Facts and myths about guinea pigs

This manual can be useful to everyone – and to people who have not yet decided for themselves whether or not to start a pig, and if they do, then which one; and beginners taking their first timid steps in pig breeding; and people who have been breeding pigs for more than one year and who know firsthand what it is. In this article, we have tried to collect all those misunderstandings, misprints and errors, as well as myths and prejudices regarding the keeping, care and breeding of guinea pigs. All the examples used by us, we found in printed materials published in Russia, on the Internet, and also heard more than once from the lips of many breeders.

Unfortunately, there are so many such inaccuracies and errors that we considered it our duty to publish them, since sometimes they can not only confuse inexperienced pig breeders, but also cause fatal errors. All our recommendations and amendments are based both on personal experience and on the experience of our foreign colleagues from England, France, Belgium, who helped us with their advice. All original texts of their statements can be found in the Appendix at the end of this article.

So what are some of the mistakes we’ve seen in some published guinea pig books?

Here, for example, is a book called “Hamsters and Guinea Pigs”, published in the Home Encyclopedia series by the Phoenix publishing house, Rostov-on-Don. The author of this book makes many inaccuracies in the chapter on “varieties of guinea pig breeds.” The phrase “Short-haired, or smooth-haired, guinea pigs are also called English and, very rarely, American” is actually incorrect, since the name of these pigs simply depends on which country a particular color or variety appeared in. Pigs of solid colors, called English Self (English Self), really were bred in England, and therefore received such a name. If we recall the origin of Himalayan pigs (Himalayan Cavies), then their homeland is Russia, although most often in England they are called Himalayan, and not Russian, but they also have a very, very distant relation to the Himalayas. Dutch pigs (Dutch cavies) were bred in Holland – hence the name. Therefore, it is a mistake to call all short-haired pigs English or American.

In the phrase “the eyes of short-haired pigs are large, round, convex, lively, black, with the exception of the Himalayan breed,” an error also crept in. The eyes of smooth-haired gilts can be absolutely any color, from dark (dark brown or almost black), to bright pink, including all shades of red and ruby. The color of the eyes in this case depends on the breed and color, the same can be said about the pigmentation of the skin on the paw pads and ears. A little lower from the author of the book you can read the following sentence: “Albino pigs, due to their lack of skin and coat pigmentation, also have a snow-white skin, but they are characterized by red eyes. When breeding, albino pigs are not used for reproduction. Albino pigs, due to the mutation that has occurred, are weak and susceptible to disease. This statement may confuse anyone who decides to get himself an albino white pig (and thus I explain their growing unpopularity for myself). Such a statement is fundamentally erroneous and does not correspond to the actual state of affairs. In England, along with such well-known color variations of the Selfie breed as Black, Brown, Cream, Saffron, Red, Gold and others, White Selfies with pink eyes were bred, and they are an officially recognized breed with their own standard and the same number of participants on exhibitions. From which we can conclude that these pigs are just as easily used in breeding work as White Selfies with dark eyes (for more details on the standard of both varieties, see Breed Standards).

Having touched on the topic of albino pigs, it is impossible not to touch on the topic of breeding the Himalayans. As you know, Himalayan pigs are also albinos, but their pigment appears under certain temperature conditions. Some breeders believe that by crossing two albino pigs, or an albino synca and a Himalayan, one can get both albino and Himalayan pigs among the born offspring. In order to clarify the situation, we had to resort to the help of our English breeder friends. The question was: is it possible to get a Himalayan as a result of crossing two albinos or a Himalayan pig and an albino? If not, why not? And here are the responses we got:

“First of all, to be honest, there are no real albino pigs. This would require the presence of the “c” gene, which exists in other animals but has not yet been found in gilts. Those pigs that are born with us are “false” albinos, which are “sasa her.” Since you need the E gene to make Himalayans, you can’t get them from two pink-eyed albino pigs. However, Himalayans can carry the “e” gene, so you can get a pink-eyed albino from two Himalayan pigs.” Nick Warren (1)

“You could get a Himalayan by crossing a Himalayan and a red-eyed white Self. But since all the descendants will be “Her”, they simply will not be completely colored in those places where the dark pigment should appear. They will also be carriers of the “b” gene. Elan Padley (2)

Further in the book about guinea pigs, we noticed other inaccuracies in the description of breeds. For some reason, the author decided to write the following about the shape of the ears: “The ears are shaped like rose petals and are slightly tilted forward. But the ear should not hang over the muzzle, as this greatly reduces the dignity of the animal. One can completely agree about “rose petals”, but one cannot agree with the statement that the ears are slightly tilted forward. The ears of a thoroughbred pig should be lowered down and the distance between them is wide enough. It is hard to imagine how the ears can hang over the muzzle, due to the fact that they are planted in such a way that they cannot hang over the muzzle.

