Sheltie guinea pigs differ from their relatives in long, smooth hair of various colors. The animal can be kept at home. The breed is popular - no show or show can do without this beauty. Keeping and caring for a pet requires special knowledge and skills. Sheltie pig photos are very funny.
Breeding History
In 1938, breeders crossed two breeds of guinea pigs: American and Peruvian. By conducting numerous experiments, by 1978 a new, unique breed of mumps - Sheltie - was obtained.
The animal genetically inherited long hair from the American representatives of the breed and silkiness from Peruvian. The selection resulted in the appearance of the most popular breed in the world, which takes part in all exhibitions and shows. Sheltie guinea pig has been recognized by professional breeders and has become one of the breeding sites.
Description and appearance
Sheltie is a long-haired breed of guinea pigs. The main distinguishing feature of the animal is the beauty of the coat. In the US, the pig is called Silkie, but in the countries of the European Union and in Russia it is called Sheltie. In America, they called The Hollywood cavy for the beauty of the pet, which means "Hollywood guinea pig." A photo of sheltie pig can be seen in the article.
The animal is a show, so there are strict standards. The Sheltie guinea pig breed description includes the following parameters:
- The coat grows away from the head. The muzzle remains completely open. The hair on the sides is shorter than on the back. Curls flow down in silky, straight strands, without tangles, slightly trimmed, without bald patches. Slight undulation is permitted. The wool length is fixed at 50 cm. The color is varied. Whiskers should be long and dense, and the coat should be well-groomed. Newborn sheltie guinea pigs have a short coat that fits snugly to the body. By six months, the pet is already gaining long, smooth curls.
- The head is short, wide and flattened, but not flat.
- The eyes in the form of beads are slightly convex, large, shiny. Color can be any.
- The nose is small and neat, looks like a patch.
- The ears are large, triangular in shape, rounded at the ends. Looks like a petal. Covered with short hairs. Lowered down.
- The body is well-fed, compact, without signs of obesity.
- A new-born Sheltie guinea pig weighs 60-90 g. An adult can reach 1500 g. Length is 20-28 cm. Pet lives up to 7 years with good, proper care. By 6-8 weeks, females reach puberty, and males by 8-12 weeks.
Most popular suits:
- fiery red;
- gold;
- reds;
- beige;
- lilac;
- gray
- buffalo;
- cream;
- saffron;
- shale;
- Chocolate
Less popular are white and black pets. The rarest and most attractive color is roan and agouti. The beauty lies not only in the variety of colors, but also in their combination. You can see two-, three- and multicolor, tortoise animals.
Hair care
Sheltie guinea pig requires careful care and attention. Breeders do not recommend buying a pet for children or people without experience keeping such an animal.
Sheltie wool grows all her life, so she needs to be sheared. The length must be left so that the pet is comfortable moving.
The pig should be accustomed to combing from an early age. Then she will behave obediently, and the process itself will give pleasure. A sign of happiness can be a soft whistling issued by the pet during combing. The procedure should be performed at least 1 time per day. If the hair is not taken care of, it will quickly become entangled, and the pig will become difficult to move. You can simply place the sheltie on your knees and start combing. To make a pet appear at the exhibition in all its splendor, hair can be twisted into papillots. Then you can comb the hair once every few days, and then make curls again. In the photo, the sheltie guinea pig is ready for display at the exhibition.
Conditions of detention
In addition to a balanced diet, an active lifestyle affects the health and longevity of a pig. Shelters are curious and restless animals. They need room. The area of ββthe cell should be at least 0.6 square meters. meters (100 * 60 cm). But the life of a pet can not only be in a house. In winter, the pig must be released for a run around the room, and in the summer - on the street along the grass. Lack of free space will turn Sheltie into a painful and indifferent animal. The cage needs to be cleaned daily - the guinea pigs do not differ in cleanliness. Otherwise, a pungent, unpleasant odor will begin to spread throughout the house.
Bathing
If the contamination on the wool or paws is easily removed, it is best to clean the pig with wet wipes or a simple wet rag.
Breeders and professionals bathe sheltie. This allows you to restore the shine to the appearance of the pet. Especially in cases where the pig is exposed. If you still canβt do without swimming, you should accustom the animal to this procedure from an early age. Then this situation will not become stressful for Sheltie. Bathing a pig should not be more than 1 time per month. Detergents must be purchased special. Sheltie shampoo usually contains conditioner, which facilitates the process of subsequent combing. You can not wash with ordinary shampoo - this can cause an allergy in the pet. Bathing is convenient in the sink, although some owners use a basin and bath. The Sheltie guinea pig photo shows how the procedure goes.
Diet
The owner will have to carefully monitor the diet. Sheltie guinea pig needs to be dosed, as she has no sense of proportion in food. If you constantly leave a lot of food in the cage, then the pet will become obese.
In the pet store you can buy ready-made food. Pour 1-2 tablespoons into the feeder 2 times a day. Solid pet food is not enough. The basis of the diet includes hay and soft feed. Hay should always be fresh.
Special mineral stones, solid feed and fruit tree branches are necessary for grinding the teeth that have been growing in pigs all their lives.
Pets are very fond of chewing fresh plants. Ideal are young nettles, alfalfa, wild strawberries, plantain, clover leaves, dandelion, yarrow, blueberries, chamomile. You can not collect plants along the road and industrial enterprises. With such grass, the pig can become poisoned and die. And it is better to protect the animal from indoor flowers. They can be poisonous, which will harm the health of the animal.
Daily, 15-20 mg of mumps should be given vitamin C. And for pregnant and lactating shelties - 30-40 mg.
Water should always be fresh and clean. If the pigβs diet has a lot of juicy food, then it may not drink at all for a long time. This is normal for an animal.
Character
Sheltie guinea pigs need a little more time to get used to the new environment and owners than other brothers. An animal can be quickly bribed with delicious treats. When a new pet settles, it will become a very affectionate and good-natured family member. Shelty loves communication, contact and human affection. Pigs whistle melodiously when they try to attract attention or are asked to eat.
Breeding
Healthy offspring will turn out if you choose strong, well-developed animals, without signs of aggression and hereditary diseases. Guinea pigs are transferred to enhanced integrated nutrition, the amount of vitamins is increased. The female is transplanted to the male several times. As soon as the mumps is pregnant, it is placed in a separate cage. It is necessary to build a house in which she can breed offspring. Pregnancy: 60-68 days. The number of cubs in the litter: 1-5. During pregnancy and feeding, the female needs enhanced nutrition. Sheltie feeds her young with milk for 2 weeks. Newborn guinea pigs can not be picked up. Feeling the smell of a man, the female can reject the cubs and stop feeding them. After a month, the babies can be picked up from their mother and planted by gender.
Sheltie breeding
In order for the offspring to turn out to be long-haired, it is best to cross the female and the male sheltie. The result of such a union will be silky guinea pigs.
Another method of breeding will be the crossing of the Peruvian and American breed of pigs. The probability of the appearance of long-haired handsome men with such an alliance is 20%. It will take a lot of time to breed a new population. The required result can not be achieved immediately.
When crossing a sheltie with a regular pig, the probability of a long-haired individual is reduced to zero. Such a union contains the gene for "shorthair", so, most likely, a rosette guinea pig will be born.