Guinea Pig Breeds

The American Short-haired guinea pig is the most common breed of guinea pig and arguably the most iconic.

Crested guinea pigs are easy to spot. As their name suggests, they have a crown-like crest (or rosette) of hair on the top of their head.

The Ridgeback guinea pig has a smooth short coat with a distinctive ridge of standing hair along it’s back. This “mohawk” runs from its neck until its rump.

Of all the guinea pig breeds, the Peruvian is arguably the most striking, with long, flowing locks spilling over its forehead and out from the spine of its back.

The Silkie guinea pig is also a long haired guinea pig, but in contrast to a Peruvian guinea pig, its hair grows back from its head and is known for being very soft and silky (hence the name!).

Texel guinea pigs are long-haired piggies, with curly soft hair that appears in ringlets down their back. Their heads are generally wider and rounded in appearance.

The Coronet is a combination of a Silkie and a Crested guinea pig. It has the long, straight hair of a Silkie, but with a rosetted ‘crown’ of a Crested guinea pig on its head.

With its long, curly hair, the Merino guinea pig is not dissimilar from the Coronet, only it’s a curly version! It has shorter hair on its forehead, with a crest.

The Lunkarya is a variation of the Peruvian guinea pig and was discovered in Sweden. Not a product of crossbreeding, this long, thick, curly, ‘sheep-haired’ guinea pig is actually the result of genetic mutations.

The Sheba Mini Yak, or Sheba, is another of those guinea pigs with the most amazing ‘I just got out of bed’ hair. Their untamed locks only serve to add character to their personality and (as you might guess from the name) they have been likened to a shaggy-haired creature, the Yak.

The Alpaca guinea pig is best described as a Peruvian guinea pig with curls! They are often mistaken for Texel guinea pigs because of their curly long hair, but while a Texel’s hair falls backwards from its head, an Alpaca’s head hair hangs forward.

Another of the older breeds, the Abyssinian guinea pig has been recorded as far back as the 16th century. They are known for their characteristic medium length hair, that appears in swirls all over their body (called rosettes).

Teddy guinea pigs are short-haired, with a dense, wiry coat. Because their hair is so short and bristly, it does not tangle and will only need lightly brushing to keep it free of debris.

The Rex is another short-haired guinea pig but it deferrers quite distinctively from other short-haired piggies. A Rex’s fur is course, dense and woolly and its ears are long and droopy.

The Swiss guinea pig is a relatively new breed of piggy originating from Switzerland. It has been bred by crossing a Rex with a Teddy guinea pig. It has a short, dense coat with wavy, wispy hair that stands up all over its body.

Skinny pigs are almost entirely hairless, with the exception of some wisps of fuzzy hair on their feet and nose. They are characterised by their droopy ears, rubbery skin and wrinkles!

Like the Skinny pig, the Baldwin guinea pig can be easily recognised by its lack of hair! They are born fully furred and then lose all their hair 2-5 days later.

All one colour.

A base colour "tickled" with a secondary colour.

A white band around their middle and front legs with a "V" shaped pattern on their face.

A white body with distinctive dark features on their noses, ears and feet. More often than not, will also have red eyes.

Predominately white coat with black spots. Black head with a white stripe down it.

Similar to Dalmation guinea pigs but with speckled fur instead of spots.

Clearly defined patches of black and red.

Like Tortoiseshell but with the addition of white to their coat.

Equally mixed, solid patches of a red and black colour.

Features a chequerboard pattern of square-cut patches.

A cream and black half-and-half patchwork look.