If you happen to be looking around for a new pet to bring some joy into your life, you may have considered adding a Skinny Pig to the family.
The size of a pet can really make a difference to the impact they can have on your life and what you need to take care of them the best way you can, so how big do Skinny Pigs get?
Within this article, we will go over just how big Skinny Pigs can get and if this can set them apart from a regular Guinea Pig.
Table of Contents
Skinny Pig Sizes
In most cases, you will find that Skinny Pigs will grow to be around the same size as a normal Guinea Pig – if not a little smaller – at roughly the size of 10 inches in length. The main reason that Skinny Pigs will seem a little smaller than a typical Guinea Pig is the fact that they are mostly hairless and this can shave a little of the perceived length off of them.
At birth, you will see that Skinny Pigs are usually only around 3-4 inches in length, growing to 5-6 inches at 7-8 weeks, then to 7-8 inches at 15-16 weeks, and finally to around 10 inches once mature. So these furless friends certainly grow quick!
As with normal Guinea Pigs, there are many factors that can have an influence on the overall size of a Skinny Pig, things like their health, diet, living conditions, and any illnesses they may have or catch, can all change what the overall size could be for the animal (often resulting in a smaller animal).
Are there any other differences from Regular Guinea Pigs?
The main difference between a Skinny Pig and a Guinea Pig will of course be the fact the Skinny Pigs are mostly hairless. Surprisingly, this wasn’t a natural occurrence and the Skinny Pig was bred in a lab to create a hairless variant of the Guinea Pig.
This variant was then used in labs for dermatology tests and then finally became a somewhat exotic pet to own. However, not all of the hair was bred out of the Skinny Pig, and you can find that they have cute patches of hair that reside around their nose and feet.
Unfortunately, another difference between Skinny Pigs and Guinea Pigs is that the former will tend to have a shorter lifespan of around 4 and a half years compared to a regular Guinea Pig that will usually live at least around 6 years. Of course, you may find that your Skinny Pig lives a much longer life than this, but on average they will tend not to.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, Skinny Pigs have an average length of around 10 inches, which is very similar to normal Guinea Pigs but slightly smaller due to the fact they have almost no hair. These lab-bred variants are extremely cute but tend to have shorter lifespans.
Hopefully, this article has been useful in explaining how big a Skinny Pig can get and why exactly that is. We hope that your Skinny Pig will make a great addition to your household and bring you some amazing memories.
