Why does my guinea pig squeal when i pick him up?

Question

i have two young (10 week old) guinea pigs. one of them, Bramble, always squeals when i pick him up. Barley, his brother, never squeals when i do the same to him. is it that Bramble is scared, or that i am hurting him? please tell me, because i would like to learn.
thankyou
:))

Additional Details

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i have been told that it might be that he is hungry, but just after i have given him many carrots, he starts to squeal again. please help!

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Every guinea pig has a different personality, likes and dislikes and a different comfort zone. If you are picking them up the same way, it is possible that Barley is ok with it but Bramble feels insecure. Some pigs just take longer to feel comfortable being handled or feel the need for more support when being lifted to feel secure. Make sure that Bramble's feet are secure since not having a solid base makes some pigs very nervous. If he is OK once you have him in your lap or up against your body, try positive reinforcement by feeding him a treat right after you pick him up.

Also, there are squeals and there are squeals. Some mean "I'm terrified" while others mean "pay attention to me" or "feed me". It sounds like the after carrot squeals are in the second category.

BTW, don't over feed carrots since they are quite sugary for the nutrition they give. A bit as a treat is fine but don't over do it. Try something really healthy like kale or chard or dark leaf lettuce. They have lots of nutrients (especially the kale) without the excess sugar of carrots and fruit.

Source(s):

40+ yrears traising and showing guinea pigs and a PhD in Biology

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

thankyou very much. i have figured that i think Bramble is just a bit startled when i walk up to his hutch, but when i take him in for a cuddle, he is absolutely fine and purrs happily.
thankyou again! :)

Answer 2

All guinea pigs are different. I have had three guinea pigs for 5 months now, and two are very tame, and one hates being picked up and is skittish. It depends on what the squeal is like. On the Wikipedia page of guinea pigs, there is a list of sounds you can listen to, to determine which noise it is your guinea is making, it will tell you if it means it is scared, excited or whatever.

Try fussing him before picking him up, and support his back legs when you scoop him from his cage. I think giving them warning that you're going to pick them up is a good idea!

Source(s):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_pig - go to the "behaviour" section.

Answer 3

Rather than going on the squeal, observe his body language: Does he try and escape your grip? Is he panicing? If so then you have either startled him, he is in pain or he has mites. If you put him down and stroke his fur the wrong way, does it make him very uncomfortable? This is a classic sign of mites and as they live in hay, guinea pigs have a very high chance of catching them.
To be honest, a lot of people leave mites if they are not that bad as chances of getting them back are very high but if your guinea pig is very uncomfortable, take it to the vet and i think its called HiVi Scrub (pronouced heevee scrub, i THINK) that will get rid of them.
On the other hand, if your guinea pig does not wriggle or want to get away then its likely that hes just happy to see you. Some guinea pigs get very excited!
Hope I Helped!

Answer 4

N'awww babbbyyyy!! oh well this happened to meh, what I realised was that my cat also did the same, make sure you don't pick Bramble up from his upper chest area because you are making him wheeze, which can make it hard to breath as thats were his sensitive lungs are. Also don't squeeze to hard just a gentle but firm pick up.

Hope this helps x give him my cuddle :P

Source(s):

My experience

Answer 5

You could be startling him, guinea pigs are typically wary of things swooping at them from above, whether it is your hand or otherwise. Try picking him up slowly and gently; how long have you had him? If this behavior doesn't die down quickly after frequent handling (during which he should have been able to get used to you) you may want to take him to a vet - his squeaking COULD be a sign of pain.

Answer 6

does he have long hair? sometimes without knowing you can pull their hair ,and it hurts them:/ if he dosen't,he might not wan't to come out.But that shouldn't stop you taking him out(: x he will just get used to it x if it dosn't sound like a 'painful' squel he might just be excited to get out:'D

Source(s):

owner of 3male guinea pigs xx

Answer 7

dont listen to the girl who was saying about her cats. guinea pigs are not cats. anyways,if its a squeak than thats fine it means he likes you & is excited. however, if its a long, sharp piercing squeal, and he possibly tries to get away (AFTER ALREADY IN YOUR ARMS) then he's probably in pain and needs to be checked out by a vet,

Answer 8

Aww, poor baby =(.... I'm pretty sure that when they squeal it means they're in pain, so i suggest you take him to a vet to find out whats wrong with him... Good luck, i hope he feels better xo