12 Guinea Pigs With The Most Majestic Hair

Belonging to the same family as porcupines, chinchillas and capybaras, guinea pigs are in a different category to rodents such as rats and mice. They are grazing animals and almost entirely dependent on grass for both food and shelter in the wild. The grasslands of the lower slopes of the Andes are the natural habitat of the cavies of Peru from which the familiar pet guinea pigs (cavies) are thought to have originated. From Columbia and Venezuela to Brazil and northern Argentina, guinea pigs usually inhabit rocky areas, grasslands, swamps and the edges of forests, and are most active at night when they come out to forage. The colour of wild guinea pigs tends to be grey or brown (like the salt and pepper colour of Agoutis) and doesn't vary as much as domesticated guinea pigs. Their breeding in captivity resulted in many different colours, coat types and combinations. The rough-haired Abyssinian guinea pig is an example of one of these types.