Skinny Guinea Pig

Facts about Skinny Guinea Pigs, the Skinny Guinea Pig is a hairless variety of the guinea pig breeds. The word Skinny does not refer to all hairless guinea pig breeds, but it refers to this particular breed. The modern Skinny Guinea Pig breed is the result of the crossing between a hairless lab strain and haired guinea pigs. The hairless lab strain that is probably associated with, was a spontaneous hereditary change that was first recognized in 1978 at the Montreal's Institute Armand Frappier, in a colony of Hartley laboratory guinea pigs. Later, the Skinny Guinea Pigs were driven to Charles River Laboratories in 1982 to be developed for laboratory use and today, they are commonly exercised in dermatology studies. These Skinny Guinea Pig breeds are an out bred strain that has an integral thymus and a usual immune system. "Scientific name for Guinea Pig Cavia Porcellus".

Although the Skinny Guinea Pig is fairly a new breed in the middle of Cavy fanciers and pet owners, it is gaining fame in Europe, Canada, Russia and Scandinavia, as well as in America where it was introduced during the late 1990s.

Features

Usually, the Skinny Guinea Pig is capable of attaining a body length that ranges from 8 inches to 11 inches (20 cm to 27.6 cm). These Skinny Guinea Pigs have hairs on their feet, muzzles, and legs, but they do not have hair over the remaining parts of their body. Some of the Skinny Guinea Pig breeds also have a thin cover of fluffy hair on their backs. The skin of a healthy Skinny Guinea Pig is mostly soft with a little wrinkling around their neck and legs, and their body is full without the appearance of ribs or spine.

The Skinny Guinea Pig breed comes in a range of patterns and colors, such as Tortoiseshell, Dutch, and Himalayan, and in several other patterns and colors.

The hairless Skinny Guinea Pig breeds are not considerably physiologically different than normal haired guinea pigs, even though they may require eating somewhat more to keep up their body heat. Usually, these guinea pig breeds prefer to live in a setting with the best temperature that ranges from 24C to 26C (75F to 79F), which is somewhat higher than the temperature range for the haired variety of guinea pig breeds.

The sensitive skin of the Skinny Guinea Pig breeds has very much the same look as the skin of humans, but it needs the same requirements as the skin of the normal guinea pig breeds. The Skinny Guinea Pig's exposed skin is easily susceptible to wounds and fungal diseases if proper care is not taken. These Skinny Guinea Pigs are mostly accommodated indoors, and they are generally kept with nesting materials, like a cloth bag or a blanket for heat protection.

Breeding

The breeding procedure for the Skinny Guinea Pig breeds needs out crossing to haired guinea breeds at least every other age group. This is a vital step in the breeding procedure that makes them a poor option for novice breeders. These Skinny Guinea Pig breeds are born almost without hair and build up more hair while they mature. Haired Skinny guinea pigs will stay haired throughout their whole life, but they bear the hairless gene.

The average lifespan of the Skinny Guinea Pig ranges from 7 years to 8 years.