Interesting Facts About Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs are wonderful and gorgeous creatures that make ideal pets. They are lovely to handle with soft fur and rarely bite. A healthy weight of a guinea pig is between 700 and 1200g and they are around 20 and 25 cm long.

When they are happy, guinea pigs jump straight up and down in the air which is referred to as “pop corning” - you'll often see youngsters do this when they are playing. Lots of people keep guinea pigs as pets because they are cute and beautiful.

Guinea pigs are not related to pigs and they do not come from Guinea. The Guinea in their name refers to the country of Guyana and because they have stout bodies which gives them a “piggy like” appearance, they are named after them.

* All guinea pigs have 5 different sorts of hair that makes up their coat.
* Baby guinea pigs are able to run when they are only a few hours old.
*They have 4 toes on their front feet but only 3 on their back ones.
* The oldest recorded guinea pig lived to the ripe old age of 15 which earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

There are 3 types of guinea pigs:
First is the American one which has short hair with a smooth coat
Second is the Abyssinian guinea pig which has a more wiry coat with hair that forms swirls similar to rosettes.
The third are the Peruvian guinea pigs which have straight, long and silky hair.