[Gpdd] Behavior: Quiet guinea pig

[Ruth Leibowitz]

On one hand, I would suspect that how much wheeking and squeaking and 
gurgling a pig does is very individualized.  But I wonder also if the lack 
of vocalization might be a sign of loneliness.  I adopted Babu Franklin when 
he was already an adult, and he lived alone with me for about a month.  He 
hardly ever made a sound.  I was not home very much, and realized he must 
have been lonely, so I brought home a companion for him.  Immediately, this 
shy, quiet, SILENT animal began to emit all the sounds of piggiedom.  He was 
just not very geared towards humans (perhaps because he hadn't had very 
positive experiences with us -- living the first part of his life in a pet 
store, alone in a small cage) and needed another member of his own species 
to motivate him to communicate.  Could your piggie be lonely?  Wild guinea 
pigs are essentially social, herd animals, and their domestic relatives are 
not so different.  I am convinced that they are are not really "themselves" 
without other piggies to communicate with.  Maybe that's why so many people 
who have only one piggie end up thinking they are "boring" pets -- when in 
reality, the piggie is just not really being itself because it is alone.  
Many people become boring too, if they are socially isolated and in an 
environment where they are not allowed to express who they really are.  At 
any rate, I have no idea whether this is actually the issue with your 
piggie, just a thought based on experience with Babu and knowledge of the 
species.

Ruth in Portland

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