Оңтүстік Америкадан тегі бар үйсін егеуқұйрықтар

Domesticated rodent from South America
the small species of Rodent

The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (/'//k//eɪ//v//i/ KAYvee), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus Cavia in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the name "cavy" for the animal, but "guinea pig" is more commonly used in scientific and laboratory contexts. Despite their name, guinea pigs are not native to Guinea, nor are they closely related to pigs. They originated in the Andes region of South America. Studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are domesticated animals that do not exist naturally in the wild, descendants of a closely related cavy species such as C. tschudii. They were originally domesticated as livestock for a source of meat, and are still consumed in some parts of the world. In Western society, the guinea pig has enjoyed widespread popularity as a pet since its introduction to Europe and North America by European traders in the 16th century. Their docile nature, friendly responsiveness to handling and feeding, and the relative ease of caring for them have continued to make guinea pigs a popular choice of household pet. Organizations devoted to the competitive breeding of guinea pigs have been formed worldwide. Many specialized breeds, with varying coat colors and textures, are selected by breeders. Livestock breeds of the guinea pig play an important role in folk culture for many indigenous Andean peoples, especially as a food source. The animals are also used in folk medicine and in community religious ceremonies. They are raised for their meat and are a culinary staple in the Andes Mountains, where they are known as cuy. In the 1960s a modern breeding program was started in Peru that resulted in large breeds known as cuy mejorados (improved cuy). Marketers tried to increase consumption of the animal outside South America. Biological experimentation on domestic guinea pigs has been carried out since the 17th century. The animals were used so frequently as model organisms in the 19th and 20th centuries that the epithet guinea pig came into use to describe a human test subject. Since that time, they have been largely replaced by other rodents, such as mice and rats. However, they are still used in research, primarily as models to study such human medical conditions as juvenile diabetes, tuberculosis, scurvy (like humans, they require dietary intake of vitamin C), and pregnancy complications.

Cavia porcellus is not found naturally in the wild; it is likely descended from closely related species of cavies, such as C. aperea, C. fulgida, and C. tschudii, which are still commonly found in various regions of South America. and studied the skull and skeletal morphology of current and mummified animals, thereby revealing the ancestor to most likely be C. tschudii. Some species of cavy identified in the 20th century, such as C. anolaimae and C. guianae, may be domestic guinea pigs that have become feral by reintroduction into the wild. Statues dating from circa 500 BC to 500 AD that depict guinea pigs have been unearthed in archaeological digs in Peru and Ecuador. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals and often depicted the guinea pig in their art. Early accounts from Spanish settlers' state that Guinea pigs were the preferred sacrificial animal of the Inca people native to Peru. These claims are supported by archeological digs and transcribed Quechua mythology, providing evidence that sacrificial rituals involving Guinea pigs served many purposes in society such as appeasing the gods, accompanying the dead, or reading the future. From about 1200 to the Spanish conquest in 1532, the indigenous peoples used selective breeding to develop many varieties of domestic guinea pigs, which formed the basis for some of the modern domestic breeds. They continue to be a food source in the region; many households in the Andean highlands raise the animal. Folklore traditions involving guinea pigs are numerous; they are exchanged as gifts, used in customary social and religious ceremonies, and frequently referred to in spoken metaphors. They also are used in traditional healing rituals by folk doctors, or curanderos, who use the animals to diagnose diseases such as jaundice, rheumatism, arthritis, and typhus. They are rubbed against the bodies of the sick, and are seen as a supernatural medium. Black guinea pigs are considered especially useful for diagnoses. The animal may be cut open and its entrails examined to determine whether the cure was effective. These methods are widely accepted in many parts of the Andes, where Western medicine is either unavailable or distrusted. Spanish, Dutch, and English traders took guinea pigs to Europe, where they quickly became popular as exotic pets among the upper classes and royalty, including Queen Elizabeth I. The earliest known written account of the guinea pig dates from 1547, in a description of the animal from Santo Domingo. Because cavies are not native to Hispaniola, the animal was believed to have been earlier introduced there by Spanish travelers. However, based on more recent excavations on West Indian islands, the animal must have been introduced to the Caribbean around 500 BC by ceramic making horticulturalists from South America. It was present in the Ostionoid period on Puerto Rico, for example, long before the advent of the Spaniards. The guinea pig was first described in the West in 1554 by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner. Its binomial scientific name was first used by Erxleben in 1777; it is an amalgam of Pallas' generic designation (1766) and Linnaeus' specific conferral (1758). The picture dates from the same period as the oldest recorded guinea pig remains in England, which are a partial cavy skeleton found at Hill Hall, an Elizabethan manor house in Essex, and dated to around 1575. Most guinea pigs have fur, but one laboratory breed adopted by some pet owners, the skinny pig, is a mostly furless breed. In contrast, several breeds have long fur such as the Peruvian, the Silkie, and the Texel. In the 1990s, a minority scientific opinion emerged proposing that caviomorphs such as guinea pigs, chinchillas, and degus are not actually rodents, and should be reclassified as a separate order of mammals (similar to the rodent like lagomorphs which includes rabbits and hares). Subsequent research using wider sampling restored the consensus among mammalian biologists regarding the current classification of rodents, including guinea pigs, as monophyletic. Male and female guinea pigs do not significantly differ in appearance apart from general size. The position of the anus is very close to the genitals in both sexes. Sexing animals at a young age must be done by someone who has been trained in the differences. Female genitals are distinguished by a Y shaped configuration formed from a vulvar flap. While male genitals may look similar, with the penis and anus forming a similar shape, the penis will protrude if pressure is applied to the surrounding hair anterior to the genital region. The male's testes may also be visible externally from scrotal swelling.

