Winter Coats?

[RKelly]

RKelly seems to have more fluff lately. He's just a regular short smooth haired boy. Health checks are good. Diet same as usual. His fur seems slightly thicker and just a bit softer. Is this the beginning of a winter coat? Do pigs even have fur changes like cats and dogs?

[bpatters]

Not that I can tell.

[WICharlie]

In the area where guinea pigs originated, there is no winter, so they do not develop winter coats.

[bpatters]

Ummm, really? I thought they came from the Andes mountains, but high enough up that they always needed heavy coats.

[WICharlie]

They do come from the Andes in South America, specifically from the area around Peru and Bolivia, but they are found mostly in the grasslands or the edge of forested areas. They would generally not be in the mountains. They live in burrows that they find or ones that they dig and they mostly come out at night. It does not get that cold in these areas of South America, so they are not suited to adapting to cold weather.