There are so many different types of animals in this world and each of them brings something interesting to the table. Some animals are cute and cuddly but others are majestic and most people would not want to get too close. I think that is the case with a hippopotamus. Yes, it may be interesting to watch them on video or perhaps to see them at the zoo but if you get too close in real life, you better be heading the other way quickly. After all, they can be very territorial and a hippopotamus has absolutely no fear.
As it turns out, not every hippopotamus that you see is actually a hippopotamus. That is not going to be very surprising once you learn about ‘skinny pigs’. These hairless guinea pigs are absolutely amazing but perhaps the most interesting thing about them is the fact that they look like a miniature hippopotamus. If you were to simply see a picture of one of these animals without the proper perspective, you might think that you are actually looking at a hippo in the wild!
The crossbreeding that took place to come up with the skinny pig was done in 1978. They may have some whiskers on their feet and legs but other than that, they have no hair on their body.
The breeding that took place in 1978 was of a hairless guinea pig that was bred with a hairless lab strain. Before long, we had the skinny pig, and the world has never been the same again.
Guinea pigs are adorable, and I think that most people would agree with that fact. Skinny pigs are also adorable, but they tend to have a number of problems. This includes poor eyesight, so if you have them on some type of high surface, they may not judge the distance properly and could topple to the ground.
Interestingly, skinny pigs don’t create their own vitamin C, similar to humans. You need to include vitamin C in their diet or else they could get sick.
Skinny pigs also are prey animals. They are going to automatically trust humans, especially considering the fact that we are so much larger than they are.
If you have been thinking about getting a guinea pig, you might want to consider including the skinny pig in your plans. Just looking at the few pictures we have posted on this page has us wanting one as well.
