# Are guinea pigs not as social as rats?



## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

My boyfriends little brother has a pair of female Guinea pigs. They're cute little potatoes but they're not exactly friendly. They don't bite or anything but they're absolutely terrified of everything. I thought they would come around the way my skittish rats have but it's been a few months and they're still terrified of people. They are from a pet store and I know that could contribute but I'm just wondering if this is how Guinea pigs just are or if this is somewhat unusual


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

On a side note, what does it mean when they make a cooing noise, kinda like a pigeon?


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Well all animals are unique and very different  Just because they are small doesn't mean you can really compare them to one another.

Rats are highly social & Interactive animals which is actually pretty much the opposite of most other small pets.

Guinea pigs are not anything like rats at all. They are highly prey animals and can easily be spooked. They are more watching pets rather than interacting. Though some can be calm and lay in your lap or next to you. 
There are some lovely friendly guinea pigs, but it is the exception not the rule.

My guinea pigs see me and scream their little heads off like omg give us food! Sticking their noses through the bars begging. I reach to pet them and they run off- omg she is going to kill us!!
And two of them I have had and handled since birth lol 

There is a funny comic I saw that sums them up well:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/fe/fe/3c/fefe3cba1c1fa65b9ef4eb2dbd440ed0.jpg

& this:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/32/12/9b/32129b4017313fc5f7064dc2da8df76b.jpg

As you can see it is pretty common with them  

I love my guinea pigs and their noises  But way different then the rats. 
They also need hay 24/7, fresh veggies, and super large cages like crazy large floor space!


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## thepumpkinrat (Oct 30, 2016)

I had a guinea pig for about a year, and I also used to work with them at a pet store. They're pretty much always afraid. I_ also_ thought that after awhile my boy Totoro would warm up to me, but even months later he would run and hide when I walked near the cage and would try to do anything to avoid being taken out of the cage. I did a lot of socializing and work to try to get him to trust me and calm down, but had no luck. I honestly think it's just their biological makeup to be scared, constantly. They have pretty much zero self defense, and they're not fast. My piggy just cared about food.  I actually ended up giving him to my friend who loves and owned another guinea pig, because I had previously owned rats/ferrets and was just not used to the idea of having an animal that never liked me or could get used to me. My friend absolutely loved him, and loved guinea pig personalities, so it was a great fit. 
I'm sure that other people who have owned Guinea pigs may disagree with me, but my time of being a guinea pig owner was not so great. I definitely missed the company and interactions with.. er...smarter animals such as rats.


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

Usually domestication dulls an animals natural instincts to some extent but Guinea Pigs still seem to have very strong fight or flight instincts. I don't think they can help it.


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## Andromeda (Apr 28, 2016)

I think a lot of it has to do with intelligence. Not to be rude to cavies, but rats are very very smart, which I think helps when it comes to realizing that humans aren't giant rodent eating monsters. xD


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## thepumpkinrat (Oct 30, 2016)

Andromeda said:


> I think a lot of it has to do with intelligence. Not to be rude to cavies, but rats are very very smart, which I think helps when it comes to realizing that humans aren't giant rodent eating monsters. xD


That's basically what I was trying to say, my guinea pig was quite the idiot...;D


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## Jokerfest (Sep 25, 2012)

I had piggies before rats. The boys were more lovey and lazy then the girls and liked to just stay plopped and rumble at me when I petted them. The girls were more high strung but after they were caught I could pet them and they were fine. Mine were also kept in a larger group not in pairs so idk if that had anything to do with the males being more calm. My males were also neutered obviously lol.


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

I think the intelligence of certain prey animals is underestimated because they spend so much of their time being alert and watchful that they are rarely relaxed enough to show off their ability to learn tricks and such. I'm sure a guniea pigs have the brains to learn basic tricks, but getting them to relax and focus is a different story. Its a common opinion on this forum that mice are dumb and I believed that to until I came across this great video https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t8XZ-_EgWB8 I guess a good trainer can bring the best out of any animal.


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## rottengirl (Mar 16, 2016)

Fu-Inle said:


> I think the intelligence of certain prey animals is underestimated because they spend so much of their time being alert and watchful that they are rarely relaxed enough to show off their ability to learn tricks and such. I'm sure a guniea pigs have the brains to learn basic tricks, but getting them to relax and focus is a different story. Its a common opinion on this forum that mice are dumb and I believed that to until I came across this great video https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t8XZ-_EgWB8 I guess a good trainer can bring the best out of any animal.


I think some pet stores sell "anti anxiety" drops for nervous and scared pets, would you think this would be a good way to calm piggies down? Although it sounds bad to drug them up constantly. Hmm, always nervous and scared, or slightly drugged and chill.....can't see which side is better......


