GUINEA PIG BEHAVIOR
Once you bring your cute little guinea pig home, or before you decide on buying one, everyone needs to know more then the basic necessities, such as food and housing. What's more important is to keep your pet healthy, happy and live a good life. We can be rewarded knowing how our little friends recognize us and let squeal when we arrive home from work, drrrrrr's at us, or even follow us around the yard! *thinks of Ark*
Guinea pigs are a social, herd
animals and they like to be in the company of each other. Having one guinea pig
on there own can my make them bored, lazy and quiet. This can influence the
health and emotional state of the guinea pig. When having two females together
you hear and watch them play around in there cage or in a larger area such as a
wired and safe area outside. Having toys to play with such as a cardboard box or
an ice cream container can really enhance there 'play time'.
Unfortunately, male guinea pigs are really territorial and will fight and bicker over females, housing and food. This can lead into a bad situation as they show aggressive behavior toward one another. Sounds and behavior are exhibited such as chattering with their teeth, mounting, biting and spraying urine on one another. They must be separated or injuries such as a torn ear or worse can occur. I've leant from the messy day Magus fought with Panda and I was rushing up to the vet with pandas blood over me. I don't want that to happen to any other guinea pig owner...believe me. Even once the males are neutered it wont change there behavior.
For guinea pigs to live happily together, it is best to consider a healthy and large home for them. It's really sad to walk into a pet shop to find many guinea pigs housed together in such a small area with no ventilation. We always comment that their depressed and overheated and either want to be sold or die. One thing I hope for is the guinea pigs to be quickly bought and taken to a nice new house with a large area to live in.
Some guinea pigs are very fussy when being fed. Each has there own likes and dislikes when it comes to food. Its best to give them a variety of fresh foods, such as apple, carrot, broccoli, tomato, grapes, strawberries, lettuce, milk thistles, cucumber ect. The types of foods the guinea pig likes can be influenced by other guinea pigs its housed with. If a younger guinea pig is housed with an older one, the older one has a great influence in the type of food the younger one eats. For example: Ark hates lettuce, I put one of his baby sons in with and the other with Magus, who eats lettuce. Magus and the baby both eat lettuce, but Ark and his baby both don't. This is bad for the baby, and should need to eat a variety of foods, so I house him in with Magus, and the baby at first was hesitant, but because guinea pigs are competitive for food, the baby begins to eat the lettuce.