Do indoor guinea pigs keep you awake

[rose]

Hi,



I am thinking of getting two guinea pigs and would want to keep them indoors. Because they make noises I wondered how noisy they get when they are indoors at night. On youtube when I watch some of the guinea pig videos some of the noises they make seem very loud. Or perhaps they just film the guinea pigs when they are making sounds!! Do they bang against thier home and make noise to get attention in the night?
I have two guinea pig books but I cannot find an answer to this question in them. One of the books is by Peter Gurney.

I am also confused about the information regarding two sows or two boars. In the Peter Gurney book it says if you plan to have more than two in the future you should get two girls. Some websites say the boys fight (even when there are just two) because by their nature one of the boys has to be the dominant one. Then I read breeders websites saying consider boys when choosing a guinea pig because they don't fight and its just a myth that they do. They say they have seen boys live together in perfect harmony. Other people say two girls are more relaxed and friendly. But then one site said that when the sows go into heat they can be difficult. I am getting so much different information that I do not know what to do.
If anyone has any advice let me know.
Thank you for your help and for taking the time to read my post.

Rose

[meggiepiggy]

Hi Rose and welcome

Quite a few of our members keep their piggies indoors.

I suspect they will be only too happy to offer advice on this subject and address your other concerns at the same time.

If you have already been pottering about on our forum, you will know that it doesn't take long for somebody to pick up on a query so keep popping in and no doubt you will have answers to your questions pretty soon ;D

[tosca]

Hi I have some piggy indoors and find they mostly make a noise if they here some thing they like e.g. carrots being chopped, or if they are worried by a noise. The make more gentle noises when communicating about other stuff. They are not nocturnal, they are crepuscular meaning they are most active in twilight rather than day or night as this is when there are least numbers of predators about. So that is the science version however they are all individual little characters but I've not had problems being kept awake.

[meggiepiggy]

Mmmm..........I've been having a think about this one. I haven't had any piggies of my own now for a few years since just after Pigpog left our nest. But, I can offer a few of my own ideas until someone with more current experience pops along.

We kept our piggies in a hutch in the utility room and the only times they really went nuts with the wheeking were at feed time (naturally), whenever anyone opened the cutlery drawer in the kitchen (a sound they associated with feed time) or for some bizarre reason - when the postman dropped letters through our letter box

Our first two piggies were both sows that we bought from a pet shop - they were in the same pen. They were clearly not from the same litter (at least I think it unlikely) but they got along just fine. When one of them passed on, we bought another sow to keep the original one company (always best to have at least two for that reason).

We carried on like this until we got through five sows altogether and by this time Pigpog had flown the nest and we decided our lifestyle wasn't piggie friendly any more.

Our last sow lived on her own for the best part of her last year with us but, as she lived indoors, we made sure she was a member of our family until she too passed on.

Pigpog herself has boars living together and Eppingstrider has two boars who live quite happily together at present.

I have no doubt they will be offering their own two penn'orth on the subject.

When you do bring your first two piggies home, I think you will find the whole experience most rewarding and become addicted to the dear little animals like so many others.

Please don't hesitate to ask as many questions as you like about their health and care. Nobody minds here

It is always nice to share little anecdotes as well.......

[Tanya's Tribbles]

Hello Rose,

I have lots of piggies, some live in my shed outside and some live in the house. I have boys happily living together and boys that have to live alone due to fighting. All my girl piggies live happily in groups except one.

In answer to your first question, guinea pigs do make some noise during the night but this is usually only if someone or something disturbs them. They can at times be very loud if they get frightened but I have to say if this does happen then you will want to investigate day or night! I have to say that appart from the noise that can come from them drinking from their water bottle (a noise that you do get used to and can miss when there arent guinea pigs in the house) they tend not to be any bother at night time. Just remember that all guinea pigs are different.

In answer to your second question, if you want two guinea pigs to live happily together all of their lives then you need to get two girls.
Boys can live happily together all their lives but they can also suddenly decide they dont like each other and attack each other. This is because of their testosterone.

Hope this is of help. Feel free to ask any more questions.

Tanya

[guineapoo]

hey Rose, lovely to 'wheek' you!

Tuk (my other half) and I have 8 piggies in total, 5 girls who reside in our living room and 3 boys who live in our bedroom.

Guineapigs can be very noisy animals, especially when they hear noises they associate with food! Ours go mad if they hear the fridge door open or the tap running, the sound of their food or a hay bag being rustled - I'm not trying to put you off, I'm saying that guineas make so many little noises so often that I find I can't sleep without hearing the boys in our bedroom snuffling through their food bowls or gently wheeking to each other.

If you keep piggies in the room which you sleep in, for the first week you might find it disturbs you. I've found it's somthing you get used to and something that is odd if it's not there.

I hope this helps a little!