Guinea pigs can learn complex paths to food, and can accurately remember a learned path for months. Their strongest problem solving strategy is motion. While guinea pigs can jump small obstacles, they cannot jump very high. Most of them are poor climbers, and are not particularly agile. They startle easily, and when they sense danger either freeze in place for long periods, or run for cover with rapid, darting motions. Larger groups of startled guinea pigs "stampede", running in haphazard directions as a means of confusing predators. When happily excited, guinea pigs may (often repeatedly) perform little hops in the air (a movement known as "popcorning"), analogous to the ferret's war dance or rabbit happy hops (binkies). Guinea pigs are also good swimmers, although they do not like being wet and infrequently need bathing. Like many rodents, guinea pigs sometimes participate in social grooming, and they regularly self groom. A milky white substance is secreted from their eyes and rubbed into the hair during the grooming process. Groups of boars often chew each other's hair, but this is a method of establishing hierarchy within a group, rather than a social gesture. Opinion is divided over the cohousing of guinea pigs and rabbits. Some published sources say that guinea pigs and rabbits complement each other well when sharing a cage. Red cedar (Eastern or Western) and pine, both softwoods, were commonly used as bedding, but now these materials are believed to contain harmful phenols (aromatic hydrocarbons) and oils. Bedding materials made from hardwoods (such as aspen), paper products, and corn cobs are alternatives. Guinea pigs tend to be messy; they often jump into their food bowls or kick bedding and feces into them, and their urine sometimes crystallizes on cage surfaces, making it difficult to remove. After its cage has been cleaned, a guinea pig typically urinates and drags its lower body across the floor of the cage to mark its territory. Male guinea pigs may mark their territory in this way when they are put back into their cages after being taken out. Guinea pigs thrive in groups of two or more; groups of sows, or groups of one or more sows and a neutered boar are common combinations, but boars can sometimes live together. Guinea pigs learn to recognize and bond with other individual guinea pigs, and tests show that a boar's neuroendocrine stress response to a strange environment is significantly lowered in the presence of a bonded female, but not with unfamiliar females. Groups of boars may also get along, provided their cage has enough space, they are introduced at an early age, and no females are present. In Switzerland, where owning a single guinea pig is considered harmful to its well being, keeping a guinea pig without a companion is illegal. There is a service to rent guinea pigs, to temporarily replace a dead cage mate. Sweden has similar laws against keeping a guinea pig by itself.

The scientific name of the common species is Cavia porcellus, with [[wikt:porcellus being Latin for "little pig". Cavia is Neo Latin; it is derived from cabiai, the animal's name in the language of the Galibi tribes once native to French Guiana. Cabiai may be an adaptation of the Portuguese çavia (now savia), which is itself derived from the Tupi word saujá, meaning rat.

The origin of "guinea" in "guinea pig" is hard to explain. One proposed explanation is that the animals were brought to Europe by way of Guinea, leading people to think they had originated there. "Guinea" was also frequently used in English to refer generally to any far off, unknown country, so the name may simply be a colorful reference to the animal's exotic origins. Another hypothesis suggests the "guinea" in the name is a corruption of "Guiana", an area in South America. Others believe "guinea" may be an alteration of the word coney (rabbit); guinea pigs were referred to as "pig coneys" in Edward Topsell's 1607 treatise on quadrupeds. How the animals came to be called "pigs" is not clear. They are built somewhat like pigs, with large heads relative to their bodies, stout necks, and rounded rumps with no tail of any consequence; some of the sounds they emit are very similar to those made by pigs, and they spend a large amount of time eating. They can survive for long periods in small quarters, like a "pig pen", and were easily transported by ship to Europe.

