their own little space, or minor squabbles are much more likely to turn into serious fights.

If you look at the cage sizes on this page (preferred not minimum if possible) a good rule is to go up one for boys - so have a cage size suitable for 3 pigs (a 2 x 5 C&C cage would be perfect). The website shows you how to make them for a much cheaper price tag than store bought cages. It really is the key to males getting along.

I know yours are already together, but this is a good link on their behaviour for signs of things being fine between them, or indicating that you need to keep a closer eye (just scroll down a bit).

As for helping them settle in, just be around them as much as possible, taking to them, giving them veggie treats and taking them out for attention (if you couple it with giving them their veg, they'll definitely warm to you!). Many pigs, especially those who haven't been handled much, can be very skittish, but most will settle down loads if they're used to you and feel safe and happy.

Any other questions, please ask away - that's what we're here for!

[3piggles]

Hello and welcome I tried to watch the video several times, and each time it went to an ad site with questionable ads, so I gave up. Bean is more than qualified to answer the question, and I second her advice on giving them a whole lot more space. That cage is really only good for one pig, but since you have a table, if you can create a penned area outside the cage, and just let them go in and out, the cage serves as a bedroom and kitchen, and most other activity will be in the play area. Put the hay in the play area. There are some inexpensive playpens available at Petco and PetSmart, that will serve the purpose well. Pigs aren't very big, so they don't need a pen for a puppy, just a fence around an area that's made safe for them.

You can use painters plastic drop cloth to cover the table and keep it from being damaged by nails or liquids. Drop cloth usually comes in rolls for about $10, that will last you for a really long time. Just clip the drop cloth to the play pen sides, with clothes pins or binder clips. Easy to just collect all the droppings and hay in the cloth, shake it into the waste bin, put it back, wipe it down and add another pile of hay. You may decide to just use the top part of the cage in the play pen, and have the drop cloth under it all. Super quick and easy clean up Enjoy your boys, and good luck

[puapig]

Thanks everyone! I havent seen any fighting or anything..hopefully it stays that way through their teens! Would having them neutered help? Does neutering have any health benefits like with dogs? Sorry for all the questions, this was spur of the moment, they were going to be taken to a shelter or rehomed on CL free which scares me, so I said I'll take them LOL i do plan on gething a bigger cage for sure! This is jus to what I had on hand from rehab I've done with bunnies and squirrels lol

There were 2 on amazon I was trying to decide between if anyone has input!

www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005AYYDCM/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

That cage in large

Or this one

www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001NJ0DQ8/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485536066&sr=8-1&keywords=guinea+pig+cage

The second is bigger but made me nervous since it would be very hard to move if needed without a solid bottom, and I worried the pigs could chew holes in the bottom too :/

[3piggles]

8 square feet is minimal for two adult boars. I had a 4'x8' cage with two boars in it, and it wasn't big enough. I had to divide it into two cages that were each 2'x4', or 24x48 inches.

If you buy the Midwest cage, you can add another cage to it, making it twice that size. Just get something solid to go under the cage, such as a piece of plywood, so you can easily move the cage any time you need to. You can also put coroplast in the bottom of the cage, which will give the bottom some rigidity, and be easy to replace when it gets really dirty.

I have heard that the canvas/plastic bottom of the Midwest cages gets dirty really quickly, so it needs to be lined with some thing like self-adhesive contact paper, which is available just about anywhere. It's not expensive, and it provides a layer of protection for the bottom. Do not use newspaper, as the ink stains the bottom of the cage permanently.

Have you considered a C&C cage. A box of grids costs from $20-40 dollars. If you have a Bed, Bath and Beyond store near you, they have them for about $20. The grids come with connectors. You can build the same 2x4' cage for less, and for that price of those cages, you can build a much bigger cage. You can also add lofts to increase the size without making the cage bigger. Check out the housing thread in our Wheekerpedia section. There are some great cages pictured in there, and you can get some ideas.

I spent an awful lot of money trying to get a store bought cage that was big enough for my two boys, before building my first C&C cage. Haven't gone back to store bought cages in 15 years. Good luck

[Bean]

Neutering doesn't affect behaviour in guinea pigs as it does with some animals, it just stops them having babies. So there's no point risking surgery unless they're going with the opposite sex.

