Are Guinea Pigs Rodents - Question of The Day

So the question of the day today came about because of the rain. Our cat was sheltering from the rain in the bottom of the guinea pig hutch. One child decided this wasn't great as the guinea pigs are rodents and as cats eat rodents, they could be gobbled up by the cat. Other child disagreed that they weren't rodents as they didn't look like mice or rats.

So we went on a hunt for information to try and find out. The results were not quite as straight forward as I thought ! Most places say that Guinea pigs or cavy, are rodents, however, some argue they shouldn't be in the rodent family. Apparently protein in the guinea pigs blood is different to other rodents, and their teeth also differ which has lead to some people saying they should be in their own animal family. The general consensus was that they are rodents.

Other questions that also arise from children about guinea pigs are:

Are they related to pigs? - Simple answer to that is no. Why they are called guinea pigs we can only speculate about, it may be related to how they look, or the noises they make. Both of which bear a little resemblance to pigs.

Do they come from Guinea? - Simple answer again is no. They originated in the Andes, but the pet ones we keep today are not seen in the wild they are a domesticated descendent .

Do people really eat guinea pigs? - Yes people do eat guinea pigs, they are kept for food like we would keep animals, like chicken, or cows for their meat. This happens in Peru, Bolivia, some areas of Ecuador, and Columbia. Apparently guinea pig meat is high in protein, low in fat and tastes a bit like rabbit.

Guinea Pig