As we know there are many Guinea Pig breeds out there, but do you ever wonder if there are any breeds that you’ve never heard of? Well let’s find out!
When I first became interested in Guinea Pigs, I had absolutely no idea just how many different breeds there were. My knowledge of the breeds became apparent when I first made my Guinea Pigs Instagram, and I couldn’t believe it. After a thorough research, I have come up with a list of breeds, which may just blow you away.
Abyssinian Guinea Pig
The Abyssinian is set apart from other breeds of guinea pig by its coat, which is marked with radially growing swirls or cowlicks of hair referred to as rosettes. The fur comes in many colors and patterns, including self, tortoiseshell, brindle, part-colour and it normally silky looking.
Abyssinian Guinea Pigs are one of the oldest breeds.
The personality of the Abyssinian guinea pig is also different than other guinea pigs—they are bolder, quirkier, louder, livelier, more playful and more intense, hence they make great pets.
Abyssinians are affectionate and respond well to training. They can breed with other types of guinea pigs, although the offspring may have mixed results.
No one knows where the name ‘Abyssinian’ came from. Abyssinia is the former name of the country of Ethiopia, but guinea pigs bear no resemblance to native animals there.
American Guinea Pig
American Guinea Pigs are the most common Guinea Pig breed and is the oldest of the Guinea Pig. It is believed to have been first domesticated around 5000 BC in the Andes.
The American is known for its sweet and docile personality, and is considered by many an excellent breed of cavy for new owners. They are also the easiest Pigs to bond.
The American Guinea Pig typically has a small body with a length that ranges from 8 inches to 9 inches (20 cm to 22.5 cm). They have a round snout with famous ears and has a short, soft coat.
The American Guinea Pig has a short, smooth coat. It has no curl and can come in a variety of colours; they also come in a variety of hair styles. The American Satin is identical to the American, except its coat is fine, dense, extra shiny and glossy. The American Guinea Pig can be seen in a large range of colours and patterns.
Crested Guinea Pig
The English Crested’s characteristic feature is its crest. This is also sometimes called a crown. To be precise, this is a whorl on the head between the eyes and ears. Breeders prefer it when it’s perfectly round. This guinea pig doesn’t have any other whorls or rosettes on its short, dense, smooth fur. Unlike the American Crested, the English’s crest isn’t white, but the same color as the rest of its coat. So it’s kind of “invisible”.
The guinea pig doesn’t have to be completely all one color though. It can have a coat of many different colors, like tortoiseshell or agouti. Because there are fewer restrictions on the color, these guinea pigs are easier to breed than American Cresteds. Without their crowns, both breeds would be completely normal American guinea pigs.
As all guinea pigs, the English Crested is attentive and curious but usually shy and reserved around people. These guys love being cuddled
Ridgeback Guinea Pig
The Ridgeback guinea pig has a smooth short coat of hair that is embellished with a noticeable unbroken ridge of standing hair that runs down the length of its back- from neck to rump.
The hair on their hind feet looks like it’s growing up the leg instead of down and can be in tuffs.
Baby Ridgeback guinea pigs aren’t always born showing the ridge of fur on their back. It could take a few weeks for the fur in the ridge to take hold and show itself.
Ridgeback guinea pigs sometimes have rosettes springing up in their coat of hair.
Texel Guinea Pig
Texel Guinea Pigs are known for their soft, thick hair that ends up on ringlets or curls.
They have compact bodies with a broad and well-rounded head. They can be compared to a Silkie in terms of appearance, only with curly hair.
The whole body of the Texel Guinea Pig breed is sheltered with hair, and it occasionally has a natural part in the middle of the back.
The face of this breed has shorter hairs, and there can or cannot be longer curls beneath the lower jaws and the ears of the animal.
All of the lush and curly hair of the Texel Guinea Pig needs a considerable amount of labour to maintain. Due to this reason, this breed is not an ideal pet option for kids or adults who could not spare their time for grooming this breed.
Teddy Guinea Pig
Teddy guinea pigs have a springy coat that is dense, harsh, even and short. Their hairs stand all over their body giving them a “puff “and often grow up to a moderate length. It is mainly the reason why they look more like a soft toy than a guinea pig. Hair can be longer over ears and straight whiskers. Well natured with a sweet temperament.
Teddy Guinea Pig breeds are inquisitive, fun-loving animals, and they are an ideal option to be maintained as pets for kids.
Skinny and Baldwin Guinea Pigs
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The modern Skinny Guinea Pig breed is the result of the crossing between a hairless lab strain and haired guinea pigs. These Skinny Guinea Pigs have tuff’s hair on their feet, muzzles, and legs, but they do not have hair over the remaining parts of their body. Some of the Skinny Guinea Pig breeds also have a thin cover of fluffy hair on their backs. The skin of a healthy Skinny Guinea Pig is mostly soft with a little wrinkling around their neck and legs, and their body is full without the appearance of ribs or spine.The Skinny Guinea Pig breed comes in a range of patterns and colours, such as Tortoiseshell, Dutch, and Himalayan, and in several other patterns and colours. The Skinny Guinea Pig can be high maintenance. Skinny Pigs exposed skin is easily susceptible to wounds and fungal diseases if proper care is not taken. These Skinny Guinea Pigs are mostly accommodated indoors, and they are generally kept with nesting materials, like a cloth bag or a blanket for heat protection.