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## Andromeda (Apr 28, 2016)

Actually since posting on this forum I've done some looking into guinea pigs. Apparently you can get them to be a bit less skittish, but it takes A LOT of work because they don't have the same level of natural curiosity that rats have. It also pretty rare for them to become as attached as a lot of rats are...

This is all second hand information though, so who knows whether I'm right or not. xP I'm always on the hunt for small animals with the same level of charisma and sociability as rats. I love them to bits, but their short lifespans just bum me out. :/ I had a bit of a rough time at the end of October when Sebastian turned a year old and I realized that there was a decent chance that my boys won't be with me this time next year.


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

rottengirl said:


> I think some pet stores sell "anti anxiety" drops for nervous and scared pets, would you think this would be a good way to calm piggies down? Although it sounds bad to drug them up constantly. Hmm, always nervous and scared, or slightly drugged and chill.....can't see which side is better......


I'm not sure, I guess it would depend on the drug and its side effects. I'm not sure I like the idea of messing around with an animals natural insticts. Fair enough if they had an anxiety disorder but Guinea Pigs are just naturally high strung, its apart of their nature. I think we would be better off breeding for calmness like we did with rats rather than trying to alter them with drugs. Besides, if you want a docile pet there is always the option of a different species. It makes more sense to get a naturally calm animal than to get a nervous animal and drug it up.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

rottengirl said:


> I think some pet stores sell "anti anxiety" drops for nervous and scared pets, would you think this would be a good way to calm piggies down? Although it sounds bad to drug them up constantly. Hmm, always nervous and scared, or slightly drugged and chill.....can't see which side is better......


I would definitely not do that. 

It is not that they are nervous because of an issue, it is just how they are as an animal. 

And most are not really as bad as it seems lol Mine are very lovely. I walk by and they all wheek wheek and run to the side of the cage and stand up begging for food. They sniff my kitties and even my big husky through the cage bars. They are not like hiding in the corner in absolute terror 24/7. They are happy & content. That is the difference, they may get nervous in a scary situation, but overall being them they are happy.

They can also be quite calm sitting with you. If I take mine out and they will often calmly sit on your lap. My one girl will follow me all around and stand on my feet.

But if I go to pick them up...omg run for your lives. 

it is just built into them as natural instinct. They are prey animals and it is deeply built into them to not be lunch. lol

I do not think they are dumb at all. Rats are highly intelligent animals, one of the most intelligent even. But intelligence in animals can't be judged the same in one broad stroke. Guinea pigs can learn tricks, I saw a video of one fetching a ball and putting it into a cup. Mine are crazy smart when it comes to knowing that X = Z, I had a nightly routine that before bed I would go feed and water all of the rats and then give my guinea pigs some veggies. They would begin screaming their heads off when I would turn the water on in the kitchen for a long time at night because I had alot of water bottles to fill up lol. That is some awesome intelligence.


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

I don't think he plays with them enough, mostly because they aren't as friendly as rats. But it's like a cycle at this point. He wanted rats originally when he met my girls but his parents said no so they compromise on Guinea pigs. They squeal their little hearts out when you come into his room and when you open the mini fridge where their lettuce is stored but when you go up to the cage they immediately hide. I've spent some time with them and they're very sweet in my opinion. They remind me of my rat Ganymede who is terrified of everything as well. He's not the greatest pet owner, and I'll probably end up taking them with me when I move but I was just curious if there was something I was doing wrong, something wrong with them or if it was normal but all of what you guys have said makes sense.


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

Maybe I'll start spending more time with them and getting them used to being handled more. He got hit by s car s little while ago and can't exactly play with them very much at the moment so they haven't had as much human interaction in the last month as they really should.


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## kenbofosho (Nov 26, 2016)

I was reading an article about small animal temperaments for my Hedgehog and it was talking about how your hand looks like a bird of prey's talon, and they are prey animals, so its just like an instinctual thing. Granted they have never seen a predatory bird and i hope they never will but the point does make sense. It really put in perspective alot of small animal behavior for me


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## comprar (Dec 4, 2015)

Yes, but in a different way. Rats are intelligent and playful, while guinea pigs are cuddly and social. They are also clean (they do not smell like rats do - only their urine and fecal pellets do sometimes), very sociable, cuddly, some are very curious, others like to relax. In fact, they are more cuddly than rats as they love to sit in your lap and be stroked. If given daily attention, they will also become very attached to you and love you like one of their own kind. Guinea pigs live alot longer than rats too - 5-8 years being the average. Cavies are bigger than rats, males growing 24-28cm long, females slightly shorter. Also guinea pigs rarely ever bite, even when they don't know you. Like rats, guinea pigs also are happiest living in pairs of the same sex, but piggies need a wider cage and rats need a taller cage. 

So they are both similar in ways, different in other ways. These creatures are both rodents and are very soicable, smart, cute, furry, clean, cuddly, fun and adventurous!


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