The Skinny pig or skinny is an almost hairless strain of

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ani ...

. Skinny pigs typically have hair on their muzzles, feet, and legs, but are hairless over the remainder of their bodies. Some of them have a thin covering of fuzzy hair on their backs as well. The Skinny pig is not one of the 13 recognized cavy breeds by the American Cavy Breeders Association. A healthy skinny has skin that is mostly smooth, with some wrinkling around the legs and neck. The body is full with no appearance of spine or ribs. Skinnies can come in a variety of skin colors and patterns, including "Dutch", "Brindle", and " Himalayan". The term "skinny" is used for hairless guinea pigs either because it colloquially refers to the exposed skin of the animal, or because it describes their thinner appearance due to their lack of hair. The modern strain of skinny pig originated from a cross between haired guinea pigs and a hairless lab strain. The hairless strain that it is most likely related to was a spontaneous genetic mutation that was first identified at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

's Armand Frappier Institute in 1978, in a colony of Hartley lab guinea pigs. In 1982 they were sent to Charles River Laboratories to be bred for laboratory use and are commonly used in dermatology studies today. They are an

outbred Out-crossing or out-breeding is the technique of crossing between different breeds. This is the practice of introducing distantly related genetic material into a breeding line, thereby increasing genetic diversity. Outcrossing can be a usefu ...

strain that has an intact

thymus The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, thymus cell lymphocytes or ''T cells'' mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. ...

and standard immune system.

Unique traits

Hairless guinea pigs are not significantly different physiologically from regular haired guinea pigs, although they need to eat more to maintain body heat. The optimal temperature range for a hairless guinea pig is , which is slightly higher than the optimal temperature range for the haired guinea pig. Their sensitive skin has very much the same appearance as human skin, but has the same needs as normal guinea pig skin. Exposed skin is vulnerable to sunburn, other injuries and fungal infections unless precautions are taken. Skinny pigs have also been found to have an increased risk of some eye diseases when compared to haired guinea pigs. Skinny pigs should be housed indoors, and they are usually kept with nesting materials such as a blanket or cloth bag for heat conservation. The breeding protocol for Skinny pigs requires

outcrossing Out-crossing or out-breeding is the technique of crossing between different breeds. This is the practice of introducing distantly related genetic material into a breeding line, thereby increasing genetic diversity. Outcrossing can be a useful ...

to haired carriers at least every other generation. This is an important step in the breeding process, which makes them a poor choice for novice breeders. Skinny pigs are born nearly hairless and must maintain the same level of hair through their life. "

Werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...

" is a slang term for skinny pigs with more hair than usual, extending up over the face and onto the neck and shoulders. Extremely hairy werewolf skinny pigs will have hair all the way down to their rump. Werewolves typically gain and lose fur based on hormone levels, especially hormones related to pregnancy. skinnypigs2

The gene causing hairlessness in skinny pigs is a

recessive gene In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the effect of a different variant of the same gene on the other copy of the chromosome. The first variant is termed dominant and t ...

, and breeding two skinny pigs together will always result in all offspring being skinny pigs. Breeding a skinny pig to a standard haired guinea pig will result in offspring that all carry one copy of the gene, but none will express hairlessness. These offspring are generally called skinny carriers. Breeding two skinny carriers together will result in averages of 25% of offspring being skinny pigs, 50% of offspring being skinny carriers and 25% of offspring being regular haired guinea pigs that do not carry the gene. Since the chance of getting a skinny pig is low, and because it is not possible to visually tell the difference between a haired guinea pig that does carry the gene and one that does not, this method of breeding is not recommended. Haired skinny carriers remain haired their entire life and look like a normal guinea pig despite carrying the hairless gene. There is a second type of hairless guinea pig called the

Baldwin guinea pig The Baldwin guinea pig is a breed developed from a spontaneous genetic mutation in Carol Miller's show-line of white crested golden agouti. Though born fully furred, Baldwin guinea pigs begin to lose their fur at two to five days of age, starti ...

, however its hairlessness is the result of a completely different recessive gene. Breeding a skinny pig with a Baldwin guinea pig will result in offspring that all are haired and carry one copy of the gene for skinny pig hairlessness and one copy of the gene for Baldwin hairlessness. Even though the skinny is a relatively new breed among pet owners and

cavy Caviidae, the cavy family, is composed of rodents native to South America and includes the domestic guinea pig, wild cavies, and the largest living rodent, the capybara. They are found across South America in open areas from moist savanna to tho ...

fanciers, it is gaining popularity in Canada, Europe,

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

, and Russia as well as in the United States where it was introduced into the pet trade in the mid-to-late 1990s.

References

* {{cite web, url=https://www.treehugger.com/hairless-guinea-pigs-are-new-pet-craze-4863917 , title=Hairless Guinea Pigs Are a New Pet Craze , website=treehugger.com , date=2020-05-31 , access-date=2021-04-06

External links

Information about caring for skinnies, and links to additional sources at Guinea Lynx Records
Guinea pigs

Unique traits

See also

References

External links