Guinea pigs are called quwi or jaca in Quechua and cuy or cuyo (plural cuyes, cuyos) in the Spanish of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The animal's name alludes to pigs in many European languages. The German word for them is Meerschweinchen, literally "little sea pig", in Polish they are called świnka morska, in Hungarian as tengerimalac, and in Lang ru. This derives from the Middle High German name merswin. This originally meant "dolphin" and was used because of the animals' grunting sounds (which were thought to be similar). Many other, possibly less scientifically based, explanations of the German name exist. For example, sailing ships stopping to reprovision in the New World would pick up stores of guinea pigs, which provided an easily transportable source of fresh meat. The French term is cochon d'Inde (Indian pig), or cobaye; the Dutch called it Guinees biggetje (Guinean piglet), or cavia (in some Dutch dialects it is called Spaanse rat); and in Portuguese, the guinea pig is variously referred to as cobaia, from the Tupi word via its Latinization, or as porquinho da Índia (little Indian pig). This association with pigs is not universal among European terms; for example, the common word in Spanish is conejillo de Indias (little rabbit of the Indies).

The guinea pig's natural diet is grass; their molars are particularly suited for grinding plant matter and grow continuously throughout their life. Most mammals that graze are large and have a long digestive tract. Guinea pigs have much longer colons than most rodents. Easily digestible food is processed in the gastrointestinal tract and expelled as regular feces. But in order to get nutrients out of hard to digest fiber, guinea pigs ferment fiber in the cecum (in the GI tract) and then expel the contents as cecotropes, which are reingested (cecotrophy). The cecotropes are then absorbed in the small intestine to utilize the nutrients. The cecotropes are eaten directly from the anus, unless the guinea pig is pregnant or obese. They share this behavior with lagomorphs (rabbits, hares, pikas) and some other animals. In geriatric boars or sows (rarely in young ones), the muscles which allow the cecotropes to be expelled from the anus can become weak. This creates a condition known as fecal impaction, which prevents the animal from redigesting cecotropes even though harder pellets may pass through the impacted mass. The condition may be temporarily alleviated by a human carefully removing the impacted feces from the anus. Guinea pigs benefit from a diet of fresh grass hay, such as timothy hay, in addition to food pellets which are often based on timothy hay. Alfalfa hay is also a popular food choice and most guinea pigs will eat large amounts of alfalfa when offered it, though some controversy exists over offering alfalfa to adult guinea pigs. Some pet owners and veterinary organizations have advised that, as a legume rather than a grass hay, alfalfa consumed in large amounts may lead to obesity, as well as bladder stones from the excess calcium in all animals except for pregnant and very young guinea pigs. However, published scientific sources mention alfalfa as a food source that can replenish protein, amino acids, and fiber. Like humans, but unlike most other mammals, guinea pigs cannot synthesize their own vitamin C and must obtain this vital nutrient from food. If guinea pigs do not ingest enough vitamin C, they can suffer from potentially fatal scurvy. Guinea pigs require about 10 mg of vitamin C daily (20 mg if pregnant), which can be obtained through fresh, raw fruits and vegetables (such as broccoli, apple, cabbage, carrot, celery, and spinach) or through dietary supplements or by eating fresh pellets designed for guinea pigs, if they have been handled properly. Healthy diets for guinea pigs require a complex balance of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and hydrogen ions; but adequate amounts of vitamins A, D, and E are also necessary. Poor diets for guinea pigs have been associated with muscular dystrophy, metastatic calcification, difficulties with pregnancy, vitamin deficiencies, and teeth problems. Guinea pigs tend to be fickle eaters when it comes to fresh fruits and vegetables after having learned early in life what is and is not appropriate to consume, and their eating habits may be difficult to change after maturity. They do not respond well to sudden changes in their diet and they may stop eating and starve rather than accept new food types. A number of plants are poisonous to guinea pigs, including bracken, bryony, buttercup, charlock, deadly nightshade, foxglove, hellebore, hemlock, lily of the valley, mayweed, monkshood, privet, ragwort, rhubarb, speedwell, toadflax (both Linaria vulgaris and Linaria dalmatica), and wild celery. Additionally, any plant which grows from a bulb (e. g., tulip or onion) is normally considered poisonous, as well as ivy and oak tree leaves.

