Pet Punter

Posts Tagged ‘pigs’

Another characteristic, linked with a wide range of colors, is the crested mutation. The crest itself should be even in size and circular in shape, being located just in front of the ears. In the case of the English crested mutation, the crest matches that of the surrounding fur, but it is always white in the case of the American crested.

When combined with the texel, the crested has given rise to the form known as the alpaca. A family of tortoiseshell and white rex guinea pigs. Note the favored white blaze extending down the nose between the eyes, individual markings are variable.

To pick up your guinea pigs, place your left hand in front of it as it runs around its hutch, with your right hand to restrain the guinea pig by placing your fingers around its body. If you are left-handed, it may be easier to reverse your gap. Having caught the rodent, slide your hand under its hindquarters and lift it up out of its hutch. Once it is held in this way, the guinea pigs will regularly not struggle, but take care not to loosen your grip at this stage because if you drop it accidentally it is likely to be injured in the fall.

Use a sturdy cardboard box or pet carrier for transporting your guinea pigs. Check the flaps on the base of the box to ensure that it is strong enough. Reinforce the base with packaging tape and as a further precaution, support the box from beneath with your hands. If you place some hay in the box, the guinea pigs will burrow comfortably and will not pamic. It is not likely to gnaw its way out of the box if housed here only for a short time, but never leave it where cats or dogs could gain access to it.

For many years, the Abyssinian and Peruvian breeds were the only long-haired guinea pigs recognized. The Abyssinian has a coat comprising a series of rosette and ridges. The rosettes do not overlap but, where the hair extends out around the edge of the rosette to meet another rosette, a ridge is formed. There should ideally be four symmetrical rosettes running down the sides of the body, and a similar number along the back. In fact, the coat of the Abyssinian should not lie flat at any point over its entire body. The individual hairs themselves are quite short, measuring no more than 4 cm long.

As the wiry-haired coat of the Abyssinian is genetically dominant over short-coated cavies, if these are paired together, the offspring will have rosettes, but these are usually not as well defined as the rosettes seen in the Abyssinian lineage. In this way, however, new self colors can be introduced to the Abyssinian breed. Even so, self reds and self blacks, as well as brindles, tortoiseshells and roans, are the most common color forms of the Abyssinian because their hair texture is often better. It can take up to 18 months for their coats to develop to their full extent. A self red Abyssinian is characterized by the lie of its coat. In this particular case, the fur must be entirely red, displaying no trace of white hairs. Bi-color exist in the case of the Abyssinian, as shown by the gold and white individual. The rex mutation gives a  coarser texture to the fur.

The smooth-coated guinea pigs are nearer in appearance to their wild ancestors than other varieties. They are now sub-divided into two categories – the shelf varieties, such as cream, chocolate or black, and the patterned varieties, such as the tortoiseshell.

Self Varieties: The black is one of the most popular members of the self group. Thanks to its glossy, sleek coat. For showing purposes, it should be entirely black in color. Breeders regard any odd white or even red hairs in its coat as a serious show flaw. Even as they grow older, these guinea pigs do not fade in color. The self chocolate is another dark variety, the color of plain chocolate, with similarity colored dark eyes and ears. Depth of coloration in the coat is essential, as it is with all self-colored guinea pigs. As new colors have been developed, some of the older varieties have declined in numbers. One of these is the self red, which is an attractive shade of rich mahogany with ruby-red eyes. The coloration of the self golden can sometime almost verge on red, although the preferred shade is ginger. The eyes in this case are usually pink, although there is also a rarer dark-eyed form.

Lighter shades in the self-colored group include the cream and a darker form that has a much yellower appearance, known as the self buff. The cream is sometimes known as the “champing cavy” to describe the shade of color required for show stock, with paler coloration being preferred. Self white guinea pigs are often slightly smaller than other colors, especially the true albino, which is recognizable by its red rather than dark eyes. The stipulation here is for the coat color to be pure white, with no trace of a yellowish hue. These white guinea pigs should not be confused with the Himalayan form, with no trace of a yellowish hue. These white guinea pigs should not be confused with the Himalayan form, which is also pure white, but is distinguishable by the darker chocolate or black areas on the nose and ears. The chocolate is the lighter form of the two Himalayan varieties.

New shelf colors are still being evolved as the demand for the novelty shade grows. The shelf blue – a blue shade of grey – which has been developed in the United States, marks a significant departure from existing solid guinea pig colors.