For boys I'm not sure of any significant health benefits of castration either. Although from an owner perspective, castrated boars seem less likely to suffer with impaction as they get older, and cleaning out their bum sac is rather honky! With females, being spayed can eliminate the chances of diseases of the uterus later in life, but it's a much bigger and riskier operation to spay a female, so people only tend to have it done when it's medically necessary.

The C&C cages really are great - so easy and cheap to make and once you have the stuff you can adapt them. You can add lids if you have other animals or young kids, and use spare grids to make platforms, tunnels or hay racks. I'm not familiar with the MidWest ones - you can now buy them online over here, but they've not taken off in the same way as they have in the US.

[puapig]

Love all the cage help, thank you!!!

I made this video tonight during some snuggles and green bean snacking..is this a happy sound or do they seem stressed?? I so want them to be happy, it drives me crazy that I don't know them well enough to tell

[jolovespiggies]

They are so gorgeous hunni and I do love those happy little noises.

Hugs
JO xx

[3piggles]

Happy, interested sounds from two inquisitive, talkative piggies They are gorgeous

[Bean]

They're definitely not stressed looking at their body language. The one on the right looks a little nervous (hence trying to hide under the other one!) but exactly what is considered normal with young pigs new to a home. It's good they're feeling confident enough to chunter away though - a very worried pig tends to be very quiet.

However, if I have two out at a time, they sometimes get a bit irritated by the other one being so close and when I stroke them, they occasionally think it's the other one bothering them and chunter a little bit like that (until they realise it's me).

It's great having them out together like that at first though - if one is nervous, then having the other closeby will be a massive source of comfort, even if the proximity does occasionally irk them! You'd probably find it you moved one away a little on your lap, they'd choose to move back together and then grumble if they got knocked!

So keep it up!

[puapig]

Jan 30, 2017 10:32:52 GMT Bean said:

They're definitely not stressed looking at their body language. The one on the right looks a little nervous (hence trying to hide under the other one!) but exactly what is considered normal with young pigs new to a home. It's good they're feeling confident enough to chunter away though - a very worried pig tends to be very quiet.

However, if I have two out at a time, they sometimes get a bit irritated by the other one being so close and when I stroke them, they occasionally think it's the other one bothering them and chunter a little bit like that (until they realise it's me).

It's great having them out together like that at first though - if one is nervous, then having the other closeby will be a massive source of comfort, even if the proximity does occasionally irk them! You'd probably find it you moved one away a little on your lap, they'd choose to move back together and then grumble if they got knocked!

So keep it up!

They do! If we move them apart like my husband holds one and I hold the other they call out to each other ♡ or even if we have them out on their blankie for more room (they still don't go far but I imagine they will with time?) They stick really close to each other

[Bean]

Aww I remember when my boys used to do that, proper full on squeaking for each other if they were separated by a few metres!

If you have them out to play, giving them stuff to hide under and run over really helps them feel safe and brings out their playful side. I hang towels over cardboard boxes with doors cut out, or even just scrunch up bits of newspaper - it's all good fun for them!

[puapig]

Another question for you guys ( Im guessing I could probably find all these if I looked through the forums, sorry for my laziness! LOL ) I am thinking about using fleece instead of shredded paper, with doggie pee pads underneath - do any of you use this method? Do you think it would be safe for their lungs to use one of the 'Odor control " pee pads that seem like they would be scented? Like these on Amazon? www.amazon.com/Home-Odor-Eliminating-Pads-Count/dp/B00PG91SSI/ref=sr_1_2?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1485887169&sr=1-2&keywords=dog+pee+pads

I normally dont care at all, cleaning their cage once a week keeps it fine for us, but we will be selling our house shortly so Im trying to keep the funk down as much as humanly possibly until then

[3piggles]

I tried the pee pads for a while. They got really expensive, as they didn't control the odor, so they needed to be replaced daily. I thought they would be the perfect absorbent material to use, but they're really one-use. If the pigs pee in a spot that's already wet, it doesn't absorb any more liquid in that spot. Great, if you can always get the pigs to pee in a spot they haven't used

Other members have also tried super absorbent products of a variety of different names, and they didn't work. The ones that came in rolls of fabric held the liquid and got really heavy and saturated, then didn't survive being washed. Again, expensive when they have to be constantly replaced.

