There are several breeds of guinea pig, which range between long haired, short haired and
the rare breeds. Most of the rare breeds only seem rare to us because they arent advertised as much as the regular breeds.
Each one has their own personality and strange but wonderful behaviour, so no matter what breed you have you know that it
will be a happy one.
LONG HAIRED
The appearance of a long haired breed can be very beautiful if they are looked after and cared for properly. Their fur should
be at least 2-3 inches long and descend from the neck to the bottom. There is usually a centre parting which naturally falls
into place. The two main long haired breeds are the Coronet, Sheltie and the Peruvian.
The Coronet has these characteristics
but also has a crest on the top of its head. This crest is known as a crown on human hair and is where the fur changes direction
when it grows, so it is a small bald patch with fur growing away from it.
The Peruvian and the
Sheltie are practically the same but their fur does not grow in the same direction. The Sheliie's fur grows
downwards towards the rump and the Peruvians growns in the opposite direction Peruvian's also have two rosettes on their rump,
but Sheltie's dont. Their fur is also the same length and grows at the same rate.
SHORT HAIRED
Short haired breeds
come in all different colours, shapes and sizes. Their fur is short and styled.
The main breeds are Rex,
which can come in all colours. Its fur is like that of a teddy bear, thick, soft and fuzzy.
The Satin got its
name by the shine in its coat like its been polished and when the fur is examined it seems almost transparent.
The Standard Self
is a breed, which has the same coloured fur all over its body and it may appear to be about an inch long.
The Agouti breed is
the colour of a wild cavy, a dark tan brown. Another distinguishing mark is that each strand of hair is a different colour.
The tips are lighter than the main strands.
The Crested is the
nest candidate and there are two types of this breed. These types are the English and American. They both have the crest in
the middle of the head but the English Crested has the same coloured crest as its whole coat. The American Crested has a pure
white crest on its head.
The Dutch is a mix
of colours, which has a penguin colour appearance. The head is usually a dark colour, the middle is white and the bottom is
dark, they may also have a white crest on the head or nose. The most common colours are black or red.
Next is my favorite, the Himalayan.
They have similar markings of a Siamese Cat and are very pretty. I started off with Himalayans as I was attracted to their
cute brown noses. They have brown ears, feet and noses and are totally white on the rest of their body. These brown patches
are known as Pointing and they can come in a chocolate colour or black. You will see on the Photo Album page that SAM &
MILLIE are himalayan. They also come in standard or crested.
Lastly the Abyssinian
which is a mixture between long and short haired and is recognized by the many crests situated all over its body. These crests
are known as Rosettes, which make the fur very difficult to groom and they always tend to look messy even though they arent.
You will find on the Photo Album page a picture of PIGLET who is an Abyssinian, although the photograph isnt very clear.
RARE BREEDS
Alpaca-
this has the long sort of fur as a Peruvian, with the texture of a Rex
Dalmatian- like the dog it is
white with black or brown spots and patches
Harlequin- like the Dutch, more sections of coloured fur,
blending into one another.
Magpie- similar to the Dutch but the colours are darker, like cream or black
Merino- like a Texel but the fur is longer and curlier
Roan- the colours blend into
each other from dark to light all over the body
Texel- looks a bit like sheep fur
Tortoiseshell-
a mixture of black, white, brown, red, and tan
The mongrel breed
is more common and this is a mixture of several breeds which has beeen carried through a blood line. this usualy occurs when
one breed is bred with another or a mongrel breed.
