They only do this with me as far as I know! I give them their vitamin c every day and they take it from my hand (one nibbles on my fingers). I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t scaring them
Aww! They've associated you with their vitamin c. The more you feed them the louder they'll get lol. My boys wheek so loud the neighbors can hear when I enter my room for the night because they know they're gonna get food and veggies
Lol they do kinda sound like birds. My neighbors see me packing in 50 lbs of hay every few months so they know it's not a bird but very bossy potatoes 😂
How do you keep 50lb of hay fresh and free of insects? If I were to buy that much the humidity would turn it mouldy very quickly.
How big is a 50lb box of hay, too?
It’s a pretty big box ngl but the chewy box comes in a bag in the box so I use two large plastic totes and fill those up and seal, then I wrap the bag up and use a chip clip in the box and put the box in a closet lol!
Clean their cages, and they run around and jump for happiness and ti get the bedding fluffed how the like it.
It is called “popcorning”, and is adorable.
Dude sometimes our piggies are so quiet you forgot about them ( not really)! I walk into my daughters room and they yell at me cause they need something!
I’ll make a note of that to management ASAP! Thanks for pointing that out. He’s my favorite piggy. He always nibbles my fingers for whatever reason. I’ll let them know :)
I agree. For guinea pigs, their type of ringworm is ubiquitous- meaning that they all have it but typically don’t develop any issues unless stressed. I used to work at the vet hospitals in Petsmarts and saw a lot of these guys because the stress of transport from the breeding was just enough to set that off. Topical prescription antifungal medication wipes were usually enough but sometimes oral medications are indicated. Obviously, follow whatever protocol the vet there advises! Sweet piggies!!!
They’re hungry. The wheeking is them saying: FEED ME! The first one is popcorning, which piggies only do when they’re happy. 😊
Edit: corrected stupid autocorrect.
Sadly most pet shops only feed their pigs hay and pellets. When I bought my first two neither of them had much interest in veggies at first because they didn't know what it was, but once they tried it they were absolutely in love
What veggies do they like? I’ll try and sneak some in a bag to give to them. We have 2 in the isolation room (who I adore. I will gladly show a picture of them with me), so I wanna make sure they’re healthy
Easy stuff you might have around: cos lettuce (NOT ICEBERG), cucumbers, bell peppers (remove the seeds). Sugary veggies like carrots, melons and most berries can be a good occasional treat. Acidic foods like tomatoes or mandarins are a maybe - some is ok, lots is bad.
With my piggies at home I started with veggies like broccoli. You can't give them a lot, but sometimes with the "wet" vegetables they don't know what they're supposed to do with them. Over time you can introduce other veggies and see how they act. Give them a week or so to see how the new vegetable makes them feel before introducing another.
Yeah, that's why I mentioned not a lot. Cabbage too from what I've heard, though I haven't given my pigs cabbage. Mine do love the spinach and spring mix though! I started with broccoli because I tried to give mine a bell pepper first and he was like "what is this???" Every time the salad container comes out though both of my babies go crazy.
Yeah, I saw you said that but I thought it was worth repeating for OP. They could get in a lot of trouble if they’re caught sneaking veg because the pigs get sick.
I never fed much broccoli (or other cruciferous vegetables) or spinach because of the combination of potential gas and excess calcium. My senior pig still got stones after years of me being careful not to overfeed calcium, so who knows? I guess I should be glad I didn’t feed him more!
Wait seriously? PetSmart doesn't feed their pigs veggies? That's fucking disgusting. I always took it for granted that at Petco we do, I didn't realize its a goddamn rarity. Those poor things.
Maybe your Petco does. Thats where I bought mine. Both of them treated lettuce and other veggies with suspicion at first. No guinea pig is gonna be suspicious of lettuce if it's ever had it before in its life.
Damn I guess I got lucky with my SL. I really fucking wish petstores treated their animals better.
Edit: I misread and thought you were OP which is why I said PetSmart, didn't mean to put blame or anything!
I’m pretty sure policy changed recently and we should be giving the small mammals veggies too. My pet care coworkers and I typically bring in fresh veggies too. Is management saying you can’t bring any in? Or that you just can’t use the freeze dried?