As for the description of such a breed as the Abyssinian, misunderstandings also met here. The author writes: “A pig of this breed <...> has a narrow nose.” No guinea pig standard specifies that a guinea pig’s nose should be narrow! On the contrary, the wider the nose, the more valuable the specimen.

For some reason, the author of this book decided to highlight in his list of breeds such as the Angora-Peruvian, although it is known that the Angora pig is not an officially accepted breed, but simply a mestizo of a long-haired and rosette pig! A real Peruvian pig has only three rosettes on its body, in Angora pigs, those that can often be seen in the Bird Market or in pet stores, the number of rosettes can be the most unpredictable, as well as the length and thickness of the coat. Therefore, the statement so often heard from our salespeople or breeders that the Angora pig is a breed is erroneous.

Now let’s talk a little about the conditions of detention and behavior of guinea pigs. To begin with, let’s go back to the book Hamsters and Guinea Pigs. Along with the common truths that the author talks about, a very curious remark came across: “You can’t sprinkle the floor of the cage with sawdust! Only chips and shavings are suitable for this. I personally know several pig breeders who use some non-standard hygiene products when keeping their pigs – rags, newspapers, etc., in most cases, if not everywhere, pig breeders use EXACTLY sawdust, not chips. Our pet stores offer a wide range of products, from small packages of sawdust (which can last for two or three cleanings of the cage), to large ones. Sawdust also come in different sizes, large, medium and small. Here we are talking about preferences, who likes what more. You can also use special wood pellets. In any case, sawdust will not harm your guinea pig in any way. The only thing that should be given preference is sawdust of a larger size.

We came across a few more similar misconceptions on the net, on one or more specialized sites about guinea pigs. One of these sites (http://www.zoomir.ru/Statji/Grizuni/svi_glad.htm) provided the following information: “A guinea pig never makes noise – it just squeaks and grunts softly.” Such words caused a storm of protest among so many pig breeders, everyone unanimously agreed that this could in no way be attributed to a healthy pig. Usually, even a simple rustle makes the pig make welcoming sounds (not quiet at all!), but if it rustles a bag of hay, then such whistles will be heard throughout the apartment. And provided that you have not one, but several pigs, all households will certainly hear them, no matter how far they are or how hard they sleep. In addition, an involuntary question arises for the author of these lines – what kind of sounds can be called “grunting”? Their spectrum is so wide that you can never tell for sure whether your pig is grunting, or whistling, or gurgling, or squeaking, or squealing …

And one more phrase, this time causing only emotion – how far its creator was from the topic: “Instead of claws – small hooves. This also explains the name of the animal. Anyone who has ever seen a live pig will never dare to call these little paws with four fingers “hooves”!

But such a statement can be harmful, especially if a person has never dealt with pigs before (http://zookaraganda.narod.ru/morsvin.html): “IMPORTANT!!! Just before the birth of the cubs, the guinea pig becomes very fat and heavy, so try to take it in your arms as little as possible. And when you take it, support it well. And don’t let her get hot. If the cage is in the garden, water it with a hose during hot weather.” It is even hard to imagine how this is possible! Even if your pig is not pregnant at all, such treatment can easily lead to death, not to mention such vulnerable and needy pregnant pigs. May such an “interesting” thought never come to your head – to water pigs from a hose – into your head!

From the topic of maintenance, we will gradually move on to the topic of breeding pigs and caring for pregnant females and offspring. The first thing we must certainly mention here is the statement of very many Russian breeders with experience that when breeding pigs of the Coronet and Crested breed, you can never select a pair for crossing, consisting of two Coronets or two Cresteds, since when crossing two pigs with with a rosette on the head, as a result, non-viable offspring is obtained, and little piglets are doomed to death. We had to resort to the help of our English friends, as they are famous for their great achievements in breeding these two breeds. According to their comments, it turned out that all the pigs of their breeding were obtained as a result of crossing only producers with a rosette on their heads, while crossing with ordinary smooth-haired pigs (in the case of Cresteds) and Shelties (in the case of Coronets), they, if possible, resort very, very rarely, because the admixture of other rocks sharply reduces the quality of the crown – it becomes flatter and the edges are not so distinct. The same rule applies to such a breed as the Merino, although it is not found in Russia. Some English breeders were sure for a long time when this breed appeared that the crossing of two individuals of this breed is unacceptable due to the same probability of death. As a long practice has shown, these fears turned out to be in vain, and now in England there is an excellent stock of these pigs.

