7 Rare Guinea Pig Breeds (With Pictures) – Nirantara

Guinea pigs belong to the Caviidae family, commonly known as a form of rodent species, Cavia. Most guinea pigs trace once more to the Andean montane guinea pig. With this information, the guinea pig initially acquired right here from Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile.

It’s believed that guinea pigs have been domesticated by the Incas in 5000 BC. They bred guinea pigs as pets and completely different property. By the 1600s, the Spanish, Dutch, and English launched guinea pigs to Europe to be bred and saved as pets.

Although many domesticated guinea pigs warmth our hearts and homes, there are nonetheless wild guinea pigs. In the meanwhile, we’ll discuss in regards to the rarest breeds and their origins.

Prime 7 Unusual Guinea Pigs

1. The Montane Guinea Pig – Cavia Tschudii

First on the itemizing are montane guinea pigs. It’s believed that every one breeds of domesticated guinea pigs originated from the Montane Guinea Pig, amongst completely different breeds identical to the Brazilian Guinea.

The Montane Guinea Pig is a wild ancestor who inhabits the areas of South America inside the extreme Andes. They like rocky areas with coarse vegetation about 2,000 to a few,800 meters above sea stage.

Montanes are a smaller guinea pig breed that seems very similar to a squirrel with no tail. They appear reddish brown with darkish gray underbellies and customary an entire dimension of roughly 10 inches.

2. Fast-Haired Peruvian

Upon first look of the Fast-Haired Peruvian Guinea, likelihood is you’ll shock why it’s known as Fast- Haired Peruvian when their hair doesn’t look transient. Prolonged-Haired Peruvian fur can develop as a lot as 50 centimeters (20 inches) prolonged.

Fast-Haired Peruvian guineas are native to Peru, and, like its title, resided in Argentina and Bolivia. Lastly, they made their strategy to the UK and are one in every of many oldest breeds of the Cavia family.

Fast-Haired Peruvians fluctuate in colors from browns, black, reds, grays, and multi-colored and have primarily essentially the most extended lifespan of the guinea pig family: 12 to 14 years.

3. The Irish Crested Guinea/Bonnett

The Irish Crested Guinea Pig, commonly known as the Bonnett Guinea, is very similar to the Fast-Haired Peruvian Guinea. The precept distinction is Fast-Haired Peruvians have two whorls on their hips, and the Irish Crested have two whorls in the midst of their once more.

There are moreover two completely different breeds of crested guinea pigs: the American and English Crested. The exact distinction between the three is the number of whorls on the once more and the dimensions of the mohawk each has. The Irish Crested piggie’s mohawk reaches the middle of its forehead, falling between its ears.

4. The Argente Guinea Pig

Argentes are unusual as a result of their distinct hair pattern. Very like the Agouti, the Argentine Guinea Pig has a ticking pattern. Nonetheless, not just like the Agouti and completely different guinea pig breeds, the Argente has multi-colored ticking patterns on each hair, making a dual-colored impression.

What’s fascinating about Argentes is that they solely can be found in delicate colors ranging from white to golden beige. You presumably can uncover them out of a crowd primarily essentially the most based mostly totally on their good reddish-pink eyes. Argentes are a more moderen breed, which might be why they’re labeled as unusual.

5. The Texel Guinea

The Texel Guinea Pig is a unusual crossbreed of the British Rex and the Silkie. They’ve been first bred in England, nevertheless given that late 1900s, they’ve been globally commonly known as a acknowledged breed. Texels have been bred for a trigger to participate in displays at exhibitions, in order that they turned acknowledged for being well-known cavy celebrities.

Texels are often shorter than other guinea pigs (as a lot as 8 inches prolonged) nevertheless they’re most well-known for his or her prolonged curly wool coat look, which suggests they must be groomed additional sometimes than completely different guinea pigs.

Texel Guinea Pigs can be found in many colors, along with pure white, golden brown, and black. Though, it’s common to come back again all through a multi-colored Texel.

6. The Swiss Teddy Guinea Pig

Identical to the Santa Catarina Guinea Pig, the Swiss Teddy is one different terribly unusual guinea pig. As soon as extra, what makes the Swiss Teddy Guinea Pig so unusual is its bodily look. Their adorable and striking appearance resembles coarse, dense, and medium-length (2.4 inches), terribly curly fur.

What separates the Teddy breed from the other guineas of the world is that there aren’t any whorls or rosettes though some Teddys have distinctive crests on excessive of their head. Sadly, Teddy breeds reside a shorter lifespan of 4 to 6 years.

A pleasant fact about Swiss Teddy Guinea Pigs is that they’ve been created by crossbreeding an Abyssinian with an American Guinea.

7. Santa Catarina – Cavia Intermedia

The rarest rodent on this planet, the Santa Catarina guinea pig is unusual ensuing from their inhabitants dimension: 24 to 60 folks left worldwide. Santa Catarina is unique on account of it’s presumably the one species of guinea pigs that additionally reside inside the wild which could be native and originate from the sting of South America.

You presumably can spot the Santa Catarina rodent on a coastal Island of Moleques do Sul Archipelago inside the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The Santa Catarina Guinea is endangered ensuing from pure disasters and looking habits. Moreover, the small Island of nearly 10 acres doesn’t make it easy for them to repopulate and develop.

Final Phrases

Guinea pigs have been spherical for lots of of years and have been native to much of Peru and Argentina. What most unusual guinea pigs have in frequent is their hair coloration and look. It’s unusual to find a Teddy or Texel Guinea Pig comparatively than the American Fast-Haired Guinea that’s on the market in most pet outlets.

Whereas there are completely different breeds, identical to the Crested Guinea Pigs, the Tuxedo, or the Coronet Guinea Pigs, which fall beneath the unusual class, the precept variations are look and coloration patterns.

Practically all guinea pigs are domesticated and adopted as pets, and possibly the rarest guinea pigs are found inside the wild, identical to the Santa Catarina.

Featured Image Credit score rating: Arcady, Shutterstock