Males (boars) reach sexual maturity in 3–5 weeks. Similarly, females (sows) can be fertile as early as 4 weeks old, and can carry litters before they are fully grown adults. A sow is able to breed year round (with spring being the peak). A sow can have as many as five litters in a year, but six is theoretically possible. The guinea pig mother only has two nipples, but she can readily raise the more average sized litters of 2 to 4 pups. In smaller litters, difficulties may occur during labour due to oversized pups. Large litters result in higher incidences of stillbirth, but because the pups are delivered at an advanced stage of development, lack of access to the mother's milk has little effect on the mortality rate of newborns. Cohabitating females assist in mothering duties if lactating; guinea pigs practice alloparental care, in which a sow may adopt the pups of another. This might take place if the original parents die or are for some reason separated from them. This behavior is common and is seen in many other animal species such as the elephant. Toxemia of pregnancy (hypertension) is a common problem and kills many pregnant females. Signs of toxemia include: anorexia (loss of appetite), lack of energy, excessive salivation, a sweet or fruity breath odor due to ketones, and seizures in advanced cases. Pregnancy toxemia appears to be most common in hot climates. Other serious complications during pregnancy can include a prolapsed uterus, hypocalcaemia, and mastitis. Females that do not give birth may develop an irreversible fusing or calcified cartilage of the pubic symphysis, a joint in the pelvis, which may occur after six months of age.

If handled correctly early in life, guinea pigs become amenable to being picked up and carried, and seldom bite or scratch.

Cavy clubs and associations dedicated to the showing and breeding of guinea pigs have been established worldwide. The American Cavy Breeders Association, an adjunct to the American Rabbit Breeders' Association, is the governing body in the United States and Canada. The British Cavy Council governs cavy clubs in the United Kingdom. Similar organizations exist in Australia (Australian National Cavy Council) and New Zealand (New Zealand Cavy Council). Each club publishes its own standard of perfection and determines which breeds are eligible for showing.

Allergic symptoms, including rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and asthma, have been documented in laboratory animal workers who come into contact with guinea pigs. Allergic reactions following direct exposure to guinea pigs in domestic settings have also been reported. Allergy shots can successfully treat an allergy to guinea pigs, although treatment can take up to 18 months.

As a result of their widespread popularity, especially in households with children, guinea pigs have shown a presence in culture and media. Some noted appearances of the animal in literature include the short story "Pigs Is Pigs" by Ellis Parker Butler, which is a tale of bureaucratic incompetence. Two guinea pigs held at a railway station breed unchecked while humans argue as to whether they are "pigs" or "pets" for the purpose of determining freight charges. Butler's story, in turn, inspired the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles", written by David Gerrold.

The Fairy Caravan, a novel by Beatrix Potter, and Michael Bond's Olga da Polga series for children, both feature guinea pigs as the protagonist. Another appearance is in The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis: in the first (chronologically) of his The Chronicles of Narnia series, a guinea pig is the first creature to travel to the Wood between the Worlds. In Ursula Dubosarsky's Maisie and the Pinny Gig, a little girl has a recurrent dream about a giant guinea pig, while guinea pigs feature significantly in several of Dubosarsky's other books, including the young adult novel The White Guinea Pig and The Game of the Goose.

Guinea pigs have also been featured in film and television. In the TV movie Shredderman Rules, the main character and the main character's crush both have guinea pigs which play a minor part in the plot. A guinea pig named Rodney, voiced by Chris Rock, was a prominent character in the 1998 film Dr. Dolittle, and Linny the Guinea pig is a co star on Nick Jr.'s Wonder Pets. Guinea pigs were used in some major advertising campaigns in the 1990s and 2000s, notably for Egg Banking plc, Snapple, and Blockbuster Video. In the South Park season 12 episode "Pandemic 2: The Startling", giant guinea pigs dressed in costumes rampage over the Earth. The 2009 Walt Disney Pictures movie G Force features a group of highly intelligent guinea pigs trained as operatives of the U. S. government.