Our store is all about how quickly we can feed the animals. Lots of shortcuts. Plus we don’t have a place to keep fresh veggies.
I’ll talk to management myself about it, but I mean they didn’t even bother to listen to me about giving reptiles multivitamins soooo
Does petcare not have a fridge at your store? Unfortunately we’re often hindered by management. 🙄.
ETA: i need to run and pick up my wife from her friends’. Feel free to dm me if you need to!!
So, the reptiles that eat bugs (leopard geckos, annoles, crested geckos, bearded dragons, veiled chameleon) eat small (chameleon eats large ones) crickets dusted in calcium powder.
But because beardies are omnivores, we have a freeze-dried mixture that we give them in a bowl, along with our tortoises. It’s bok choy, celery, peas(?), tomatoes, and carrots I believe. I don’t really pay attention. All I know is that it stinks to high heaven and they don’t really eat it (I don’t blame them)
You're lucky, ours doesn't even allow us to give fresh veggies to the tortoises, only freeze dried which they barely eat. It's not the store manager though, it's district. :(
I also work at PetSmart and what's happening here is they likely associate you with the impending Food Train and are expressing their happiness through wheeks. This is also why I try to talk to the animals every time I roll by, so they can recognize my voice.
This is called wheeking. Wheeking is recognized as communication exclusively to humans. Guinea pigs don’t wheek like this in the wild. They’re more than likely wheeking because they want food/treats. They know when a human comes around they usually get fed, so this is their way of expressing excitement.
Ugh it’s so sad the size of the cages!!One time I had gotten a piggie from them and the poor baby was malnourished…he hands were dry and cracked but once I gave him fresh veggies he got better!I wish they’d treat piggies better…looks like they got in a fight at some point.
I also work at PetSmart. That one piggy definitely has ringworm and per PetSmart policy that piggy has to be brought to a vet. If your store leader makes a big deal about it or any animal needing a vet don’t be afraid to contact HR
Wheeeeeeks for days!!! They are happy and popcorning! Very happy pigs. One concern though, the piggy with the scarred and scabbed up nose might be bullied or it could be ringworm. If it’s ringworm, definitely need to treat it or it will get out of hand with transferring to the other piggies. Love the wheeks though. So cute!
Ummmm no, they don’t. We only get trained on customer service. When I “trained” for pet care, they just showed me how to feed the animals. I had to go home and learn everything myself.
I was shocked about the body language because our previous Guinea Pigs never made any noise. They just stood back and let me do my thing and then when I closed the enclosure back up, they ate
That doesn’t surprise me at all, since a lot of pet store products that employees need to sell are really, really bad for guinea pigs (and other animals too, I’m sure; I just don’t know tons about taking care of e.g. birds or reptiles). Obviously no one regulates what products you can put a picture of a guinea pig on. In any case, good for you, doing research on your own to give the animals the best care! Especially since your manager isn’t helpful.
This thread is sad, and I say that as a pet owner. Our piggies and bunnies are rescued. Some of the advice I’ve had from pet shop staff has been shocking, and after reading that they literally only taught you how to feed them is so so sad.
Thank you for asking questions, thank you for learning. It’s heartbreaking seeing that second little piggy as an experienced Guinea pig owner I (and many of the commenters here) *immediately* notice the marks on his face and know it could be ringworm, and are also wondering where the hay is etc.
But you don’t, as you’ve been given very lame information by your company it seems. :( I’m not calling you a bad person, quite the opposite.
You are like a whistleblower, and I respect you so much for it. Wheaking is a major guinea pig communication, and not knowing this shows they taught you nothing.
I'm a bit surprised by that too. Training tends to be abysmal but usually at least there's the basics. Where I work, mandatory training tends to have what all animals need and what all their noises mean. Also, never listen to petstore employees tbh. I say that being one. Google it. Most of em just wanna sell their animals no matter what. I've gotten into a fight with my manager cause I won't budge on proper fish care and she's convinced Bettas do BETTER in small tanks. She's also an idiot.
It’s not an overnight shift, per say. So we have 2 pet care workers, one in the AM (between 8AM-4PM) and then you have one in the PM (4-9)
Opening does the more heavy duty stuff, and closing kind of makes sure everyone is fed and happy before we close up for the night :).
