A Guinea Pig is a perfect choice as a pet for adults and children alike. With loving, affectionate temperaments, the guinea pig is an intelligent and sociable critter.
If you’ve already started looking for your guinea pig, the number of breed variants can be perplexing.
Read on to find out more about the types of guinea pig breeds available, their specific needs and behaviours, so you can make the best choice.
Some Guinea Pig Basics
The guinea pig is often referred to as a cavy, deriving from the Latin Cavia porcellus.
Cavies have been popular as a pet since the 16th century, originally introduced by European traders.
Since then, their popularity hasn’t waned – they have been crossbred to produce many different guinea pig types, particularly the colour and consistency of their hair.
In the Andes regions of Peru, they are even an edible delicacy! That culinary issue aside, guinea pigs make amazing pets for their notable sociability, plus other endearing qualities.
- Docility.
- Easy to handle.
- Affectionate – they can develop attachments to their owners.
- Relatively easy to care for.
Colors and Markings
Many of the colors and markings found on Guinea Pigs have names which help when showing and describing your pets. Here is a list of the more common colorations, and a short description for each…- Albino – white with a red eye
- Himalayan – A variation of the Albino, but with dark ears and feet
- Selfs – A single color which is the same all over the body
- Tortoiseshell and White – 3 colors, red white and black. Color can be anywhere on the body, but show pets would have even and symmetrical patterns
- Dalmatian – White with black spots, like the dog.
- Bicolor – 2 colors – Can be any color combination exception black or red, which is tortoiseshell.
- Agouti – 2 colors, 1 darker than the other, which are finely flecked together
- Dutch – White with one other color. The white is found on the face, chest and around the shoulders, like a harness.
