Abyssinian Guinea Pig The Abyssinian guinea pigs known for their unique, rough coat with eight rosettes neatly arranged by pair across their body. They have a rough coat that often grows up to 4 cm. They are found in various colours – brindle, roans, tortoiseshell, and solid colours.
Rex Guinea Pigs have a short, wooly coat due to the fact that they don't have the guard hairs most other mammals do. They also have unique, floppy ears and are the longest guinea pig breed, reaching up to 17 inches.
Roans are bicoloured guinea pigs with no patches, rather with white hairs mixed in with the dominant colour. This pattern usually covers most of the body but not the face or the feet. Roans come in lots of guinea pig colours, and in a variety of coat types.
The rarest species of guinea pig is the Santa Catarina's guinea pig Cavia intermedia, which is found exclusively on the tiny island of Moleques do Sul, in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.
The Alpaca Guinea Pig is a long hair breed of guinea pig that resembles a Peruvian guinea pig with wavy ends. They often have a single rosette on top of their head and can have more rosettes on their body as well. Their long hair requires daily grooming as well as a special diet.
The Crested Guinea Pig This is a short haired guinea pig with a single rosette (swirl) on the forehead. There are two types -- one is the White Crested Guinea Pig (also called American Crested), where the crest is white in contrast with the rest of the coat (there's no white on the body).
Dalmatian Guinea Pigs are known for the design on its coat - it basically resembles a Dalmatian with a white background covered with black spots. The Genetics Explained The Roan or Dalmatian coat pattern is caused by the Roan gene. The normal allele (version) of this gene is rn, which is completely recessive.
The rarest guinea pig color out there would be of the guinea pig called the white crested. These animals come in numerous types of coats and are seen to be predominantly of the color gold. White-crested guinea pigs are quite easy to groom as they are short-haired.
Albino guinea pigs are very special creatures. They're not to be confused with white-crested guinea pigs, which feature a white ruff on the crown of their heads. While a true albino guinea pig is extremely rare, lethal white guinea pigs are slightly more common (but still err on the side of rare, for sure!).
BoobooBooboo has been named 'the world's cutest guinea pig' after attracting 17,000 followers on Instagram. Dutch owner, Megan van der Elst, describes the American-crested blonde as the 'perfect model'.
Silkie Guinea PigsSilkie Guinea Pigs are a long-haired breed of guinea pig that (if its hair is kept long) will require a little more work to keep clean and tidy. However, they're great guinea pigs to look at. Silkies have long, lustrous hair that can be several inches long, and they exist in a wide variety of different colours.
Lethal white gene guinea pigs are genetically compromised guinea pigs and unfortunately do not live as long and healthy a life as other guinea pigs. They occur as the result of a recessive gene carried in roan and dalmatian coat coloured guinea pigs.
These animals make alert and inquisitive pets, but they can become quite affectionate once they learn to trust you. 4. She ltie/Silkie. Like Peruvians, Shelties also have long hair, except theirs only grows backward. They are a pain to groom as a result, so they’re not ideal for anyone wanting a low-maintenance pet.
Shebas take the crown for best facial hair, as they have long muttonchops that frame their faces, giving them the appearance of a Civil War general having a bad hair day. However, unlike some of the other long-haired breeds on this list, their fur grows slowly and requires little maintenance.
Baldwin. Image Credit: LeeSensei, Shutterstock. The Baldwin is born with a full head of hair, but they gradually shed it over time until just a few whiskers on their face remain. That makes them very easy to groom, but it also gives them the appearance of a tiny hippopotamus.
Of all the different types of guinea pigs, the Peruvian Guinea Pig takes the cake for the longest hair – and by far. In fact, the guinea pig that holds the record for the longest hair was a Peruvian. He had hair that reached 20 inches long! Unlike the Abyssinian, the Peruvian has long straight hair.
