Description of the guinea pig breed “Himalayan”
Himalayan pigs have not yet received official recognition, but this breed has already found its admirers all over the world.
Main features of Himalayan guinea pigs
So who is the Himalayan guinea pig? This is an albino pig with skin and coat pigmentation in some areas (mask on the face, paws and ears). The mask, ears and legs can be either black or various shades of brown.
The presence of pigment in any living thing is due to a chemical called melanin. The only creatures that don’t have it are “true albinos”. Himalayan guinea pigs are partial albinos as they can form pigment on specific areas of the body (mask, ears and paws). These are the areas where body heat is lost and the need for insulation from the cold is greatest. It’s like with humans — the maximum amount of heat is lost through the crown of the head, hands and heels, and therefore we wear hats, gloves, etc. in the cold to keep our body warm in the cold.
Himalayan pigs have no pigment in their eyes and therefore the eyes appear red as we see blood vessels instead of pigment. The ideal mask on the muzzle of the Himalayan pig is pear-shaped, located strictly in the middle of the muzzle and sharply turns into white in the rest of the part. In black guinea pigs, the mask should be intensely black, while in brown Himalayans, the preferred color is light brown.
The coat of Himalayan pigs is white. The brighter the white color, the higher the animal is valued, although this parameter very much depends on the condition and age of the pig itself, as well as on the conditions in which it is kept.
Himalayan babies are born pure white, like albinos, and pigmented areas appear only with age and reach their full color by the age of six months. White color throughout the rest of the body also largely depends on the age of the pig and on the conditions of detention, especially in brown Himalayans, and, with age, a bright contrast between body color and pigmented areas becomes more and more difficult to obtain. Although it cannot be said that well-colored adult gilts cannot be found.
Provided that the pig is kept in a cool room (down to freezing temperatures), the pigment will naturally darken. The white color of the whole body also depends on this, although not only on this. In summer, dry and warm, the color on the pigmented areas of the body is weakened, in contrast to the white color, which may not be affected. But it can change from the fact that the pig is pregnant, or is in a stressful situation (at the exhibition or due to injuries and injuries).
The paws are a very important parameter in the appearance of the Himalayans. It must be remembered that in black Himalayans, the pigment should be as black and intense as possible, and in brown ones — milky brown in color to the border of the knee tendon. The color in these areas is also highly dependent on many external factors and can change within a very small amount of time.
If a small Himalayan is born in the cold season, then his pigmentation will be very developed, while if the baby was born in the summer, then he will reach his peak in only six months, when winter comes. Therefore, it is very, very difficult to acquire Himalayans from breeders. Preference should be given to adolescents under six months of age. Newborns are born with pure pink paw pads that darken over several days. While the pig is growing, dark hairs, black or brown, slowly appear on the legs and other parts of the body where the pigment should be. In some lines, pigs reach full staining at the age of 6–7 months, while in other lines, the formation of stained areas ends as early as 3–4 months.
The ears of the Himalayans are large, in the shape of a rose petal, set wide and lowered, without light edges at the edges. Small, not fully lowered ears do not look very attractive. Pigmentation all over to the base of the ears.
The eyes are bright pink, well set on a good wide muzzle.
A short, well-knit body with a wide head that resembles the shape of a self.
Explanation of the phenomenon why Himalayan pigs darken in the cold
Breeders of Himalayan guinea pigs have noticed this feature: when the ambient temperature drops to a certain level, Himalayan guinea pigs change color and darken.
Why does cold increase pigment levels in Himalayans? It should be noted that pigment levels will rise in cooler weather conditions and drop in warmer conditions. This usually happens with some delay, as it takes some time to shed and grow new wool. The change in coat color occurs not only on the painted areas (mask, paws, ears), but also on the entire white body.
If you pay attention to the white color of the body, you will notice that if there are areas of damaged hair on the body and new hair grows precisely during the cold period, the hair will grow darker in this area than on the rest of the body surface.
Usually Himalayans can have darker patches of fur along the spine, on the rump and sometimes on the shoulders in cold weather, i.e. where the cold penetrates the wool the most. Sometimes the coat can darken a little and become like a camouflage coloring, spotty. A purebred healthy Himalayan will always maintain a white coat color regardless of the degree of cold, which indicates that this is a real, thoroughbred specimen.
It should also be noted that temperature is not the only factor that affects color, but the most noticeable. Keeping Himalayans in a dark room and keeping them out of direct sunlight will increase the snow-white coat. Illness, injury or poor health can reduce the intensity of the pigment, for example, many people have faced the problem of the disappearance of the mask or pigment on the paws after the fall of the pig or after damage to the claw, i.e. those conditions associated with injury, bruising, or infection.
But let’s get back to the question of why cold increases the level of melanin, and heat decreases its content in Himalayan guinea pigs. Gilts of this breed have a double dose of the ChCh gene, which blocks certain enzymes (a chemical that exists in living organisms that changes other chemicals without changing itself), and these enzymes “interfere” with the production of pigment on the body (except in certain areas). This is a biochemical reaction that has nothing to do with hormones. That is, under normal temperature conditions, we prevent the “hindering” element from forming pigment. At low temperatures (about -3 C), this biochemical process begins to fail and stops blocking the production of pigment.
This mechanism works exactly the opposite in the summer, when pigment is lost even in those parts of the body where it should be. Therefore, the first thing that needs to be done for those who breed Himalayan pigs is to find the optimal temperature conditions for the animals. Breeders note that keeping gilts in cages closer to the floor improves pigment. Conversely, those pigs that live on the upper floors of the shelves have a weaker pigment.
In northern countries, for example, in Finland, Himalayans are unpopular, because it is very difficult to find the ideal temperature conditions for keeping them: in winter it is very cold outside and too warm inside, since most of the rooms are heated. There are other factors as well. One of them is that enzymes can interfere with pigment production in black pigs (black, chocolate, shale, etc.) and will completely block any pigment in red pigs (gold, cream, etc.). In this case, the red spot on the muzzle will look like white, because the color cannot be expressed in any way, and the explanation of the fact why the variant of the red Himalayans cannot be derived.
Photo of Himalayan guinea pigs
