By Sienna Walsh · Last updated 17 May 2026
Guinea pigs are surprisingly vocal — researchers have catalogued at least 11 distinct vocalisations, plus a handful of teeth and body sounds. New owners often worry: “Is this normal? Are they fighting? Are they in pain?” This is our team’s working translation chart, with what to do about each one.
The big six — sounds you’ll hear daily
1. Wheek
The famous one — a long, high-pitched squeal that sounds like “wheek!” or “weeeeeeek!”. This is “food please, NOW”. You’ll learn to dread it because they wheek every time the fridge opens, every time a plastic bag rustles, every time you walk near the cage with anything green in your hand.
It’s reserved for humans. Wild guinea pigs (and pigs not yet bonded to people) don’t wheek at each other. It’s a learned, human-directed beg.
What to do: ignore it if you don’t want to reinforce it. We don’t — we feed on a roughly consistent schedule and let them wheek for 5 minutes before we deliver, because giving in immediately trains them to wheek every time they see us.
2. Purr (low, vibrating)
Steady, low, throaty vibration when they’re being gently stroked or sitting in a sunbeam. Body language is relaxed, eyes half-closed, body slightly extended. They are content.
What to do: keep doing whatever you’re doing. This is the sound you’re aiming for.
3. Purr (higher pitched, “choppy”)
Sounds like a purr at first, but with a sharper, bouncier rhythm — like a tiny outboard motor. This means “I am annoyed and would like you to stop”.
What to do: stop. Often it’s because you’re stroking against the grain, holding them too long, or they need to pee.
4. Rumblestrutting
A low, gravelly rumble paired with the swagger walk — hips swinging side to side, head held high. This is the dominance display. Boars do it at boars; boars do it at sows; sows do it at sows. It’s also the “courting” sound a boar makes around a sow in heat.
What to do: normal during introductions and ongoing dominance reaffirmation. Only worry if it escalates into chasing + teeth chatter + lunging.
5. Teeth chatter
Rapid clicking of teeth, sometimes with a slightly open mouth. This is “back off, I mean it”. Pigs do this at each other during disputes and at humans when they’re really fed up.
What to do: if it’s pig-to-pig and brief, leave it — they’re sorting hierarchy. If it’s sustained for more than a few seconds, separate them temporarily. If it’s pig-to-human, you’ve done something they don’t like. Back off.
6. Chutting / putt-putt
Soft, quick, low “putt-putt-putt” sounds, often when exploring something new or pottering around the cage. This is a contentment/curiosity sound — the equivalent of a cat’s friendly chirp.
What to do: enjoy it. Sign of a happy, curious pig.
Less common sounds
Chirping
The mystery sound. Some guinea pigs, occasionally, will stand frozen and produce a song that sounds exactly like a bird chirping. It’s rare — many keepers never hear it. Theories range from “trance-like state” to “calling a lost cage-mate” to “we don’t know”. Other pigs nearby usually freeze and stare. It can last for several minutes.
What to do: film it (you’re lucky), don’t disturb them.
Whining
A drawn-out, complaining sound from a pig being chased or mounted by a cage-mate. “Get off me, you’re annoying.” Usually doesn’t escalate to actual conflict.
Screaming
A loud, panicked, high-pitched shriek. This is a pain or fear scream — a pig caught in a hide door, being attacked by a cage-mate, or in serious medical distress.
What to do: respond immediately. Identify what’s wrong. If you can’t find a cause within a minute and the pig isn’t acting normal, ring an exotic vet.
Cooing
Soft sound made by a mother to her pups. You’ll only hear this if you have a pregnant or nursing sow.
Hiss / spit
Short, sharp warning between pigs. Usually precedes a lunge if the message isn’t received.
Body-sound combos
| Sound + body | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Wheek + running to bars | “Feed me!” |
| Purr + relaxed body | Content |
| Purr + tense body | Annoyed |
| Rumble + swagger + hip swing | Dominance display |
| Teeth chatter + raised hair | Aggression — separate if sustained |
| Putt-putt + head down exploring | Happy curiosity |
| Scream + frozen | Pain or fear — investigate now |
| Chirp + frozen + glassy stare | Trance state — leave alone |
| Whine + chased by cage-mate | Normal pestering, not conflict |
When silence is the worry
The most concerning thing isn’t an unusual noise — it’s the absence of any noise from a normally vocal pig. A pig who’s stopped wheeking at food, stopped chutting around the cage, and is just sitting hunched is telling you something is wrong. Investigate the eating, drinking, pooping, and breathing.