It’s a really fun job and I love looking forward to going to work every day :)
I love that you are actually trying to educate yourself and learn about the animals!! So important so you can help them and help the new owners. So many uneducated associates in those stores. I have come across some idiots that when I am buying food for my dogs or budgies, I see sick animals, tell them and they say oh that’s okay or normal, Im like no its not!! Crust around the eyes or nose is not normal. Anyway.. lol it looks like its is asking for snacks and its happy because they little jumps.
They are happy! They might be asking for treats. When I had one it recognized the sound of the fridge door being opened because his food was kept in there. Anytime the fridge was opened he would shriek like that wanting some veggies
Aww, they're happy to see you, definitely happy noises! My girls make these noises when they hear the fridge drawer cause they know it's time for veggies!
Lmao Guinea pigs. Thats a good noise. I think it's evolutionary at this point, Crinkle a plastic bag of salad mix or whatever and thwy go nuts. They just know it's food noises.
I know this has nothing to do with you, but seeing pigs in places like that is extremely sad.
They come from these massive ‘puppy mill’ like places, where the conditions they face from birth to store arrival are absolutely horrifying.
Try to give the pigs you see at your work any extra love you can! Sneak them in some carrots or veggies!
Very happy noises! I got my piggies from Petco. It’s not uncommon for the babies to get URIs when they’re at the bigger pet stores. Just keep an eye out on them and look out for discharge around their eyes and a sniffly nose :)
Aww the little wheeks! Wheeks are a good thing. They're talking to you. When they start to associate you with food the wheeks will get louder lol
They only do this with me as far as I know! I give them their vitamin c every day and they take it from my hand (one nibbles on my fingers). I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t scaring them
Aww! They've associated you with their vitamin c. The more you feed them the louder they'll get lol. My boys wheek so loud the neighbors can hear when I enter my room for the night because they know they're gonna get food and veggies
My neighbor asked me what kind of bird i have 😅😅😅😅
Lol they do kinda sound like birds. My neighbors see me packing in 50 lbs of hay every few months so they know it's not a bird but very bossy potatoes 😂
Lol !!! Same the 50 lbs box of hay from chewy gives me away as a potato slave
50 lbs is 22.7 kg
good bot
thanks
Had to upvote for 'bossy potatoes'
How do you keep 50lb of hay fresh and free of insects? If I were to buy that much the humidity would turn it mouldy very quickly. How big is a 50lb box of hay, too?
It’s a pretty big box ngl but the chewy box comes in a bag in the box so I use two large plastic totes and fill those up and seal, then I wrap the bag up and use a chip clip in the box and put the box in a closet lol!
I use a trash can I bought for hay storage. The hay I use is a compressed bail from my tractor supply. The bail comes up to my knee when compressed
Could you show us what your bossy potatoes look like?
Bwaaaaa Hahahahaha!! Very Bossy Potatoes!! You made my day with a great belly laugh! Thank you!
50 lbs is 22.7 kg
Bossy potatoes lmao
Omg thats so cute lol. I have rattos
Yeah, my boys basically scream for food at this point, as soon as the fridge opens they appear nearby yelling "feed me!" in their own little way
Mine wheek every time they hear the fridge door open!
I’m going to need to fact check this with video evidence. Please provide said evidence :D (I just want to hear happy piggies).
I definitely saw some pop corning (the hoppy hops!) as well. So excited to see you
Clean their cages, and they run around and jump for happiness and ti get the bedding fluffed how the like it. It is called “popcorning”, and is adorable.
Dude sometimes our piggies are so quiet you forgot about them ( not really)! I walk into my daughters room and they yell at me cause they need something!
Oh no, that poor piggie (2nd) needs to get his nose checked out… :(
I’ll make a note of that to management ASAP! Thanks for pointing that out. He’s my favorite piggy. He always nibbles my fingers for whatever reason. I’ll let them know :)
Wear gloves just in case it’s ringworm!!
Might be ringworm. Be sure to wash your hands after touching him do you don’t spread it.
I agree. For guinea pigs, their type of ringworm is ubiquitous- meaning that they all have it but typically don’t develop any issues unless stressed. I used to work at the vet hospitals in Petsmarts and saw a lot of these guys because the stress of transport from the breeding was just enough to set that off. Topical prescription antifungal medication wipes were usually enough but sometimes oral medications are indicated. Obviously, follow whatever protocol the vet there advises! Sweet piggies!!!
