Skinny is a mammalian member of the mumps family. The history of the appearance of the animal begins with the crossing of two species: a hartley and a hairless guinea pig. Scientists were unhappy with the result of this process, since the animals had low immunity. That is why they crossed this breed with Selfies, having received Skinny. It happened in the 70s of the last century.
Appearance
The length of the animal’s body is about 35 cm. Sexual dimorphism is expressed in size: the females are much smaller. An adult usually weighs 1 kg. At first glance, the pig looks bald, but its skin is covered with thin fluff. Small hairs can be seen on the neck and head. The pig’s eyes are expressive, they can be red and brown, black and burgundy. The ears of the animal are rounded. The neck is stocky and muscular, as is Skinny’s body. But despite this, the mammal has a rounded tummy. The tail of the mammal is short and inconspicuous. Its color can range from white to piebald.
Life span
Skinny live from 5 to 6 years.
Where dwells
These pigs do not live in the wild. Due to the lack of fur, animals must be kept in a warm room. In winter, animals easily get sick literally from the cold wind. Clothes can save from this. During the hot season, animals should be smeared with sunscreen and not taken outside without it.
What do they eat
Skinny are herbivores. They love hay with herbs. Skinnies are coprotrophs, they feed on their excrement.
Vitamin C must be added to animal feed, since the animal body is not able to produce this vitamin on its own. You can buy this vitamin in liquid form and add it to water or include green and red peppers in Skinny’s diet. But for daily feeding, green peppers are more suitable, since they contain less sugar. Several times a week, the pig is given 2 cabbage leaves. Once every 7 days, Skinny should be given mint and broccoli.
To maintain the balance of vitamins in the body of a mammal, feed it with cucumbers and tomatoes, apples and citrus fruits, as well as spinach and beans. Skinnies need phosphorus, so they should be given oats and barley a couple of times a week. Pregnant females should be pampered with nuts and seeds more often. But there are foods that are categorically contraindicated for pigs. These are potatoes, meat and chocolate, any fried foods and sweets.
The first time after birth, young animals need mother’s milk and, if the mother rejects the mumps, it must be manually fed with a teaspoon. The syringe cannot be used, as the animal may choke. You can feed the pig with goat milk, milk formula.
Maintenance and care
Skinny is not much different from its relatives, but the lack of wool makes its own adjustments. Because of this, the body temperature of animals is about 26 degrees, so they need more food. Such unusual skin is prone to peeling, for this reason the pig often needs a greasy baby cream.
Another characteristic of Skinny is that they are vulnerable to infections. To prevent infection and injury, they are kept indoors and their nails clipped.
It is equally important to equip your cage or aquarium with only soft materials such as wool. The “dwelling” of the pig should be plastic, its optimal size is 50 x 100 cm. Sawdust with a thickness of less than 10 millimeters should be put inside. It is recommended to form tunnels of cardboard, sheathed with fabric, and attach them to the “dwelling” of the pet. This will have a beneficial effect on the psychoemotional state of the animal and will keep it occupied for a long time.
General cleaning in the cage is carried out once a week. To prevent the smell of urine and excrement in the apartment, you should constantly change the sawdust.
When caring for them, it is important to remember that the skin of pigs emits special oils and therefore it is often dangerous to bathe animals. It is enough to dilute the shampoo in a bowl of warm water and rinse the dirt off the pig. Moreover, you need to ensure that water does not get into Skinny’s ears and eyes.
Breeding skinny
Puberty begins at about 8 or 10 weeks. But guinea pigs should be bred only when the female is 5 months old. Pregnancy usually lasts about three months. There are usually 2-4 individuals in a litter. Childbirth takes place from 10 minutes to half an hour.
Breeding Skinny has a number of characteristics. So, if Skinny and a hairy guinea pig mate, only one Skinny will be born. The rest of the cubs will carry the Skinny gene. Two hosts have a 25 percent chance of having one hairless Skinny. When Skinny mates with Baldwin, there will be no hairless pigs in the litter.
Lifestyle
This guinea pig is a social animal. It gets along well with congeners and other domestic animals. In general, they are friendly and rarely something can cause aggression in them. Sometimes animals bite their owners when they want to bite themselves. This behavior indicates that Skinny has got fleas. But this is not always the case. The pig may gnaw or bite while in the owner’s arms when he wants to urinate.
This mammal is easy to tame. At first, the animal may be nervous, but then, if it feels love, it will begin to trust.
Pig skinny – video
