Cuy guinea pigs

[Reenie]

I know it's generally thought that cuy piggies are rare in the UK, but I saw an ad on gumtree the other day someone selling two babies saying that the father was a cuy. Hope this doesn't mean they're going to infiltrate the UK too.

 

[DMS260820]

I know it's generally thought that cuy piggies are rare in the UK, but I saw an ad on gumtree the other day someone selling two babies saying that the father was a cuy. Hope this doesn't mean they're going to infiltrate the UK too.

Hopefuly not!, imagine one of these kept in a tiny cage aswell. Which i bet happens

 

[Eriathwen]

It depends where you look for them to be honest, luckily most who have them are very selective with who they home to, so they're not ending up in rescues. They're quite easy to find however if you know where to look for one. In fact 2 of mine are 1/4 cuy and I wasn't even looking for any! Hopefully this continues, they have no business being sold in pet stores as novelties, ending up on gumtree and the like with no prior warnings as to what it takes to own one.

 

[DMS260820]

I take it african pigmee hedgehogs are the same situation

 

[baleofhay]

How different are cuys to your standard pig? When ever I try to google cuy guinea pigs I always end up with pictures of them....on plates and I don't want to see that so I stop researching.

 

[Allie0078]

How different are cuys to your standard pig? When ever I try to google cuy guinea pigs I always end up with pictures of them....on plates and I don't want to see that so I stop researching.

I’ve never heard of cuy guinea pigs! I found that googling “pet cuy guinea pigs” got better results and found this without getting traumatised. You might have already seen it though.
Cuy Criollo (Giant Guinea Pig)

 

[baleofhay]

I hadn't found that link so thank you for sharing. It was less traumatising than what I'd found for sure. Haven't heard of anything like them in Aus. Though of course it is very difficult to bring new animals here.

 

[Maddy]

They were bread for meet to begin with then they found their way in to pet shops which is sad on both counts

 

[Hanlou]

I’ve seen them advertised more and more on free ad sites. Sometimes the advert is honest sand warns potential buyers that they aren’t just big Guinea Pigs but not always.

I understood them to be difficult to keep as pets as they’re aggressive / temperamental but honestly I only really know what’s I’ve read in the warnings on such adverts! I would expect them to need much bigger cages too.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

Cuys and related breeds are modern engineered larger meat guinea pigs bred for human consumption in South American countries and not as domestic pets. They have usually been outcrossed with wild guinea pig species, with which domestic cavia porcellus usually does not interbreed on their own. Our guinea pigs have been domesticated for at least 3000-6000 years and have genetic differences that can only have come about through human breeding.

This wild component in their genes makes Cuy breeds a lot more skittish and not ideal pets in combination with their size and greater strength/reach, even more so when they come without warning. They are definitely not family pets!

Sadly they have somehow got into the commercial shop breeding stock for chain stores, especially in California and increasingly other states.

Here in the UK cuys are thankfully still mainly confined to breeding cycles and have not (yet) made it into commercial shop breeding stock for the main chains, which is where the majority of piggies sold in this country orginates. They are however starting to turn up on free-ads.

We are keeping our fingers firmly crossed on that score, having seen what has happened with the poor skinnies once they got into the hands of scrupulous money making backyard breeders!
And all the satins still being sold to unsuspecting owners by Australian backyard breeders even though it has been proven beyond all doubt that osteodystophy (OD or 'satin disease') cannot be bred out and that it can appear generations later again.

There are of course always the idiots who want to buy or sell a pet with a difference without thinking about what they are doing sooner or later...

More information on cuys from this large rescue at the sharp edge here: Cuy Page

 

[Allie0078]

Hi

Cuys and related breeds are modern engineered larger meat guinea pigs bred for human consumption in South American countries and not as domestic pets. They have usually been outcrossed with wild guinea pig species, with which domestic cavia porcellus usually does not interbreed on their own. Our guinea pigs have been domesticated for at least 3000-6000 years and have genetic differences that can only have come about through human breeding.

This wild component in their genes makes them a lot more skittish and not ideal pets in combination with their size and greater strength/reach.

Sadly they have somehow got into the commercial shop breeding stock for chain stores, especially in California and increasingly other states.

Here in the UK cuys are thankfully still mainly confined to breeding cycles and have not (yet) made it into commercial shop breeding stock for the main chains, which is where the majority of piggies sold in this country orginates. They are however starting to turn up on free-ads.

We are keeping our fingers firmly crossed on that score, having seen what has happened with the poor skinnies once they got into the hands of scrupulous money making backyard breeders!
And all the satins still being sold to unsuspecting owners by Australian backyard breeders even though it has been proven beyond all doubt that osteodystophy (OD or 'satin disease') cannot be bred out and that it can appear generations later again.

There are of course always the idiots who want to buy or sell a pet with a difference without thinking about what they are doing sooner or later...

More information on cuys from this large rescue at the sharp edge here: Cuy Page

I’d never even heard of them. What sad reading it makes

 

[blueredgreen]

I bought my 1st guinea pigs back in January from pets at home and ended up with a cuy and 2 abyssinians. Only now as they're roughly 8 months old have I realised he's a cuy. It's so sad that I didn't know the breeds when I originally got them or I would've said something. Chip (my cuy boar) is doing great though, after lots and lots of bonding he now enjoys my attention. But yes, they're in pet stores now it seems...

 

[Wiebke]

I bought my 1st guinea pigs back in January from pets at home and ended up with a cuy and 2 abyssinians. Only now as they're roughly 8 months old have I realised he's a cuy. It's so sad that I didn't know the breeds when I originally got them or I would've said something. Chip (my cuy boar) is doing great though, after lots and lots of bonding he now enjoys my attention. But yes, they're in pet stores now it seems...

OUCH!

Unfortunately, like with satins, roans and skinnies, it is only a matter of time before they get out of breeding circles and into the pet trade.

 

[The3LittlePigs]

I'm curious how you know he's a cuy?

 

[crazyaboutcavys]

I'm curious how you know he's a cuy?

I am interested to see a pic of the piggy as it’s unusual that pets at homes breeder would have unusual stock like Cuy

 

[blueredgreen]

I'm curious how you know he's a cuy?

He is very skittish, he runs and hides as soon as anyone comes into the room (even me). He's also a lot bigger than my other two despite them all being roughly 8 months old, he has the classic colouring too - orange and a white patch around his nose and eye. They're all starting to fight for dominance atm and he will hide and make those submissive noises even though he could take them because of his size haha. I was worried I miss-handled him too bc hell cry when picked up and we thought he was obese but he isn't he's just big.

 

[blueredgreen]

I am interested to see a pic of the piggy as it’s unusual that pets at homes breeder would have unusual stock like Cuy

Unfortunately because he's only 8 months his size isn't too obvious, he looks almost full grown though compared to the others sorry for the bad quality, I had to zoom in so I wouldn't scare him off. Some of these pictures are older as he's hard to get photos of.

 

[crazyaboutcavys]

Unfortunately because he's only 8 months his size isn't too obvious, he looks almost full grown though compared to the others sorry for the bad quality, I had to zoom in so I wouldn't scare him off. Some of these pictures are older as he's hard to get photos of.

How unusual! He does have that look about him, is he polydactyl?

 

[blueredgreen]

How unusual! He does have that look about him, is he polydactyl?

Nope