Highlights: Friendly, Elegant, Graceful. The Texel Guinea Pig is truly a remarkable breed that’s sought-after by some of the biggest enthusiasts and show breeders. Texels feature curly soft hair not just apparent on their backs, but throughout the whole body – including the belly.
American Guinea Pig. Highlights: Lively, Affectionate, Easy to care for. As you can probably guess, the American Guinea Pig is the most common breed of them all. They’re the epitome of these animals and probably the first image that comes to mind.
These unique guinea pigs are recommended for anyone that wants to own a unique guinea pig but don’t want to deal with a lot of grooming. Their short coats make them favorable guinea pigs to own – outside of the common American cavy.
Guinea pig breeds are recognized differently across official regional associations. The British Cavy Council recognizes over 40 different breeds of guinea pigs while the American Cavy Breeders Association recognizes a total of 13 breeds.
The following guinea pigs breeds are not widely recognized by guinea pig associations, such as the ACBA:
Guinea pigs are like rainbows, they come in so many different shapes, sizes, and of course, so many different colours and fur patterns. Below, we have outlined the most common piggy colours and fur arrangements.
Self guinea pigs are the same colour all over with eyes that are either black/red.
Agouti guinea pigs have two different colours on each strand of hair. Their fur is two toned to create a beautiful mixture such as:
These guinea pigs are also called the boucle, English Peruvian and curly coated Coronet. They have wavy, coarse hair, similar to that of the camel-like alpaca. Each strand of hair varies in color from its root to its end. They also have a rosette of hair on their foreheads.
Their coat can grow as long as 24 inches, and it requires a lot of daily grooming. Once referred to as Angora guinea pigs, Peruvians have hair that hangs over their foreheads like bangs, ...
Coronet Guinea Pig. Sometimes called the English guinea pig, the Coronet resembles the Silkie in that they have smooth coats that grow backwards over their bodies. However, unlike the Silkie, the Coronet has a rosette, or coronet, of hair in the center of its head. The rest of their hair is not parted.
Originally from South America, these guinea pigs have a rough-textured, spiky coat that can grow nearly 2 inches long. Their coat grows in swirls or cowlicks, called rosettes, that are paired across their body, typically with eight rosettes total. Their hair comes in a variety of colors and patterns, including brindle, roan, tortoiseshell and solid.
Also known as Shelties, this breed of guinea pig comes from England and is called a Silkie because of its long, soft, smooth, shiny haircoat. Unlike some of the other long-haired guinea pig breeds, the Silkie has a coat that is not parted or arranged in rosettes. Instead it sweeps backward, like it’s slicked back, away from its face, ...
Also called the English Merino and the Merino Peruvian, the Merino has a curly coat like that of a Texel. The hair is short on their broad heads and is arranged in a crest-type rosette right on top, between their eyes and ears. They make wonderful pets, as they are typically sweet and gentle.
Texel Guinea Pig. Also called Curlies, Texels are originally from England and have stout bodies and broad heads. They have soft, thick fur that is arranged in curls all over their bodies (including their bellies) and is often parted in the middle of their backs.
Skinny Pig. The Skinny Pig i s an almost hairless breed of Guinea pig. Skinny Pigs typically have hair on their muzzles, feet and legs, but are hairless over the rest of their body. They were the result of a mutation and were commonly used in laboratory experiments.
Rosettes appear on each shoulder, over the back, on each hip and across the guinea pig’s rear. The 1.5 inch thick coat is coarse and dense.
image credit: pippaandpom. A werewolf skinny is a skinny pig that is born with fur drifted all over it’s body. Occasionally, as a werewolf skinny grows, the fur will fall out but that is never guaranteed. A werewolf skinny’s fur is very fine, and is sometimes grouped so close together that it looks like a skinny pig, ...
Once called the Angora , the Peruvian guinea pig breed has a coat several inches long that drags on the ground. The soft, dense hair grows from a center part down the guinea pig’s back. The hair requires daily grooming.