Ell x

[Hugs-Cavies (Doris)]

We have all our piggies in our front room, and have to say that they don't make much noise at night. They are fed before we go to bed, so their little tummies are full before we go to bed

As for housing two boars, yes it can (and does) work. However, it can be that some boars don't get along with others. Take Hedwig for example, lived with Harry Jnr quite happily for 7 months until one night he decided to take a chunk out of Harry. Clearly not happy with Harry, so Harry is now with another boar, Dudley (happily) and Hedwig is alone.

On the other paw, we had a boar named Rolo who had not been with another boar for quite some time. We sucsessfuly introduced a friend, and when the friend died introduced another.

The best combination we have found is an older boar with a younger boar.

PS - Welcome to the forum

[PigPog]

I think the replies you've had already say it all really. For my part, my house pigs are kept downstairs in the kitchen and they only tend to make noise during the night when disturbed, as Tanya said before.

[eppingstrider]

Hi Rose

Yes, here's my penn'orth as Meggiepiggy predicted!

I've got two boars who are brothers/littermates so they've always lived together. They have minor disagreements and bicker sometimes but it's usually about 'I'd like to sit where you're sitting' or 'will you please move out of the way'! They're actually incredibly quiet most of the time, and usually noisest if I've been out and come back in especially if they think I ought to give them food (although they have got me so well trained they rarely need to ask).

They do tend to make a noise when running round the cage playing chase games in the evening mainly (which are great fun to watch), but I've not heard them much at night, alhough they are in the kitchen and I'm upstairs - but I am a very light sleeper!

But I think my two may be quieter than other people's pigs - maybe because its a quiet household.....? They are also rescue pigs and may have had such a traumatic childhood that they never learnt how other guinea pigs behave!

[rose]

;D

A big thank you to everyone who replied to my question. Thank you very much for taking the time to give me some advice on the sounds of guinea pigs at night, the choice of sows and boars and welcoming me to the forum.

My husband works long hours and often has to get up very early in the morning for flights and train journeys to meetings. He was worried about me having them downstairs and them making lots of noise and keeping us awake.

I do have a shed outside. It is a small shed but there is enough room for two piggies. But there is no heating or ventilation at the moment in the shed so that would have to be changed if I decided to use it. Obviously I would prefer them to be housed inside, especially as I would only have two guinea pigs.

I'm not expecting a guinea pig to be as affectionate as say a cat but do they like affection from humans over time or are they not that kind of pet?

Thank you again.

Best wishes

Rose

[Hugs-Cavies (Doris)]

I'd say they are more affectionate than a cat.

The majority of ours groom us, you don't get that with a cat

There is nothing else quite like sitting infront of the tele and a piggie

[PigPog]

Hey Rose.

Guinea pigs can be so unbelievably affectionate. They adore cuddles and strokes, and they do actually purr like cats by way of vibrating! Pigs who are cuddled and lot by their owners tend to become excellent "lap pigs" and you can sometimes stroke them to sleep while watching the telly. They also make a soft and repetitive squeak when they're happy which can be quite relaxing to listen to. Some pigs even lick your hands and face too. I have a few pigs who are actually genuinely pleased to see me, and they squeak and whistle when I arrive and show me their bellies.

Your husband might wake them up when he goes to work because they'll assume he's going to feed them but they'll settle down again when he leaves the house and then blackmail you when you get up. Guinea pigs aren't given enough credit for their intelligence - they have every chance of learning that your husband doesn't give them breakfast and so may learn not to get excited when he gets up for work. They thrive on routine and have an amazing sense of time.

[rose]

Hi,

Thank you very much for letting me know that they are affectionate animals.

I did have two cats (both sisters) but they died one year apart from a fibrosarcoma tumour aged thirteen recently . Its been hard because I miss having pets and it makes me feel really sad at times. I don't think I could cope with having two kittens again after losing both cats but I would like a pet in the house.

The only other pet I have at the moment is a hamster and he is very old now. He does not get up to run around until ten pm. I was told by one person that guinea pigs are not very affectionate like cats and don't like being handled and that they were only interested in humans when they saw food, so that worried me as I would like a pet that would enjoy some affection from me. Obviously I'm also asking these questions so that I can be fair to the pet and make sure that I am the right owner for a guinea pig.

Thanks for telling me how affectionate they are that has really cheered me up.


Best wishes

Rose

[chrisandsarah]

Hi Rose!
Welcome to the forum!
We've got two boys and although they fight occasionally, most of the time they get on fine. These are my third lot of 2 boys and I've never had any problems (maybe I've just been lucky?)
Again, ours live in the living room - like Ell says you soon get used to the little noises they make and it's quite reassuring to hear that they're ok!
And yeah, they can be very affectionate, particularly if you give them lots of attention. Ours go mad when I get home from work which is a lovely feeling

Let us know if you get piggies and post some pictures!
Sarah

[tosca]

There is nothing quite like lying down in the playpen and have piggies snuggling in next to you. Except when it's the outdoor one lol. Neighbours think I crazy, kids disown me etc etc