18 Surprising Fun Facts and Key Points About Guinea Pigs You Did not Know

“Guinea Pigs”- A lovely pet and social animal around the world, originally domesticated rodents and are not found in the wild who communicate with chirps, squeaks, whistles, and squeals. Some key points about guinea pigs include, that they are found in many colors as domestic pets due to their social, lovely, and affectionate nature with their owners as they do remember and recognize their owners by searching them out and returning affection due to their intelligence.

Aside from typical fun facts about guinea pigs such as what guinea pigs eat and that they are social animals, there are definitely more interesting facts about guinea pigs than that. All these and other behaviors and ways of living by guinea pigs are understood once you ride on the guinea pigs’ journey through this blog.

Let’s read more fun facts about guinea pigs and read some important key points about guinea pigs Here.

Scientific Classification and Characteristics of Guinea Pigs
Species	Cavia porcellus (Binomial Name)
Order	Rodents
Class	Mammalia
Genus	Cavia
Lifespan	As long as Up to 8 years
Diet	Herbivore (Plant-based Diet)
Weight	Adults up to 700 and 1200 grams
Length	Adults up to 20-25 cm
Reproduction	Live birth

18 Fun Facts About Guinea Pigs – “A Unique Creatures”

1. They Do Not Belong To Guinea: Guinea pigs are a bit of a mystery due to the “Guinea” in their name. In fact, Guinea pigs belong to or originate from the Andes Region of South America. One of the theories and fun facts about guinea pigs revealed that Guinea pigs were first brought to Europe by Spanish explorers in the 1500s via Guinea in Africa, due to which people assumed that they came from there or it could be a breed of Guinea and are in South America.

2. They Do Not Relate To Pigs At All: Other fun facts about Guinea pigs are actually rodents, and their genus is Cavia sometimes also referred to as cavies. Whereas their binomial name is Cavia porcellus, the word ‘procellus’ is Latin meaning ‘little pig’. Male guinea pigs are called “Boars”, whereas, female Guinea pigs are called “Sows” and Baby guinea pigs are called “Pups”. It may be that they have been referred to as ‘Pigs’ due to the pig-like squeaking noises they make.

3. They Do Not Get On With Rabbits: We have noticed a myth that guinea pigs and rabbits can happily live together but the reality is, not only will rabbits and guinea pigs bully each other but they also have very different needs. Important to note is that rabbits carry some dangerous diseases that can be harmful to guinea pigs.

4. They Love To Chat With Each Other: It is always recommended that keep at least a pair of guinea pigs or a group of them because they love to chat and play with each other and enjoy company just like humans do and have affection. They communicate using some unique noises like wheek-wheek, chattering, squeaks, purring sounds, putt-putt, etc. which shows some signals and communication.

5. They Scent Mark Through Their Body: Guinea pigs have one unique habit of scent marking by rubbing their chin or cheeks across things in their surroundings which reassures and feel them safe in their home smelling familiar and feeling their home. They also drag their bottoms across the ground to leave scent secretions as a message that can only be understood by their companion guinea pigs. Therefore, it is said that transferring some of the old bedding back to their cage after cleaning their cage ensures and helps them to feel their home and safety.

6. They Have A Short Period Of Sleep: Guinea pigs have been observed to awake for 20 hours of the day, although they are active at dusk and dawn their sleep cycle is very short. For that reason, they require constant access to water, food, some safe hiding spots and toys, and friend guinea pigs, etc.

7. They Can Dance Like Pop Corning: It is some rare times that when guinea pigs are happy and excited they jump up and down, often turning 90 degrees in mid-air to perform slick-like little moves known as “pop-corning”.

8. Have An Odd Number Of Toes: Some important key points about Guinea pigs to note is that they have three toes on their rear feet and four toes on their front feet. That may help them while tunneling and burrowing which means they are very poor climbers and not very agile in climbing and can only manage to scale low-pitched ramps or heights. However, it is advised that do not put very hard obstacles in front of them or in their cage to avoid any type of injury.

9. They Learn And Adapt Very Fast: We know that baby guinea pigs (Pups) can run when they are only a few hours old with fur and their eyes open. A very interesting thing is that they make them understand a prey species very fast and make them safe from the environment. At three weeks, baby guinea pigs are weaned and they are fully matured at the age of three to four months, but they keep growing in size and learning new things from other guinea pigs as they are around a year old and so on.

10. They Require Vitamin Supplements: we know that guinea pigs just like humans do not have the self-producing ability of vitamin C. They require an external source like healthy foods and diet plans based on plant-based foods, high fibers, Vitamin C, and rich in nutrients and minerals food, etc. to ensure the overall health of guinea pigs.

11. They Love To Eat A Lot Of Hay: Good quality and fresh hay must be the main part of their diet. This would help them to maintain a good digestive system as little and mini grazers.

12. They Can Live Long And Healthy Lives: the only possibility is fresh, good quality, the right nutrients, suitable accommodation, a company of other guinea pigs, good care and well-being, and kindness may lead to a guinea pig’s life to live up to seven to eight years. The oldest recorded guinea pig called “Snowball” lived to the old age of 14 years, and 10 months and earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records and considered as one of the fun facts about guinea pigs.

13. They Can Hear Better Than Humans: These little rodents can hear up to 46,000 Hz, whereas humans can only detect frequencies up to 16-20,000 Hz, making them sensitive creatures to environments like screaming and noisy sounds that can lead them to stress.

14. Largest Guinea Pigs Can Be Long Up To 50 Cm: The “Cuys” can weigh up to 4 kg, are the giants originate from South America where they are breaded and fattened for food.

15. Guinea Pigs Eat Their Poop: Guinea pigs may eat their poop which may be of two types i.e. comes from the caecum. Such caecotroph nutrition provides them the important vitamins like B and K. These caecotroph nutrients also contribute to a healthy digestive system for guinea pigs and a healthy metabolism.

16. Pups (Baby Guinea Pigs) Lose Teeth Before They Are Born: Newborn guinea pigs have a full set of teeth because they lose their milk teeth before birth once they are in the womb of their mother guinea pigs. Ups can eat solid food within 24 hours of their birth but be sure to consult a veterinarian to avoid any kind of risky food that can be harmful to baby guinea pigs.

17. Guinea Pigs Also Protest Uniquely: Throwing heads up in protest and jerking up and down signals the guinea pigs’ reaction to not being petted by their owners.

18. Guinea Pigs Holiday: The 16^th of July every year is observed as “Guinea Pigs Appreciation Day” which is the annual day of celebration for guinea pigs it was introduced in 2016 by a Canadian Organization “Piggles Rescue”.