# Skinny pigs / hairless guniea pigs



## FrankieT (Nov 3, 2011)

Has anyone seen or owned these before? 

I saw the cutest pair of boars today in a pet shop and have fallen in love, but not with the £175 price tag . My daughter has just kindly pointed out that they might just be giving normal piggies bad hair cuts.


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## Guest (Jan 4, 2012)

There are actually two varieties of hairless guinea pigs. The Skinny pig, which does actually have a bit of hair, and the Baldwin guinea pig. There is some controversy about the introduction of these guinea pigs to the pet industry. They were originally bred for laboratory research, and concerns about their immune system function and overall hardiness have been raised. Others say that through careful breeding, it is possible to produce hairless guinea pigs that are hardier than their lab-bred ancestors.
Their care is much like that of other guinea pigs. However, lacking a coat they are a bit more sensitive to temperature extremes and must be protected from drafts as well as direct sunlight.
They also tend to eat more to maintain their metabolism and body heat (an excellent quality diet is a necessity, but should be provided to all guinea pigs, hairless or not).

Many people have pushed up the price of them, same as "designer" dogs :mad5:

If any one chooses to take on skinny pigs needs to put in a lot of research (as any pet of course) to make sure they go to a recommended breeder or a rescue as with any hairless animal if bred badly the guinea pig could have many, many problems 

Personally I class any hairless animal as a rescue only animal, I don't agree with breeding them on purpose.
Some breeders are working very hard to get healthy long lived lines, which is good. I just don't agree with breeding them.


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## swatton42 (Oct 29, 2011)

A friend of mine has 1, well she has a skinny pig and a skinny carrier.

Personally I agree with price tag being bumped up (although not to that extent), it should, in theory, prevent just anyone buying them on impulse. AS B3rnie said, they are pretty specialist compared to the other breeds around.

I think they're cute, but I'm perfectly happy with my little hairballs.


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Well said Bernie!!!! Yes I don't know much apart from that they were originally bred for labs so yes tend to be more delicate. I would have thought it was a necessity to keep these indoors too. 

I rescued (for someone else) a hairless rat a few weeks ago...and she was gorgeous....even in looks...very cute. But I wouldn't buy one for the fact I personally would not want to encourage the trade of these animals.


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## FrankieT (Nov 3, 2011)

Thanks for the replys. Just showed my husband photos from google, and his not too keen. We'll be sticking with the hairy type of piggies.


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## CritterMama (May 2, 2012)

Is there anyone on here who knows about Skinny Pigs (hairless guinea pigs)? I had a 3 month old boar who seemed very healthy, I came home from work last night and he was taking his last breaths...no signs of injury (he is housed with 2 other pigs) so I rushed him to the ER vet, but euthanasia was our only option at that point...Has anyone else dealt with such an unexpected death with Skinny pigs?


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