Guinea Pig Facts

Guinea pigs are short stocky animals, and they grunt and squeal like a pig. Guinea pigs are rodents without a tail. They are often used in medical researches. Nowadays, they are largely replaced by other rodents like rats and mice in medical tests. Apart from the biological experimentation, guinea pigs are also kept as pets. Let us take a look at some of the guinea pig facts.

Facts about Guinea Pigs

Some guinea pig facts are discussed in detail below in this article, and are as follows:

• There are around nine species of guinea pigs and the domestic guinea pigs are known as Cavia Magna. They are scientifically called Cavia Porcellus.
• A male guinea pig is known as a boar and the female guinea pig is known as a sow. A baby guinea pig is often called pup or piglet. Guinea pigs are not pigs but rodents and are not related to the pigs at all.
• Guinea pigs are 20 to 25 cm in length and weigh between 700 to 1200 gm. On an average they live for about 4 to 5 years. The longest living guinea pig was 15 years old and has its name in the Guinness Book of World Records.
• Guinea pigs have their origination in South America, where in many parts they are farmed for food.
• Guinea pigs are wild animals which are most active during the night period. A young guinea pig is able to run when it is only three hours old. Wild guinea pigs are prey to predators, so they are very cautious in nature. This is the main reason that they are active only during the dawn and dusk period of the day, when they cannot be spotted easily by the predators.
• Guinea pigs belong to the rodent family and are herd animals. They live in large groups that are led by a dominant boar. The dominant boar is the only male that is allowed to breed with the sow (female guinea pig).
• Wild guinea pigs eat grass and hence are mostly found on the grassy plains. They do not store food, they live on the vegetation around them. Usually, grass eating animals have a long digestive tract. However, the guinea pigs have long colons as compared to other animals of the rodent family. Guinea pigs do not dig burrows for themselves, instead they live in burrows of other animals.
• Guinea pigs have a good sense of smell, hearing and sound. However, their eyesight is a bit weak. They have teeth which grow throughout their life, though not all teeth of guinea pigs grow life long. Only the incisors, which are two top and two bottom front teeth grow life long. These teeth wear off at their tips and develop a chisel-like edge that is used for gnawing.
• There are many types of Guinea pigs as mentioned earlier in one of the guinea pig facts. The physical features of a guinea pig are a large head, small ears, short legs, and a small, plump body. Guinea pigs are black, brown, red, white or a combination of colors.
• Many medical researches use guinea pigs for testing. Guinea pigs are volunteers to take part in a medical test and this is the reason that they are called "guinea pigs".
• Guinea pigs are kept as pet animals by many people. Guinea pigs are herbivorous animals and do not produce Vitamin C in their body, so they must be given fresh fruits and vegetables to eat. They always need something to chew because their teeth grow life long.

When guinea pigs are kept as pets, they must not be kept alone. Guinea pigs are highly social creatures and usually at least two Guinea pigs are kept as pets. These were some interesting guinea pig facts.