Shredded paper is not absorbent, but kitty litter is. It's hard to find a clumping kitty litter without any odor fighting crystals, but it's possible, and they're usually the least expensive. You can put the fleece over that, scoop out the clumps daily, add a bit more litter when it gets low, and while it's not free, it's easy to find in stores, not terribly expensive, and comes in containers of sizes most people can manage. You just need a litter scoop, and they're also really inexpensive.

The litter will stick to the underside of the fleece, so you need to have some kind of barrier to keep the fleece and litter separate, or make sure you shake/sweep the litter off the underside of the fleece, before you put the fleece in the washer.

If you're not going to use pads (fleece sewn to towel, UHaul blanket, etc), then you'll need to clip the fleece to the cage in enough places that the pigs don't get under it.

Don't use the wheat or corn husk litter. The pigs will eat it.

I hope that helps

[Bean]

Is it okay to use the fragranced puppy pads, 3piggles, or were you referring to unfragranced ones? I would have thought it could irritate their airways.

I'm afraid I don't have any genius ideas, but good luck with selling your home!

[3piggles]

Because guinea pigs live so close to their bedding, I always recommend unscented anything. Since we don't know the extent of the scenting, how it's activated, etc., I figure it's best to avoid it.

The odor fighting crystals in cat litter were connected to cancer in cats. The crystals were activated by being wet or moved, which meant that the cat was most directly exposed to the cancer causing agents while doing its business, which was the only time it really mattered. I think those litters are still on the market, but after all the news articles about the cancer causing effects and why, I wouldn't want them around my animals.

The pee pads I used had baking soda in them to fight odors. Since the pigs wet the pad sufficiently to need it to be replaced, I didn't keep the pads in the cages long enough to know if the baking soda worked.

I'm allergic to almost all chemical scents, usually listed as Fragrance on the list of ingredients. That makes me very aware of the negatives of fragrance, and leary about using them around the pigs or myself. I don't use any room deodorizers, as they mask odors with other odors. Luckily the pine pellet horse bedding neutralizes the odors in the cage, so as long as I clean out the hay and poos every week or so, there's no odor to fight.

[puapig]

Feb 1, 2017 18:50:52 GMT 3piggles said:

Because guinea pigs live so close to their bedding, I always recommend unscented anything. Since we don't know the extent of the scenting, how it's activated, etc., I figure it's best to avoid it.

The odor fighting crystals in cat litter were connected to cancer in cats. The crystals were activated by being wet or moved, which meant that the cat was most directly exposed to the cancer causing agents while doing its business, which was the only time it really mattered. I think those litters are still on the market, but after all the news articles about the cancer causing effects and why, I wouldn't want them around my animals.

The pee pads I used had baking soda in them to fight odors. Since the pigs wet the pad sufficiently to need it to be replaced, I didn't keep the pads in the cages long enough to know if the baking soda worked.

I'm allergic to almost all chemical scents, usually listed as Fragrance on the list of ingredients. That makes me very aware of the negatives of fragrance, and leary about using them around the pigs or myself. I don't use any room deodorizers, as they mask odors with other odors. Luckily the pine pellet horse bedding neutralizes the odors in the cage, so as long as I clean out the hay and poos every week or so, there's no odor to fight.

Do they not try to eat the pine pellets? I used that for my horse, it looks so similar to their pellet food :0 I could easily try that if it works we have several farm stores nearby

[Bean]

I think 3piggles uses the pellets under the fleece (and a fibreglass screen to create a barrier between the pellets and the fleece so the fleece doesn't get messy), so the pellets absorb what goes through, but the pigs have fleece underfoot.

I agree about scents - I wouldn't use anything near the pigs and if I use anything to fragrance rooms, it's only essential oils in a diffuser. Are you okay with those or do they still cause a reaction?

[jolovespiggies]

Sorry love I meant to say welcome to our happy family.

Hugs
JO xx