Cuy Data
Reading this thread, it seems very likely that my Nippa is part cuy, so I'll add her.
Nippa, female, almost five and a half years old.
Adopted October 31st, 2015, but originally purchased from Petsmart in 2013.
Weighs 3.5 lbs.
Dark eyed tricolor - orange, white, and dark brown.
No abnormalities that I know of.
She is actually very sweet! I've seen her grooming her cagemates before, and she is very cuddly once you pick her up. However, if she's made up her mind that she's not coming out for lap time, it's a real struggle to pry her out.
As far as I know she doesn't have any health problems, although I have noticed her wheezing sometimes when she's picked up. (I always attributed that to her being slightly overweight, but perhaps it's a genetic thing.)
Of course, I don't really know for sure if she's part cuy, but she surely looks the part, and I've never had any of the other pigs jump like she does. I have a small cage that I put them in when I clean the big one, and I've left the lid off before only to turn around and find her halfway across the room.
Nippa, female, almost five and a half years old.
Adopted October 31st, 2015, but originally purchased from Petsmart in 2013.
Weighs 3.5 lbs.
Dark eyed tricolor - orange, white, and dark brown.
No abnormalities that I know of.
She is actually very sweet! I've seen her grooming her cagemates before, and she is very cuddly once you pick her up. However, if she's made up her mind that she's not coming out for lap time, it's a real struggle to pry her out.
As far as I know she doesn't have any health problems, although I have noticed her wheezing sometimes when she's picked up. (I always attributed that to her being slightly overweight, but perhaps it's a genetic thing.)
Of course, I don't really know for sure if she's part cuy, but she surely looks the part, and I've never had any of the other pigs jump like she does. I have a small cage that I put them in when I clean the big one, and I've left the lid off before only to turn around and find her halfway across the room.
I am fostering now two young adult males who are so big, they must be at least part cuy. I don't know much about them, they were found abandoned, like most guinea pigs under the care of our rescue. They are healthy and have no deformities, which is not surprising, since they are European cuys, hybrids bred exclusively as pets. They are likely brothers, because they look very similar and were found together. Each weighs more than 3,5 pounds and is about 17 inches long. They are slim and long and have massive paws. Both are American crested, that is dark haired with white crests on their heads. Their hair is middle lenght, with slight mullets. One is almost entirely very dark brown, close to black, the other has lots of beige smears/stripes/patches. The fur is light near skin, dark at the hair ends, eyes are dark, ears low set and floppy, but not excessively.
They are generally sweet natured and gentle, just as any other guinea pig, but they are much more skittish and very, very hard to catch. They are not particularly jumpy, but big, strong and once they learned to escape their C&C by pushing the grids, they are practically imposible to keep inside the cage.
My friend is fostering now young regular cavies and calls them hamsters, and mine are playfully called ponies :).
They are generally sweet natured and gentle, just as any other guinea pig, but they are much more skittish and very, very hard to catch. They are not particularly jumpy, but big, strong and once they learned to escape their C&C by pushing the grids, they are practically imposible to keep inside the cage.
My friend is fostering now young regular cavies and calls them hamsters, and mine are playfully called ponies :).
Sounds like the kind of pig that needs a cage like ours...solid melamine/plexi. Although I'd be wary of them figuring out a way to jump at that size!
All these years of having piggies, never heard of these guys. However, I used to work in a pet store and we did get in a HUGE pig! I just thought she was an abnormality. People would try to guess what she was...hamster, rabbit, chinchilla... I said if you don't know what it is, you can't buy her. Someone bought her on my day off.