Lucky, funny guinea pig, opps, I mean skinny pig

[Catherine]

This is just the cutest guinea pig and his story is sweeter because Ludwik is a rescue.


https://www.thedodo.com/ludwik-guinea-pi...23905.html

Guinea pigs are always funny like that and they love to eat. Ludwik is just such a character.
The hairless "skinny" pigs are so funny and yet so beautiful. It is always love at first sight. Once you see and hold one you just want to hold it forever.

[Ruth]

Oh, he is adorable! I've never had a piggy but they sure are cute and affectionate.

[Catherine]

Guinea pigs are always cute and funny, but Ludwik is a special pig. You can see he is a character just from the way he poses for pictures.
He is clearly very affectionate with his people.

Guinea pigs do make the greatest pets. They are worth all the work it takes to maintain them.

[Cibach]

Skinny pigs are in a class of their own!! All the ones I have met are real characters.
They fall into the category of "So ugly that they're cute". Well for me, anyway.
I can't say that I approve of them as a pet, or at all really. They wouldn't have chosen to be this way. They were, I believe, originally bred for cosmetic research. No need to shave down a creature that has no hair. They are also used in medical research for skin treatments.
They became fashionable a while ago as a pet for folk who were allergic to pet hair.
All the ones I've met have had extraordinarily sensitive skin that has needs a good deal of care to keep it healthy. They are also prone to joint and boney issues along with respiratory problems, and their lifespan is drastically reduced i.e. a "normal" piggie life span is reckoned to be between 5 and 7 years, although I have known much older piggies. Skinnies rarely live beyond 3, an average being 18 months to 2 years.
As I said, individual skinnies that I have met have been adorable, but I don't think they should be bred.
As individuals they are all delightful, but as a class of Guinea Pig I think they should be allowed to disappear.

[Catherine]

I wondered if they had health issues.

A mutation that reduces hair probably has other effects. I didn't  realize that they were deliberately bred for lab purposes.
That alone is enough reason to stop breeding them.

It is sad to think that such characters have shorter lives.