Teddy guinea pigs are a fantastic breed and indeed a very beautiful one as well.
Their dense and frizzy coat is quite unique and is a big favourite amongst owners and breeders alike.
They are known as a rough haired cavy along with Abyssinian’s and Rex’s.
Because of their coat is a relatively short haired coat it does not require much maintenance at all.
Warm and friendly guinea pigs
Like most breeds of guinea pig, they are very warm and friendly characters and can be very affectionate when they want to be.
We don’t know how they long they have been recognised as a breed but they are similar to their ancestral guinea pig predecessors in appearance, although they have frizzier hair.
Looking after your Teddy Guinea pig
The fantastic website http://teddybearteddies.webs.com/ has some great tips on looking after your Teddy Guinea Pig and I am indebted to them for the advice they share on their site which helped me write this.
Brush your Teddy once a week at least and use a slicker brush will help get rid of any loose hair and help to slow down any moulting.
An alternative brush that you can use is a wire cat brush but take care not to hurt them by being too rough with it as you could scratch their skin.
A lot of people like the way their hair stands on end, and a good way to keep their hair standing up nicely is to brush the other way up their body so rather than head to rump, brush the other way rump to head.
Teddies tend to have a dryer skin than other breeds of guinea pig, so do take care when bathing them. http://teddybearteddies.webs.com/ reccomends no more than 3 baths a year and use a specialist shampoo. http://www.gorgeousguineas.com/ have a very good range.
When bathing them use a bowl of shallow warm water (or a sink) and then rinse them, apply shampoo and rinse again using the warm water.
Try not to get shampoo in their ears. You can do this by spot cleaning their head with a cloth.
Dry them with a towel to stop them from getting cold.
Take care to clean their ears each month as their ears do get a wax build up. Use a drop of mineral oil in each ear to loosen up the build up and take a cloth around your finger and remove the wax.
They will need their nails clipped once a month to ensure that they don’t grow too long.
They eat a standard guinea pig diet of 75% hay topped up with veggies and fruit not to mention vitamin c pellets and fresh water.
Their cage will need cleaning out once a week thoroughly to keep it clean. They do appreciate a clean and fresh cage so it is a priority to do this. Spot clean the cage daily to get rid of any poops that have appeared.
Never use sawdust, but line their cage with newspaper, hay or another suitable bedding such as fleece.
Sources and further reading
http://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/10-unusual-charming-breeds-of-guinea-pigs.html
http://teddybearteddies.webs.com/