My Guniea Pig... a few questions?

Question
I just recently got a guinea pig for my birthday, and i know shes not that old... and probably not being used to being help since she came from a pet store. I was wondering if when i hold her it is normal for her to make a whole bunch of squeaky noises. I've been reading about it, and some people say those are good noises, and some they are bad. How should i know? Also when i pet her in long strokes she makes a low purring sound. I have no idea what any of these noises mean so if you could PLEASE help me out! oh and one more thing... when i hold her she gets so excited she'll start jumping, its almost like a twitch... is this normal? I'm really worried since it is my first guinea pig, and i have no idea what their regular behavior is. Thanks a ton!!  

Answer
Hi Danielle

Most squeeking is good. If she makes noises that make her sound distressed, this is obviously bad. However, you will be bale to tell if she is distressed.

I would say that your piggy is telling you that she enjoys being held by you. The purring is the same as a cat, i.e contentment.

The jumping around that you refer to is called popcorning. This is the ultimate sign that your piggy is happy.

All in all it sounds like your piggy is as happy as possible.

Andy