Guinea Pig Colours
Cavy Colours!
Guinea pigs come in a range of exciting shapes, sizes and colours. As well as coming in different colors, guinea pigs have different patterns, making each and every one individual.
In the wild guinea pigs are nearly always all one colour, ranging from grey through a reddish brown to a dark brown-black.
This is a baby self-white guinea pig
Many guinea pigs are just one colour – these guinea pigs are called ‘self (colour)’ for example a completely black guinea pig is known as a ‘self black’. This guinea pig must have no other colour on it, other than black. Sometimes a guiena pig that is black with a star on it’s head may be referred to as a ‘self black with a white star’.
You can also get ‘broken colour’ guinea pigs or ‘multi-colour’ guinea pigs as they are commonly called. These guinea pigs commonly consist of more than two colours. Guinea pigs that have these colours in checkered patches are referred to as ‘Tortoiseshell’.
Sometimes the breed of guinea pig will determine the colour; dutch guinea pigs always consist of two colours – a coloured patch around the eye, a white nose and band around the middle, and a coloured rump. With dutch guinea pigs the colours will always be white plus another colour. Another breed of guinea pig that determines the colour is the dalmation breed – this is a white guinea pig with black spots, (like a dalmation dog). The Himalayan guinea pig is another example, but which is sometimes counted as a colour or variety rather than a breed.
So what are the colours guinea pigs come in?
Here is a brief list of colours that guinea pigs commonly come in:
- Self Black
- Self White
- Self Brown
- Self Red
- Broken Colours or Multi Coloured
- Dutch Colours
- Tortoiseshell
- Tortoiseshell and white
- Roan – this is a colour that has been mixed evenly with white hair
- Golden
- Silver
- Cinnamon
- Chocolate
- Lilac – this is a grey guinea pig with pink or lilac ears and feet
There are many different colours of guinea pigs covering all different shades, so if you want a standard colour one then it may be best to go for a pedigree guinea pig or one that has pedigree in it.
What Markings and Patterns can guinea pigs have?
A lot of guinea pigs will have markings on their coat, most often round the head. Again here is a list of the most common guinea pig markings:
- Star – White spot on forehead
- Snip – White snip on their nose
- Stripe – A stripe, often white, that runs from their forehead to their
- chin, going between the eyes.
Those are the most common markings on their head. Markings and patterns on their body include: spots of colours, single stripes going around their body (although not classed as dutch) and a line of different colour running from their head, accross their back and to where their tale would be.
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