Another misconception is associated with the color of all long-haired pigs. For those who do not quite remember the names of the breeds belonging to this group, we remind you that these are Peruvian pigs, Shelties, Coronets, Merino, Alpacas and Texels. We were very interested in the topic of evaluation of these pigs at shows in terms of colors, as some of our breeders and experts say that the color evaluation must be present, and the coronet and Merino monochromatic pigs must have a correctly colored rosette on the head. We again had to ask our European friends for clarifications, and here we will only quote some of their answers. This is done in order to dispel the existing doubts about how such gilts are judged in Europe, based on the opinion of experts with many years of experience and the texts of the standards adopted by national breed clubs.

“I’m still not sure about French standards! For texels (and I think the same goes for other longhaired gilts) the rating scale has 15 points for “color and markings”, from which it can be concluded that the color requires the closest approximation to perfection, and if there is a rosette, for example, then it must be completely painted, etc. BUT! When I spoke to one of the most prominent breeders in France and told him that I was going to breed Himalayan Texels, he replied that this was an absolutely stupid idea, since a Texel with excellent, very bright Himalayan markings would never have any advantage even when compared to texel, which is also a carrier of the Himalayan color, but which does not have one paw painted or a very pale mask on the muzzle or something like that. In other words, he said that the color of long-haired pigs is absolutely unimportant. Although this is not at all what I understood from the text of the standard adopted by ANEC and published on their official website. Although most likely this person knows the essence of things better, because he has a lot of experience.” Sylvie from France (3)

“The French standard says that color only comes into play when two absolutely identical gilts are compared, in practice we never see this because size, breed type and appearance are always priorities.” David Bags, France (4)

“In Denmark and Sweden, there are no points at all for assessing color. It simply doesn’t matter, because if you start evaluating color, you will inevitably pay less attention to other important aspects, such as coat density, texture, and general appearance of the coat. Wool and breed type – that’s what should be at the forefront, in my opinion. Breeder from Denmark (5)

“In England, the color of longhaired pigs does not matter at all, regardless of the name of the breed, since points are not awarded for color.” David, England (6)

As a summary of all of the above, I would like to note that the authors of this article believe that we in Russia have no right to reduce points when assessing the color of long-haired pigs, since the situation in our country is such that there are still very, very few pedigree livestock. Even if countries that have been breeding pigs for so many years still believe that winning color cannot be given preference at the expense of coat quality and breed type, then the most reasonable thing for us is to listen to their rich experience.

We were also a little surprised when one of our well-known breeders said that males under five or six months of age should never be allowed to breed, since otherwise growth stops, and the male remains small for life and will never be able to exhibitions get good grades. Our own experience testified to the opposite, but just in case, we decided to play it safe here, and before writing any recommendations and comments, we asked our friends from England. To our surprise, such a question puzzled them very much, since they had never observed such a pattern, and allowed their best males to mate already at the age of two months. Moreover, all these males grew to the required size and subsequently were not only the best producers of the nursery, but also the champions of exhibitions. Therefore, in our opinion, such statements of domestic breeders can only be explained by the fact that now we do not have pure lines at our disposal, and sometimes even large producers can give birth to small cubs, including males, and unfortunate coincidences depending on their growth and breeding careers led to think that early “marriages” lead to stunting.

Now let’s talk more about caring for pregnant females. In the already mentioned book about hamsters and guinea pigs, the following phrase caught our eye: “About a week before giving birth, the female should be kept starving – give her a third less food than usual. If the female is overfed, the birth will be delayed and she will not be able to give birth. Never follow this advice if you want healthy large piglets and a healthy female! Reducing the amount of food in the last stages of pregnancy can lead to the death of both the mumps and the entire litter – it is precisely during this period that she needs a two to three-fold increase in the amount of nutrients for the normal course of pregnancy. (Full details related to feeding gilts during this period can be found in the Breeding section).

There is still such a belief, also widespread among domestic breeders, that if you want the pig to give birth without complications to not very large and not very small piglets, then in recent days you need to reduce the amount of food, provided that the pig does not limit itself in any way. Indeed, there is such a danger of the birth of very large cubs that die during childbirth. But this unfortunate incident can in no way be associated with excessive feeding, and this time I would like to quote the words of some European breeders:

“You are very lucky that she did give birth to them, if they are so big, and it is not at all surprising that they were stillborn, since the mumps must have given birth to them very hard and they came out for a long time. What is this breed? I think that this could be due to the abundance of protein on the menu, it can be the reason for the appearance of large babies. I would try to mate her again, perhaps with another male, so the reason may be precisely in him. Heather Henshaw, England (7)

