Types of Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs, as the name suggests, has nothing to do with pig as an animal or with the place Guinea, in Africa. They are a species of rodents, commonly known as cavy, originated in Andes (South America). These mammals belong to the family Caviidae and their scientific name is Cavia porcellus. Guinea pigs, now commonly seen as pets, are closely related to the cavy's wild species like Cavia aperea. Recent researches show that guinea pigs are selectively bred species from their wild species.

Since their domestication around 5000 B.C., many breeds of guinea pigs have been developed by humans. With the introduction of these animals to Europe, the breeding was aimed at creating more appealing pets. This led to the formation of various organizations, dedicated for this purpose. Hence, governing bodies were formed in some countries to control the functions of these organizations. In U.S. and Canada, it is known as the American Cavy Breeders Association. The British Cavy Council, Australian National Cavy Council and New Zealand Cavy Club are similar bodies in their respective countries.

There are many breeds of guinea pigs, which vary in hair and color composition. The most commonly seen guinea pigs (as pets) are the English short hair, also known as American, Abyssinian, Peruvian and Sheltie (Silkie). All subsequent varieties are developed from the American, Abyssinian and Peruvian breeds. Others include Silkie or Sheltie, Rex, Teddy, Texel, Coronet, Crested, Hairless and the satin variants.

American or English Short hair
The American Guinea pig, also known as 'English' cavy, has short, straight, smooth and glossy hair in a variety of colors and color combinations. They have a wide, curving nose and the body is of a same circumference from the shoulder to the hip. They are one of the oldest and the most common breeds of domesticated guinea pigs and resemble their wild relatives.

Abyssinian
The Abyssinian, called as Aby are also one of the oldest breeds of guinea pigs. They are distinguished by the swirls of hair and the ridge pattern in the body and head. These swirls known as rosettes, are formed in circles, with hair radiating from the center point. Normally, eight to ten rosettes are found in the body of an Aby. Among the ten rosettes, two are on their shoulders (one per shoulder), four across the back, one on each hip and two on the rump. These are supposed to be the features of an ideal Abyssinian. This breed also possess a mustache of raised fur around their nose. Abyssinian guinea pigs are also found in a number of colors, with dense and coarse hair.

Peruvian
The Peruvian is the first long-haired breed of guinea pigs and is considered to be the ancestor of all breeds with long hair. They have long hair all over the body and head that grows to a length of up to 50 centimeters. The hair is dense, smooth and straight and parts naturally through the center of the back. As the Peruvian guinea pig is covered with long hair, it is often difficult to distinguish the front and the rear of their body. The owners have to take extra care of the pets' hair or trim it.

Silkie or Sheltie
The Silkie or Sheltie, formerly called as Angora, is also a long-haired breed like Peruvian. Unlike Peruvian, the hair does not cover the face of Silkie breed, but grows backward from the head. A Silkie guinea pig do not have a natural parting of hair. The hair of this breed is softer, finer and shinier than the Peruvian.

Rex
The Rex breed has short fuzzy hair, which is uniformly distributed all over the body. There are no rosettes in this breed of guinea pig and the length of hair will not be more than 1 1⁄4 centimeter. This variety looks like the Teddy guinea pig, but both are entirely different breeds. The hair of a Rex is shorter and bristled, as compared to the Teddy.

Teddy
The Teddy has a dense coat of short and curly moderate length hair. This breed has relatively lengthy hair on their belly, which differentiates them from other breeds. The dense coat of curly hair reminiscent a soft toy. There are two types of Teddy guinea pig - US Teddy and the CH Teddy, otherwise known as Swiss Teddy.

Texel
Texel is almost like a Silkie, but with long, thick and curly coat. They have a central parting. The spiral curls cover the entire body, including the belly. As compared to the other breeds, they have a broad and round head.

Coronet
The Coronet is also a long-haired breed of guinea pig with a single rosette at the center of the head and a roman nose. There is no central parting of hair in this breed.

Crested
The Crested variety has a smooth fur coat with a single white-colored rosette in the head. There should not be any white color in the body except in the rosette. According to the Australian National Cavy Club, there are two breeds of the Crested variety. One is the American Crested, which is supposed to have a rosette with any color in contrast to the body color, and the other is the English Crested, which has a rosette in the same color as the body.

Hairless Breeds
There are two types of hairless guinea pig breeds - Skinny pigs and Baldwin pigs. Skinny pigs are born hairless except for some parts of their body like the nose, feet and legs which have some curly hair on them. Baldwin pigs are born with a body covered with hair, which eventually falls out. They are characterized by hairless skin with wrinkles all over the body but with some hair on their feet. These breeds should be nurtured in warm conditions and needs special care.

Satin Variant of all Breeds
Almost all breeds of guinea pigs have their satin variants. The additional feature of satin variants is the special gloss or shine of the hair. This is due to their hollow hair shafts, which may cause bone disorders.

Apart from the above said breeds, there are many other breeds, which are relatively new, like Alpaca, English Merino, Ridgeback and Abbyruvian. Many breeds of guinea pigs are also available according to different color combinations and designs. They are Brindle, Tortoiseshell, Himalayan, Dalmatian, Agouti, etc.

Guinea pigs are considered a very popular household pet due to their gentle nature. You can always select a guinea pig of your choice, from this wide range of breeds.