Elucidating Questions

The thing with guinea pigs

The thing is they’re incredibly social

Even standoffish Ruby needs social interaction

They teach eachother silly habits

Tanzy throws a party for food, water, toys, treats, floor time, a blanket existing

So Spinel joins in

Ruby cries when she’s picked up

So Spinel tries that too

Everyone else runs away when I try to pick them up

So Spinel starts playing tag

“Can’t touch me but I can touch you!”

Running around the cage with little nose taps to the back of my hand before she skitters away out of reach

This behaviour she shows slightly different from the others

She is playing rather than scared

The difference between a learned behaviour and an ingrained one

Tanzy has decided that when she’s on the floor and I make kissy noises

I’m asking for a sound off

And anywhere she’ll rumble and then wheek wheek wheek!

Here I am!

So Ruby joins in

But, quiet little peep, Spinel remains silent

Seeing them picking up behaviours from each other

I wonder how humans have determined animals don’t communicate with language

When sublingual communication is how we ourselves communicate much of the time