“You should never feed your guinea pig less during pregnancy, in which case I would just feed more vegetables like cabbage, carrots instead of feeding dry food twice a day. Surely such a large size of children has nothing to do with feeding, it’s just that sometimes luck changes us and something goes wrong. Oh, I think I need to clarify a little. I didn’t mean to eliminate all types of dry food from the diet, but just reduce the number of feeding times to one, but then a lot of hay, as much as she can eat. Chris Fort, England (8)

Many erroneous opinions are also associated with the process of childbirth, for example, such as this: “As a rule, pigs give birth early in the morning, at the quietest time of the day.” The experience of so many pig breeders shows that pigs are just as willing to do this both during the day (at one in the afternoon) and after dinner (at four) and in the evening (at eight) and closer to night (at eleven), and late at night (at three) and at dawn (at seven).

One breeder said: “For one of my pigs, the first “farrowing” began around 9 pm, when the TV was either “The Weak Link” or “Russian Roulette” – i.e. when no one stuttered about silence. When she gave birth to her first pig, I tried not to make any additional noise, but it turned out that she did not react at all to my movements, voice, clattering on the keyboard, TV and camera sounds. It is clear that no one purposely made a noise with a jackhammer to frighten them, but it seems that at the time of childbirth they are mostly focused on the process itself, and not on how they look and who is spying on them.

And here is the last curious statement that we found on the same site about guinea pigs (http://zookaraganda.narod.ru/morsvin.html): “Usually a pig gives birth to cubs from two to four (sometimes five).” A very curious observation, since the number “one” was not taken into account at all when writing this phrase. Although other books contradict this and state that primiparous pigs usually give birth to only one cub. All these figures are only partly similar to reality, since often six cubs are born in pigs, and sometimes even seven! In females giving birth for the first time, with the same frequency with which one cub is born, two, and three, and four, and five and six pigs are born! That is, there is no dependence on the number of pigs in a litter and age; rather, it depends on a particular breed, a particular line, and a particular female. After all, there are both multiple breeds (Satin pigs, for example), and infertile ones.

Here are some interesting observations we made while we read all kinds of literature and talked with different breeders. This list of misunderstandings is of course much longer, but the few examples mentioned in our brochure will hopefully be of great help to you when choosing, caring for and breeding your gilt or gilts.

Good luck to you!

Appendix: Original statements of our foreign colleagues. 

1) First off, strictly speaking there are no true albino cavies. This would require the «c» gene found in other species, but which has never appeared in cavies so far. We produce «mock» albinos with cavies that are «caca ee». Since a Himi requires E, two pink eyed whites will not produce a Himi. Himis, however, can carry «e», so you can get a pink eyed white from two Himis. Nick Warren

2) You could get a «Himi» by mating a Himi and a REW. But since all of the offspring will be Ee, they just won’t color up well on the points. They will also likely be carriers of b. Elaine Padley

3) I still am not sure about it in France! For texels (I suppose it is similar for all the longhairs), the scale of points gives 15 pts for «colour and markings». From which you would infer that the colour needs to be as close as possible to perfection for the variety — like, enough white on a broken,etc. BUT, when I talked to one of the most prominent breeders in France, and explained him I was willing to breed Himalayan texels, he said it was just plain stupid, as a himi texel with perfect points would not have any advantage over one with say one white foot, weak nose smut, whatever. So to use your words he said that in France, colour in longhairs was irrelevant.This is not what I understand from the standard (as seen on the ANEC’s website), however he knows better as he has experience. Sylvie & the Molosses de Pacotille from France

4) The French standard says that the colour only counts to separate 2 identical cavies so in Practice we never get to that because size type and cote characteristics always count before. David Baggs

5) In Denmark and Sweden there is no points given for colour at all. It simply doesn’t matter, because if you start giving points for colour you’ll have to lack on other important aspects such as density, texture and general quality of coat. Coat and type is what a longhair should be about in my opinion. Signe

6) Оver here in Еngland it does not matter what colour a longhair ia no matter what the breed becaus colour carrys no points. David

7) You are lucky she managed to have them OK being so large I am not surprised they are dead as the mum probably had trouble giving birth to them in time to get the sack off them. What breed are they? I think if there is too much protein in the diet it can cause large babys. I would try another litter with her but perhaps with a different boar as he may have had something to do with that father which is why they were so large. Heather Henshaw

8) You should never feed your sow less when she’s pregnant — but I’d rather feed more greens like cabbage and carrots instead of giving grains two times a day. It doesn’t have to have anything to do with feeding, sometimes you’re just out of luck and something will go wrong. Oops.. thought I should clarify that I don’t mean taking all the graions away from her, but cut it down to once a day — and then all the hay she could possibly eat. Chris Fort 

© Alexandra Belousova