Origin– C. porcellus is a domesticated species of guinea pig. There are no feral population of this species, however the domesticated species originates from wild species of guinea pig, most likely the Montane Guinea Pig. Domesticated guinea pigs originated from the Andes region of South America where they were domesticated for meat production. Now domesticated guinea pigs are found all over the world where they are kept as pets.
Lifespan– 4-7 years. The longest recorded living guinea pig survived 14 years 10.5 months.
Diet– Herbivore. Their natural diet in the wild is grass. In captivity need a balanced diet of hay, fruit and vegetables and like humans cannot make their own vitamin D, so they need to be fed a guinea pig pellet which contains it.
Description- There is over ten different colour types. They are very social and intelligent animals and have many vocal calls. They can learn complex paths to food and remember the paths for months, they can jump small obstacles and are great swimmers. They are a rodent so need to gnaw to keep their teeth short.
Gestation– An average of 63-68 days with a litter size of 2-4, the largest litter recorded is 17. Pups are well developed at birth with teeth, claws and partial eyesight and are mobile and will eat solid food immediately but will suckle for up to six weeks.
The European rabbit is the only rabbit to be domesticated. Domesticated rabbits do not always look much like wild rabbits due to selective breeding to create morphologies from dwarf to giant sizes, various colour variations and fur length variations.
