Guinea Pig Breeds: Different Types of Pet Guinea Pigs

The Various Guinea Pig breeds and their Different Appearances.

Among small animal types, our Cavy friends have been gaining steady popularity with the young and adults alike. With an average weight of 1kg and a few variety of coats (each with its own uniqueness), Guinea Pigs are a little inbetween Rabbits and Hamsters.

via Twitter

Which breed suits you best? 

Before deciding on getting your very own pet Cavy and eventually pick a breed, you'd want to look through the following summaries we have of each Guinea Pig breed. For a more detailed look into each breed, simply click onto the breed names respectively☺

1. American Shorthair Guinea Pig

The first of all cavy breeds, American Shorthairs are exactly as their names state — smooth, short coats with minimal maintenance. Ancestors of the American Shorthair is none other than the Tschudi Guinea Pig, after numerous cross breeding.

via Carharrack

Also known as the number one pick for starter piggies!  

2. Teddy Guinea Pig

The breed that can be easily mistaken at first glance for the American Shorthair is none other than the Teddy Guinea Pig, due to both short coats and rounder noses. The name Teddy is derived from this unique coat— coarse and wiry hair...Teddy-like.

via Pinterest

This rounder nose is termed "Roman" nose.

3. Silkie Guinea Pig

Better known by the name "Sheltie" in certain countries, Silkie Guinea Pigs have no hair rosettes, but instead have a long smooth coat that remind you of the kid in school with the sleekest hairdo all the time.

via Setiajipamungkas

Take a look from the top, you'd notice an overall teardrop shape!

4. Peruvian Guinea Pig

Often jokingly referred to as moving hair wigs, the Peruvian Cavy is most commonly mistaken for Sillkie due to the nature of their long coats— Peruvian has only 2 rosettes that create a parting down their backs.

via Pinterest

At a young age, Peruvian Cavies can also be mistaken for an Abyssinian Guinea Pig! 

5. Abyssinian Guinea Pig

Most remembered for their tufts of "blooming" hair rosettes, Abyssinians have much more natural whirls of hair as compared to the Peruvian. These rosettes over their body create an obvious out-of-bed look that is quite unforgetable.

via Pinterest

If a happy Piggy movement is "popcorning", these rosettes make the Abyssinian look like cute little clumps of popcorns, no?

6. Texel Guinea Pig

Love them natural curls? Be wowed by the Texel's coat of tight wavy perms that aren't only natural, they make any girl jealous with now neat it actualy looks despite the curls. Texels are cross-bred between Rex and Silkie.

via EmmasGuineaPigs

The only difference is in size— a Texel's body is slightly more compact as compared to other Guinea Pig breeds

7.  Himalayan Guinea Pig

The Albino breed of all Guinea Pigs, Himalayan cavies done the same markings as "Himalayans" in other pet types (i.e. Rabbits & Cats). Short coats of mainly white in colour, seal-point markings are natural and highly sought after. 

via omlet.UK

Because they are Albino, red/ruby eyes are a given!

8. Skinny Guinea Pig

Whilst most Piggies don on special coats, this little cavy has close to no hair at all. The only coat they have is mostly skin, much like they are naked or, Skinny. What happened in the labortaries that led up to its almost naked appearance is still maintained at dermalogical purposes.

via BaileysBeauties

Look a little longer, don't Skinny Piggies remind you of really miniature hippos? ☺

Your Stories Can Be Heard Too

Got a tip of your own? We’d love to share them with the world! Your voices are important to us and the Pets community! Our readers are encouraged to share their  Pet-related reviews of a place and its services, experiences, even lifestyle tips and tricks to better our Pets lives, on our platform, one paw at a time. Be a part of an educational and informative Pets community because at ThePetsDialogue, your voices could make a huge difference on a global scale.

Write to us at hello@thepetsdialogue.com today!

Our website is a work in progress, however, if you did find our articles interesting please do feel free to share! For more Pet care tips and other Pet-related articles, head to www.thepetsdialogue.com ☺

Disclaimer

This article was written with informational purposes, as you know, we’d love to share our collective research and experiences as fellow Pet owners and lovers. It is not meant to alternate in any way as advice or diagnosis of Professionals. 

ThePetsDialogue claims no credit for images posted on this article unless otherwise displayed/stated. All rights go to respective owners as mentioned. If you do not wish for your image(s) to appear here do drop us an e-mail and it will be removed promptly. If you do wish to use any of our original published information, you are welcome to contact us!