Description guinea pig breed “Curly”
Curly (Curly Guinea Pig) is a new breed of guinea pigs, still quite rare, discovered recently in Sweden. Very often, curly guinea pigs are called “curly”, very often instead of curly one can find the name “curly guinea pig”. In principle, this is exactly how the word “curly” is translated into Russian.
Curly is essentially a shorthaired version of the Luncaria . Just like Luncaria guinea pigs, Curlys have a dominant gene (by the way, it is called that), which provides the pigs of this breed with curly hair that grows chaotically and gives the pig a funny and comical look.
Curles are very similar to Rex and Teddy , but physical resemblance is all that these breeds have in common. The reason for the separation of the Curly into a separate breed was precisely the presence of the dominant gene.
Recall that a dominant gene is a “stronger” gene that ensures the manifestation of a particular trait, regardless of whether another gene of the same pair is dominant or recessive. On the other hand, a recessive gene can be suppressed by the influence of a dominant gene. A recessive gene will ensure the manifestation of the trait it determines only if it is paired with the corresponding recessive gene. If it is paired with a dominant gene, then it does not manifest itself, since the dominant gene suppresses it.
So, the curly gene is dominant, and teddy and rex are recessive. It is not for nothing that the Curly is called the short-haired variant of Luncaria, since the Luncaria gene for “curliness” is also dominant.
Curly history
The birthplace of Curly pigs is Sweden. A similar mumps was bred quite recently. Until now, in different sources you can find conflicting information about which breeds of guinea pigs originated Curly. Some resources claim that Curly appeared as a result of crossing the Luncaria guinea pig with a short-haired guinea pig. Other sources insist that curly is the result of mating teddy and rex.
Today, the main distribution area of Curly is concentrated in Europe, on other continents, these guinea pigs are represented insignificantly.
Curls are not currently an officially recognized guinea pig breed. Breed standards have not yet been developed for them.
Curly features
Curly guinea pigs are a short-haired breed, although their curly coat looks rather long. Purebred Curls have a dense, curly coat similar to that of a sheep, and pronounced sideburns. Curly’s tummy is also covered with curly hair. Wool can be close to the body or stick out on end, both options are acceptable. There may be rosettes on the sacrum, but this feature is not manifested in all Curls.
Curly colors can be any, both one-color and with color combinations.
The weight of an adult Curly is about 1 kg. Males are usually larger than females. The body length is about 25 cm.
Care and maintenance of curly
Caring for a Curly is no different from caring for other guinea pigs. The primary needs are:
- a spacious cage, the minimum allowable area of which, according to experts, should be about 0.6 square meters, which corresponds to a size of 100×60 cm.This requirement is due to the fact that guinea pigs are quite active animals, and they need a lot of maintenance of the necessary tone and health move, run, walk — in a word, they need space to move. If the cage is smaller, then this can tell on the health and character of the guinea pig. For more information on what the correct cage should be, read the article “ Guinea pig cage “;
- a correct diet, including vegetables and fruits, hay and / or fresh grass, special pellets (dry food) and clean drinking water (for more details, see the “ Nutrition “ section ). Curly is a newly developed breed, as mentioned above, and such breeds can often have problems with immunity and be more susceptible to various diseases. Therefore, do not forget about vitamin supplements, especially about vitamin C.
- regular walks: in the summer — in the fresh air, on the lawn or on the grass, in the winter — around the room.
Do not forget that guinea pigs are social animals, they can live a full life only in a group, therefore the recommended (and in some countries the only acceptable) option for keeping guinea pigs is to keep them in groups.
In groups, they establish their own well-defined hierarchy, special relationships that are quite interesting to observe. If keeping multiple guinea pigs is problematic (even though just two same-sex individuals is already very good), then give your guinea pig as much attention as possible to help her avoid loneliness.
From time to time, your curly will need brushing, and occasionally bathing (experts recommend either not bathing your guinea pigs at all or doing it several times a year as needed).
So, curly guinea pigs are a new trend in the world of guinea pigs, a rather rare breed so far. Curly pigs will be excellent pets for both experienced breeders and novice pig breeders. They are quite active, have a good-natured and cheerful disposition, love to play and run.