Equally, a solo pig who suddenly starts making lots of new noises (especially crying or whining) might be lonely. Solo housing causes vocal patterns to shift, and many become much more attention-seeking with humans.
Teaching your pig to “speak” to you
Most pet guinea pigs will wheek when they hear:
- The fridge door
- A plastic bag
- Hay rustling
- Your specific voice
- The sound of someone unlocking the front door
This isn’t training — it’s conditioning. Pigs are smart and they remember which sounds reliably predict food.
Further reading
- RSPCA UK — Guinea pig behaviour
- Cambridge research on guinea pig vocalisation — peer-reviewed literature on cavy communication
- Our bonding pillar covers reading body language during introductions
We get asked — guinea pig food FAQ
How much fresh veg should a guinea pig eat per day?
About 1 cup of fresh vegetables per pig per day, ideally split into two meals (morning and evening). Hay should still be 80% of the diet and available unlimited. Pellets are a small daily addition, not a meal replacement.
What’s the most important nutrient for guinea pigs?
Vitamin C. Guinea pigs cannot manufacture their own and must get it daily from fresh food. Bell pepper is the gold-standard source. Vitamin C in pellets oxidises within weeks of opening, so don’t rely on pellets alone. See our food safety master list for daily portion guidance.
What signs should send me to a vet?
- Not eating for 12+ hours (GI stasis — emergency)
- Not pooping (or smaller, drier poops than usual)
- Crusty eyes, wheezing, or sneezing more than once a day (URI)
- Hunched posture, fluffed coat, hiding
- Sudden weight loss (weigh weekly to catch this early)
- Blood in urine, hunching when peeing
A pig that hasn’t eaten in 12 hours is an emergency, not a “wait and see” situation. More detail in our vet warning signs pillar.
Related reading
- The complete guinea pig care guide — diet, housing, social pairs, lifespan
- Master food safety table
- Cage setup & size guide — most pet-shop cages are too small
- RSPCA UK — Guinea pig welfare standards
Portion sizes & serving rules
Across every “can guinea pigs eat X” question, the same portion-size rules apply. A piece of new food should be no larger than a thumbnail the first time, watched for soft poops or gas over the next 24 hours, then offered as part of the regular rotation if no issues. Adult guinea pigs (over 6 months) get about a cup of total fresh veg per day, divided between morning and evening — never one big plate at once.
The “5×5” rule we use: at least five different vegetables across each week, and no single veg more than five days in seven. This rotation prevents calcium build-up (parsley, kale, spinach) and stops one food becoming a fixation that displaces hay intake.
Calcium, oxalates, and bladder stones
Bladder stones are one of the most common reasons guinea pigs end up in surgery. They form when calcium-heavy diet combines with poor hydration. The high-calcium foods you should rotate rather than feed daily:
- Parsley (very high)
- Kale (high)
- Spinach (high — also high oxalates)
- Mustard greens, dandelion greens, beet greens
- Mineral-rich pellets if your tap water is hard
The fix is straightforward: rotate, don’t accumulate. Two days of parsley followed by five days of romaine and bell pepper keeps the calcium load moderate. Filtered water for households with very hard tap water.
Three quick checks before any new food
- Sugar / starch content. Sugary or starchy foods cause gut bacteria imbalances. Limit fruits to 2-3x a week as treats; same for high-starch roots.
- Calcium load. If you’ve been feeding lots of kale/parsley, today is a cucumber day.
- Pesticide residue. Wash everything. Skip waxy supermarket fruits if you can’t peel them.
When to stop and call a vet
Symptoms within 24 hours of a new food that warrant a call:
- No or markedly fewer poops
- Soft, mushy, smelly poops
- Reduced appetite for hay
- Hunched posture, fluffed coat, hiding more than usual
- Drooling or food-dropping (potential dental + diet interaction)
- Bloated, hard belly
Stop offering the suspect food, increase hay, monitor closely. If symptoms last more than 12 hours, that’s a vet call. Our team’s full reference list of warning signs lives in the vet warning signs pillar.
Page last updated 17 May 2026. We re-check our pet-care content regularly and update when something changes.