Guinea pigs (called cuy, cuye, or curí) were originally domesticated for their meat in the Andes. Traditionally, the animal was reserved for ceremonial meals and as a delicacy by indigenous people in the Andean highlands, but since the 1960s, it has become more socially acceptable for consumption by all people. It continues to be a major part of the diet in Peru and Bolivia, particularly in the Andes Mountains highlands; it is also eaten in some areas of Ecuador (mainly in the Sierra) and in Colombia, mostly in the southwestern part of the country (Cauca and Nariño departments). Because guinea pigs require much less room than traditional livestock and reproduce extremely quickly, they are a more profitable source of food and income than many traditional stock animals, such as pigs and cattle; moreover, they can be raised in an urban environment. Both rural and urban families raise guinea pigs for supplementary income, and the animals are commonly bought and sold at local markets and large scale municipal fairs. Guinea pig meat is high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol, and is described as being similar to rabbit and the dark meat of chicken. The animal may be served fried (chactado or frito), broiled (asado), or roasted (al horno), and in urban restaurants may also be served in a casserole or a fricassee. Ecuadorians commonly consume sopa or locro de cuy, a soup dish. There are also guinea pig festivals held in Huancayo, Cusco, Lima, and Huacho, featuring costumes and guinea pig dishes. Most guinea pig celebrations take place on the National Guinea Pig Day (Día Nacional del Cuy) across Peru on the second Friday of October.

Peruvian research universities, especially La Molina National Agrarian University, began experimental programs in the 1960s with the intention of breeding larger sized guinea pigs. Subsequent university efforts have sought to change breeding and husbandry procedures in South America, to make the raising of guinea pigs as livestock more economically sustainable. The variety of guinea pig produced by La Molina is fast growing and can weigh All the large breeds of guinea pig are known as cuy mejorados and the pet breeds are known as cuy criollos. The three original lines out of Peru were the Perú (weighing by 2 weeks), the Andina, and the Inti.

Andean immigrants in New York City raise and sell guinea pigs for meat, and some South American restaurants in major cities in the United States serve cuy as a delicacy. In Cameroon, they are widely distributed. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they can be found both in peri urban environments as well as in rural regions, for example, in South Kivu. They are also frequently held in rural households in Iringa Region of southwestern Tanzania.

The use of guinea pigs in scientific experimentation dates back at least to the 17th century, when the Italian biologists Marcello Malpighi and Carlo Fracassati conducted vivisections of guinea pigs in their examinations of anatomic structures. In 1780, Antoine Lavoisier used a guinea pig in his experiments with the calorimeter, a device used to measure heat production. Guinea pigs played a major role in the establishment of germ theory in the late 19th century, through the experiments of Louis Pasteur, Émile Roux, and Robert Koch. Guinea pigs have been launched into orbital space flight several times, first by the USSR on the Sputnik 9 biosatellite of March 9, 1961 – with a successful recovery. China also launched and recovered a biosatellite in 1990 which included guinea pigs as passengers. Guinea pigs remained popular laboratory animals until the later 20th century: about 2.5 million guinea pigs were used annually in the U. S. for research in the 1960s, but that total decreased to about 375,000 by the mid 1990s. Less common uses included research in pharmacology and irradiation. The guinea pig was most extensively used in research and diagnosis of infectious diseases. Complement, an important component for serology, was first isolated from the blood of the guinea pig. and are a suitable species for the generation of anti insulin antibodies. Present at a level 10 times that found in other mammals, the insulin in guinea pigs may be important in growth regulation, a role usually played by growth hormone. Additionally, guinea pigs have been identified as model organisms for the study of juvenile diabetes and, because of the frequency of pregnancy toxemia, of pre eclampsia in human females. Guinea pig strains used in scientific research are primarily outbred strains. Aside from the common American or English stock, the two main outbred strains in laboratory use are the Hartley and Dunkin Hartley; these English strains are albino, although pigmented strains are also available. Inbred strains are less common and are usually used for very specific research, such as immune system molecular biology. Of the inbred strains that have been created, the two still used with any frequency are, following Sewall Wright's designations, "Strain 2" and "Strain 13". An immunocompetent hairless breed was also identified by the Institute Armand Frappier in 1978, and Charles River Laboratories has reproduced this breed for research since 1982. Cavy fanciers then began acquiring hairless breeds, and the pet hairless varieties are referred to as "skinny pigs".

In English, the term "guinea pig" is commonly used as a metaphor for a subject of scientific experimentation, or in modern times a subject of any experiment or test. This usage dates back to the early 20th century: the earliest examples cited by the Oxford English Dictionary date from 1913 and 1920. In 1933, Consumers Research founders F. J. Schlink and Arthur Kallet wrote a book entitled 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs, extending the metaphor to consumer society. The book became a national bestseller in the United States, thus further popularizing the term, and spurred the growth of the consumer protection movement. During World War II, the Guinea Pig Club was established at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, Sussex, England, as a social club and mutual support network for the patients of plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe, who were undergoing previously untested reconstruction procedures. The negative connotation of the term was later employed in the novel The Guinea Pigs (1970) by Czech author Ludvík Vaculík as an allegory for Soviet totalitarianism.