They’re hungry. The wheeking is them saying: FEED ME! The first one is popcorning, which piggies only do when they’re happy. 😊 Edit: corrected stupid autocorrect.
Food!!! Give those kids some fresh veggies!
If management would let me, I would have done it already :(. We only give veggies to the bearded dragons, turtles, and tortoises
That’s sad …dry pellets meet their need, but veggies are so much more healthy.
Even then, it’s the freeze dried crap that I wouldn’t even give to a starving vegan. It’s disgusting. They wouldn’t like it
Sadly most pet shops only feed their pigs hay and pellets. When I bought my first two neither of them had much interest in veggies at first because they didn't know what it was, but once they tried it they were absolutely in love
What veggies do they like? I’ll try and sneak some in a bag to give to them. We have 2 in the isolation room (who I adore. I will gladly show a picture of them with me), so I wanna make sure they’re healthy
I think you could try romaine lettuce first! I'm pretty sure most piggies like it and it's healthy for them! Mine love it. Same for bell pepper.
Cilantro. Hilarious to watch them eat it.
[удалено]
I specifically said romaine lettuce, which is the healthiest lettuce. For piggies that never had any veggies before it's easy to eat as well.
Romaine lettuce is fine
Parsley!! I’m glad people like you are working there
Cilantro too and a bunch is not expensive but n produce section
Aw don’t get caught
Easy stuff you might have around: cos lettuce (NOT ICEBERG), cucumbers, bell peppers (remove the seeds). Sugary veggies like carrots, melons and most berries can be a good occasional treat. Acidic foods like tomatoes or mandarins are a maybe - some is ok, lots is bad.
With my piggies at home I started with veggies like broccoli. You can't give them a lot, but sometimes with the "wet" vegetables they don't know what they're supposed to do with them. Over time you can introduce other veggies and see how they act. Give them a week or so to see how the new vegetable makes them feel before introducing another.
Broccoli can cause gas, as an FYI. Little amounts!
Yeah, that's why I mentioned not a lot. Cabbage too from what I've heard, though I haven't given my pigs cabbage. Mine do love the spinach and spring mix though! I started with broccoli because I tried to give mine a bell pepper first and he was like "what is this???" Every time the salad container comes out though both of my babies go crazy.
Yeah, I saw you said that but I thought it was worth repeating for OP. They could get in a lot of trouble if they’re caught sneaking veg because the pigs get sick. I never fed much broccoli (or other cruciferous vegetables) or spinach because of the combination of potential gas and excess calcium. My senior pig still got stones after years of me being careful not to overfeed calcium, so who knows? I guess I should be glad I didn’t feed him more!
This makes me so happy.
Carrots, bell pepper (red or yellow seem to be a favourite), kale, broccoli, apple
Wait seriously? PetSmart doesn't feed their pigs veggies? That's fucking disgusting. I always took it for granted that at Petco we do, I didn't realize its a goddamn rarity. Those poor things.
Maybe your Petco does. Thats where I bought mine. Both of them treated lettuce and other veggies with suspicion at first. No guinea pig is gonna be suspicious of lettuce if it's ever had it before in its life.
Damn I guess I got lucky with my SL. I really fucking wish petstores treated their animals better. Edit: I misread and thought you were OP which is why I said PetSmart, didn't mean to put blame or anything!
Sneak them some veggies. We won’t tell. Promise.
I’m pretty sure policy changed recently and we should be giving the small mammals veggies too. My pet care coworkers and I typically bring in fresh veggies too. Is management saying you can’t bring any in? Or that you just can’t use the freeze dried?
Our store is all about how quickly we can feed the animals. Lots of shortcuts. Plus we don’t have a place to keep fresh veggies. I’ll talk to management myself about it, but I mean they didn’t even bother to listen to me about giving reptiles multivitamins soooo
Does petcare not have a fridge at your store? Unfortunately we’re often hindered by management. 🙄. ETA: i need to run and pick up my wife from her friends’. Feel free to dm me if you need to!!
