Guinea pigs are adorable little rodents but they can also be very annoying. Generally, they do not sleep as much as humans do. Guinea pigs everywhere are known to be very active domestic rodents that remain active even at night, so how to minimize guinea pigs noise at night?
Most owners complain about them making a lot of noise at night thereby preventing them from having a sound rest.
Guinea pigs make different sounds so you must make an effort to know what each sound means. If you do not understand what a particular sound signifies you may just go ahead attempting wrong solutions to a problem.
Below is a list of sounds made by guinea pigs
Rumble:
This sound is usually heard if you have two guinea pigs- male and female. The male usually makes this sound when it wants to mate the female Piggy. It starts making a movement called the rumbling strut. Also, the female guinea pig does the same when she is on heat.
Wheeking:
A guinea pig wheeks to signify it is hungry. These adorable rodents are very smart little creatures that know the time for their meal if at all you follow a dedicated or particular routine in feeding them. So they get to wheel if you haven’t served them their veggies. They also wheel when they are anticipating food. So generally, their wheeling is associated with food. Here’s my favorite food on Amazon.
Growling:
just as other animals growl as a sign of discomfort or distress, the guinea pigs do the same when they are suffering from pain or threatened. You should attend immediately to your piggies immediately you hear a growl and check around if there is anything around that may seem like a threat to it.
Teeth chattering:
This is usually heard when a new guinea pig is around. This signifies that the new guinea pig should stay off its space. It also signifies that they are angry or agitated.
Whinning:
This is a high pitched moan which may signify health challenges.
Shrieking:
Guinea pigs make this sound when they are in distress.
Squealing:
This is often a signal of terror or anxiety in guinea pigs.
Guinea Pig Sounds
Hungry-Pig:
Lonely Pig:
Happy Pig:
Curious Pig:
Angry Pig:
Keep Away:
Ooh Lah Lah:
Stressed Pig:
Knowing these different sounds will give you an idea of what’s wrong and how to go about to reduce it.
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Here are a few tips on how to reduce guinea pigs’ noise at night.
Make sure their feed is provided in abundance just before you go to bed
Make sure your guinea pig is well fed in the night just a little bit before you go to bed can eliminate the noise it makes at night. Guinea pigs normally sleep after eating in the evening. So make sure you feed your guinea pigs properly before you go to bed. Keep an abundance of their fresh veggies and water for the night and you will not be disturbed at night.
Use a night light
Guinea pigs are very active during the day and also at night since they don’t sleep much like humans. They have just short naps. Some are very different – sleeping all day and becoming active in the night alone thereby making a lot of noise.
Some people are of the opinion that it becomes uncomfortable and probably afraid of the dark that’s the reason it makes so much noise. A very smart solution that my neighbor’s daughter, Karen, came up with was to include a night light in its cage. Ever since the night light was introduced, the noise from the cute little sometimes annoying creatures reduced.
This leads to the conclusion that it was afraid of the dark. If you own a guinea pig and it makes a lot of noise at night, we suggest that you try what my neighbor’s daughter did. It might just be your one and only solution.
Loneliness
Believe it or not guinea pigs do feel lonely a lot of it is only one. These adorable rodents are social animals naturally, so they need a partner or partners. If you have just one guinea pig, it might feel uncomfortable and agitated.
Having more than one in a cage will reduce the noise it may make at night. A lonely, scared guinea pig will definitely make so much noise just to get your attention.
Get a large cage
It is likely that the cage for your guinea pig is not large enough to accommodate them to run, eat and exercise. A small cage that is clustered will make them bored and when they are bored, they start making noise. Get a larger cage for your cute rodents as it will make them feel at ease and comfortable, I recommend this you can check their price on Amazon.
Keep the cage clean
Keeping the cage clean is a very important way you can eliminate or minimize noise from the guinea pigs. If you don’t clean your guinea pig’s cage regularly, then your pets’ might end up becoming sick. They can suffer from mites attack, fungal infections, or worse, a disease called Bumblefoot, which will cause severe pains to the guinea pig. As a result, you might hear your guinea pig shrieking in pain at night.
Provide a hideout in the cage or cage cover.
Naturally, guinea pigs are prey animals so placing a hideout or a cover in the cage will trick them to be quiet, calm and feel safe at night. If you can provide some excellent and comfortable hideout or even cover its cage partially, they might become less active and produce less noise.
Most noise made by your guinea pigs is sometimes triggered by your own activity. For example, several guinea pig owners have shared that opening their fridge could cause them to think that they are about to be fed again so they week in excitement. Some activities could cause them to make noise out of annoyance or maybe a strong indication that they have some health challenges.
Just about anything can make them uncomfortable so be observant and notice those things that may trigger its noisy nature and follow any of the tips to avoid it.
Lydia King is a huge animal lover and has always been fascinated with learning about the animal kingdom. She enjoys writing about anything animal related from scientific information about rare species to animal references in pop culture.