Baldwin Guinea Pigs are completely bald and their skin has a rubbery texture to it. Baldwin’s are born with all their hair. However after just a few days of their birth, their hair starts to fall out and over a period of a few months leaving them it gradually disappears leaving them completely bald.Baldwin guinea pigs, although quite hardy creatures they are not capable of dealing with really cold temperatures and so should always live inside. They are able to have short periods outside in warm weather but as they have no coat do not have the protection they need to protect them. They cannot cope with any direct sunlight and so must be kept in the shade when you have them outside.
Sheba Guinea Pigs
The Sheba Mini yak, (commonly referred to as a Sheba) is a heavy-set, sturdy Guinea Pig with a tousled, rosette coat. They are lovingly referred to as the ‘bad hair day’ guinea pig and described by some as looking like a combination of the Abyssinian and Peruvian breeds. Their coats should be dense and springy with a natural texture. Their heads are squarish and feature full mutton-chop whiskers. Sheba’s have a wonderful nature and are inquisitive. Their coat requires a lot of grooming and maintenance.
Lunkarya Guinea Pig
The Lunkarya, sometimes ‘Lunk’ for short, is a new breed group developed first in Sweden, and is mainly seen in the Nordic countries. The group has three breed variations: the Lunkarya Peruvian -with a prominent forelock, the Lunkarya Sheltie -with the hair flowing back over the body, and the Lunkarya Coronet – with a crest on the forehead. It has a long, rough, curly coat that should be very dense and full of corkscrew-like curls. The coat cannot be combed out and does not lie flat.
Peruvian Guinea Pig
The Peruvian guinea pig breed has elongated hair all over its body. The topcoat of this Peruvian guinea pig breed is capable of growing to a maximum length of 24 inches. The hair parts of the Peruvian guinea pig are straight down the spine, and naturally and extends to the face forming a fringe. They are usually born with two rosettes, with the hair extending forward one extending towards the rear. The Peruvian guinea pig is more difficult to care when compared to other short-haired guinea pig breeds as their coat can be high maintenance and require a lot of grooming.
Merino Guinea Pig
The Merino guinea pig resembles a Texel only they have curly coats which are short on their heads, along with a crest type rosette right on the top of their heads positioned evenly between their eyes and ears. Their heads are short and broad, the profile of which should be gently curved with no flatness. The breed is well known for its lovely temperament which is why Merinos have become such a popular choice of guinea pigs to keep as pets.
Rex Guinea Pig
Rex guinea pigs are among the rough-coated breeds. They have no guard hairs, which give their coat a woolly texture. Their hairs are just about 1 cm tall at their longest, although they form a dense coat. The Rex is also noted for their huge droopy ears and broad head. The hair on their underbelly is curly and dense as well. They feature curly, crimped whiskers. Rex guinea pigs also have a very sweet temperament and loved to be held and pet.
Himalayan Guinea Pig
Himalayan guinea pigs are considered as the Siamese cat among the breeds. Himalayan’s feature a white coat with highlights of brown or black on the ears, feet, and nose. Their toenails and feet also have dark coloured pads. These guinea pigs are born white, with the darker highlights only showing after the first few weeks. If exposed to bright sunlight or hot weather, the highlights may seem to fade. It also does the same thing when the pigs are scared, shocked, or sick.
This breed in recommended for those who have had Guinea pigs before as they can be high maintenance and are best kept indoors.
Originating from South America, with it’s albino appearance, the Himalayan Guinea Pig is a unique critter, and a popular pet and show animal. Often described as the Siamese Cats of guinea pigs, they are born with a solid white coat and red eyes.
Californian and Himalayan Guinea Pigs are very similar, but Californians come in colours others than white and don’t have the red eyes.
Californian Guinea Pig
Coronet Guinea Pig
Coronets look like Silkies mainly due to their smooth coat that grows backwards over the entire body. However, the major difference between these two guinea pig breeds is that the Coronet Guinea Pig has a rosette or coronet in the middle of its head. The hair of the Coronet Guinea Pig breed will not have a part and its elongated hairs will grow backwards above their body. These Coronet Guinea Pig breeds are not like their White Crested forerunners because their crests may assume any colour and may have white colour on any element of the body. The Coronet Guinea Pigs are curious, playful, and affectionate. Like any other long-haired guinea pigs, Coronets need frequent grooming.
Alpaca Guinea Pig
Alpaca guinea pigs are considered by many pet lovers as among the most beautiful of all the breeds. They have long coarse, wavy hair which has different colouring on its ends as opposed to the main body of it. They get their name from their close resemblance to the alpaca animal. Alpaca guinea pigs have a rosette on their foreheads. They are indoor animals who do not do well outside. The alpaca guinea pig is quite high maintenance guinea pigs compared to other breeds. This is because of the length of their hair which requires brushing and de-tangling on a daily basis.
Sheltie/ Silkie Guinea Pig
Depending on where you are from, You call this breed either Sheltie or Silkie!
Shelties are very popular guinea pigs and, along with the Texel and the American, are among the smallest breeds. Silkies are like Peruvian guinea pigs without whorls. They have long, straight, soft, silky fur. The short fur on their heads looks like someone has used hair gel to style their bangs (please don’t get any ideas – that would be very dangerous for the guinea pig!). They don’t have a parting and – unlike Peruvians – their hair doesn’t fall into their faces, but onto their necks. Silkies also have cute little “sideburns”. By the way: if you look at a Silkie from above, it will look like a teardrop.
Shelties are very even-tempered and calm animals. They tend to keep their distance from each other and are also more reserved around humans than other breeds.
Cuy Guinea Pig
This animal breed very fast and in large quantity, don’t take space, don’t need many care and don’t eat much; so this is a very easy animal, convenient to breed for its meat!
Come back next Sunday for more interesting facts about Guinea Pigs!
Lokiandthor18 