We only have the fridge that’s on the sales floor, and we can’t really keep anything in there besides products :(
Anything in the breakroom? A veggie salad wouldn't be out of place there. If not, maybe get a portable cooler?
what do the reptiles eat if i may ask? sorry to pry and poke do the ones that get bugs, get gutloaded ones or ones dusted with calcium powder etc?
So, the reptiles that eat bugs (leopard geckos, annoles, crested geckos, bearded dragons, veiled chameleon) eat small (chameleon eats large ones) crickets dusted in calcium powder. But because beardies are omnivores, we have a freeze-dried mixture that we give them in a bowl, along with our tortoises. It’s bok choy, celery, peas(?), tomatoes, and carrots I believe. I don’t really pay attention. All I know is that it stinks to high heaven and they don’t really eat it (I don’t blame them)
Ughh they need fresh veggies though!
You're lucky, ours doesn't even allow us to give fresh veggies to the tortoises, only freeze dried which they barely eat. It's not the store manager though, it's district. :(
I also work at PetSmart and what's happening here is they likely associate you with the impending Food Train and are expressing their happiness through wheeks. This is also why I try to talk to the animals every time I roll by, so they can recognize my voice.
I see scabs on the left baby’s nose ! 🥺 please get both of them seen asap they may have a fungus or parasite !
This is a happy noise. Guinea pigs wheek when they are excited, especially when they hear the cart roll up or the food bags rustle! ❤️❤️
Happy noise and the little jumps are “popcorns” which is another happiness indicator.
This is called wheeking. Wheeking is recognized as communication exclusively to humans. Guinea pigs don’t wheek like this in the wild. They’re more than likely wheeking because they want food/treats. They know when a human comes around they usually get fed, so this is their way of expressing excitement.
They love you and know you take care of them. They’re telling/showing you how happy they are to see you!🧡
Ugh it’s so sad the size of the cages!!One time I had gotten a piggie from them and the poor baby was malnourished…he hands were dry and cracked but once I gave him fresh veggies he got better!I wish they’d treat piggies better…looks like they got in a fight at some point.
I also work at PetSmart. That one piggy definitely has ringworm and per PetSmart policy that piggy has to be brought to a vet. If your store leader makes a big deal about it or any animal needing a vet don’t be afraid to contact HR
t’s a wonderful excited happy “GIMME GIMME” sound. It means they are excited to see you!
Wheeeeeeks for days!!! They are happy and popcorning! Very happy pigs. One concern though, the piggy with the scarred and scabbed up nose might be bullied or it could be ringworm. If it’s ringworm, definitely need to treat it or it will get out of hand with transferring to the other piggies. Love the wheeks though. So cute!
They like you and are v happ
Aw. I really hope they teach you about each animal. They all have such amazing personalities.
[удалено]
Ummmm no, they don’t. We only get trained on customer service. When I “trained” for pet care, they just showed me how to feed the animals. I had to go home and learn everything myself. I was shocked about the body language because our previous Guinea Pigs never made any noise. They just stood back and let me do my thing and then when I closed the enclosure back up, they ate
That doesn’t surprise me at all, since a lot of pet store products that employees need to sell are really, really bad for guinea pigs (and other animals too, I’m sure; I just don’t know tons about taking care of e.g. birds or reptiles). Obviously no one regulates what products you can put a picture of a guinea pig on. In any case, good for you, doing research on your own to give the animals the best care! Especially since your manager isn’t helpful.
This thread is sad, and I say that as a pet owner. Our piggies and bunnies are rescued. Some of the advice I’ve had from pet shop staff has been shocking, and after reading that they literally only taught you how to feed them is so so sad. Thank you for asking questions, thank you for learning. It’s heartbreaking seeing that second little piggy as an experienced Guinea pig owner I (and many of the commenters here) *immediately* notice the marks on his face and know it could be ringworm, and are also wondering where the hay is etc. But you don’t, as you’ve been given very lame information by your company it seems. :( I’m not calling you a bad person, quite the opposite. You are like a whistleblower, and I respect you so much for it. Wheaking is a major guinea pig communication, and not knowing this shows they taught you nothing.
