Glossary for Guinea Pigs

Boar

a male guinea pig

Cavy

another name for a guinea pig

Chirping

very rare, chirping a melody like a bird

Chutting

a repeated streak of “chut” sounds when the guinea pig is relaxed, socializing

Cooing

comforting sound from that mother cavy use to reassure her pups

Popcorning

when a happy guinea pig jumps straight up and down

Pup

a baby guinea pig

Purring

usually associated with being “content or happy”

Roan

the roan guinea pig is a black colored guinea pig with white hairs mixed evenly throughout its body; it is linked to microphthalmia/anophtalmia. The allele that controls roaning in guinea pigs is incompletely dominant: an animal with one copy of the allele will have varying amounts of white hair scattered through its coat, particularly on the back and sides. This is not to be confused with the 'Magpie' variety, which is a brindled guinea pig lacking red pigment due to the "chinchilla" allele also responsible for self-white and silver agouti coloration. About 25% of guinea pigs born to a mating of two roans are completely white, with a constellation of deformities called lethal white syndrome, although it is not related to overo lethal white syndrome in horses or double merle syndrome in dogs. These symptoms include: partial or complete blindness/deafness; unpigmented eyes; missing or deformed incisors/molars; elongated toothroots; malabsorption in the small intestine, due in some cases to lack of intestinal villi; increased susceptibility to illness It is worth noting that, unlike anophthalmic hamsters, lethal white guinea pigs are not sterile. Females may be unable to deliver live young. Lethal white guinea pigs have a decreased lifespan in general, although individuals have reportedly lived to 6 or 7 years. Many die shortly after birth or at weaning age. With hand-feeding and regular dental care, lethals can live 2–3 years

Rumbling

similar to the purr, except with a vibrating effect and lower pitch; the male uses this
sound when he is wooing the female to mate (”mating call”). He will start to wiggle h s hips and walk around the female in a seemingly arbitrary pattern. This is often called the “rumble strut. When the male is nottrying to romance the female, the female may use the rumble to signal to the male that she is in season and ready to mate

Ruttling

the rattly noise that some guinea pigs make when they breathe. It may be due to infection, but some flat faced breeds have noisy breathing anyway (the bulldogs of the gui nea pig world!)

Scurvy

a disease that guinea pigs can get when they do not get enough Vitamin C in their diets

Shrieking or Screaming

usually means the guinea pig is sensing immediate danger or is feeling
pain and discomfort

Sow

a female guinea pig

Teeth chattering

guinea pig releases a rapid streak of squeaks; it usually means that they are
angry, unhappy or agitated at a certain situation (cage dominance)

Wheeking

the characteristic vocal sound when guinea pigs are expecting food

Whining

like a high-pitched moan, usually when the guinea pig is being disturbed or bothered.