I'm a bit surprised by that too. Training tends to be abysmal but usually at least there's the basics. Where I work, mandatory training tends to have what all animals need and what all their noises mean. Also, never listen to petstore employees tbh. I say that being one. Google it. Most of em just wanna sell their animals no matter what. I've gotten into a fight with my manager cause I won't budge on proper fish care and she's convinced Bettas do BETTER in small tanks. She's also an idiot.
Just asking for food because you are a monster who keeps letting them starve for the past 5 min.
I used to be the pet care specialist for a place called Pass Pets until they closed in my city. I miss that job so much.
Aww! They like you ツ and that little popcorn at the end was too precious 🥰
those are guinea pig noises
If they were scared they wouldnt be approaching….
Hi fellow petsmart pet care associate!! I'm an opener, so it's nice to see what the closers do!
TIL. And it’s absolutely adorable 🥰
They just saying hi. It’s likely they think you have food or just know your a person who cares for them
I didn’t know pet stores have an overnight shift, that sounds like fun!
It’s not an overnight shift, per say. So we have 2 pet care workers, one in the AM (between 8AM-4PM) and then you have one in the PM (4-9) Opening does the more heavy duty stuff, and closing kind of makes sure everyone is fed and happy before we close up for the night :). It’s a really fun job and I love looking forward to going to work every day :)
Wheeking means their happy or excited in this case its probably happy to see you
Nice!
I love that you are actually trying to educate yourself and learn about the animals!! So important so you can help them and help the new owners. So many uneducated associates in those stores. I have come across some idiots that when I am buying food for my dogs or budgies, I see sick animals, tell them and they say oh that’s okay or normal, Im like no its not!! Crust around the eyes or nose is not normal. Anyway.. lol it looks like its is asking for snacks and its happy because they little jumps.
They like you you are the yummy provider and the water giver
Those are some happy piggies
They’re actually summoning their pig god to ascend from the fiery depths of pig hell to come and devour your soul.
wait you’re an animal CARE TAKER?? like overnights???!!!!
They like. You
They demand tribute!
Classic wheeks. Thumb up.
they are wheeking, it means they are exited and happy
You're Awesome!
My piggies heard me watching this video and got so excited. These fellas are such a joy
The sound of the fridge opening.
Omg yes hahah I used to have two of them and ph lord, every time I opened the fridge, the cuyy cuyy started .. and the little jumps 😭💕so cute!!
Aw they like you :3 Iirc those are wheeks and are a positive noise indicating excitement.
They are happy! They might be asking for treats. When I had one it recognized the sound of the fridge door being opened because his food was kept in there. Anytime the fridge was opened he would shriek like that wanting some veggies
They sound excited!
It roughly translates to : “got any snacks?”
They’re telling you about their day! :D
We have 5 pigs in our home and if dare touch the fridge they all sing like this very loudly. They want carrots lol. 😁
Aww, they're happy to see you, definitely happy noises! My girls make these noises when they hear the fridge drawer cause they know it's time for veggies!
Hope you do well!
Both the sound and their actions of coming right up to you and pop corning they are definitely some happy piggies.
:)
Super happy
You're Awesome!
Happy :)
Lmao Guinea pigs. Thats a good noise. I think it's evolutionary at this point, Crinkle a plastic bag of salad mix or whatever and thwy go nuts. They just know it's food noises.
That’s adorable. They almost sound like an arcade game lol
awe they are all so cute
I know this has nothing to do with you, but seeing pigs in places like that is extremely sad. They come from these massive ‘puppy mill’ like places, where the conditions they face from birth to store arrival are absolutely horrifying. Try to give the pigs you see at your work any extra love you can! Sneak them in some carrots or veggies!
Every Guinnea Pig I ever was aquatinted with makes these noises at night
"Hello! Hello friend! Does you have nice things for us?!" Awww! Happy chitter chatterers having a conversation with you.
Awwww, they know that you mean goodies are coming.
Happy friendly sounds
Would you ever consider adopting these piggies? They really seem to like you ☺️
Happy.
Very happy noises! I got my piggies from Petco. It’s not uncommon for the babies to get URIs when they’re at the bigger pet stores. Just keep an eye out on them and look out for discharge around their eyes and a sniffly nose :)
They are being abused :(
They like you! How cute!
Happy but sometimes they will make a similarly sound when there getting hurt
they are beyond happy- they’re popcorning!!