Cavia porcellusGuinea PigsSmall

Baldwin Guinea Pig

gentlesocialcuriouswarm-seekingfriendly

Loading your match...

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Origin

United States

Lifespan

4–6 years

Weight

700–1,200 g

Height

20–30 cm

Diet

Herbivore — unlimited hay, fresh greens, pellets, daily vitamin C. Slightly higher caloric requirement than coated guinea pigs.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Caviidae

Genus

Cavia

The Story

The Baldwin Guinea Pig is the truly and completely hairless guinea pig breed — unlike the Skinny Pig which retains hair on the face and feet, the Baldwin is born with a full coat of hair that falls out progressively over the first two months of life, leaving a completely hairless adult. The Baldwin originates from a spontaneous recessive hairless mutation discovered in a White Crested guinea pig line in California in the 1980s by Carol Miller. The Baldwin and Skinny Pig represent two genetically distinct hairless mutations — their hairlessness is caused by different genes and they are incompatible for producing hairless offspring when bred together.

Also Known As

True Hairless Guinea PigBorn-Bald Guinea Pig

Quick Facts

BreedBaldwin

Breed GroupHAIRLESS

SizeSmall

ActivityModerate

TrainabilityLow

CountryUnited States

Lifespan4 - 6 years

Good with KidsGood with PetsHypoallergenic

Take Lifestyle Quiz

Discover which pets match your lifestyle

Physical Profile

Source: wikimedia

Baldwin guinea pigs are born with a full coat of hair that begins shedding within the first week of life. By 2 months of age, the coat is completely gone and the adult Baldwin is entirely hairless — completely smooth and bare from nose to tail, including the face and feet (unlike the Skinny Pig which retains facial and foot hair). The skin is smooth, soft, and warm. Skin colour and pattern varies widely.

Grooming

Moderate

Shedding

None

Coat Colors

any skin colour or pattern — pink, chocolate, grey, spotted. No hair at any age.

Recognized By

Some cavy societies — not universally recognised

Image Available

Source: wikimedia

Temperament & Personality

Same gentle, social, vocal temperament as all guinea pigs. Like Skinny Pigs, they seek warmth actively and will press themselves against warm companions or owners. Slightly more active than some other breeds.

gentlesocialcuriouswarm-seekingfriendlyactive

Living Profile

Activity LevelModerate

TrainabilityLow

Noise LevelModerate

Care & Wellness

Professional Care Protocol

Ear Cleaning

Nail Trimming

Special Eye Care

Teeth Care

•Same as Skinny Pig — minimum temperature 20°C essential; moisturise skin in dry conditions; sun protection from direct prolonged sunlight; higher caloric intake; pairs essential for warmth and social reasons. The complete absence of hair means the Baldwin is even more sensitive to cold and environmental changes than the Skinny Pig.

Vaccination Schedule

AdultboosterN/A

SpeciesnotesGuinea pigs require an exotic/small animal vet familiar with cavy medicine. Annual wellness exams recommended. Key monitoring: dental occlusion (open-rooted teeth grow continuously), urinary calcium sludge, vitamin C supplementation (guinea pigs cannot synthesise their own), respiratory health. No standard vaccines administered in most countries.

PuppykittenscheduleN/A — guinea pigs have no routine vaccine schedule.

Health Overview

Same as Skinny Pig but with more extensive bare skin — skin infections and dermatitis affect the full body surface rather than just the body trunk. Thymus gland hypoplasia (immune deficiency) has been documented in some Baldwin lines, making them more susceptible to infection. Cold tolerance is lower than Skinny Pigs due to complete hairlessness.

Common Conditions

•Name: Skin Infections / Dermatitis • Severity: MEDIUM • Prevalence: COMMON • Description: Completely bare skin is more susceptible than the Skinny Pig to infections across the full body surface. Daily skin inspection, gentle cleaning of all skin surfaces, and moisturising in dry conditions.

•Name: Cold Intolerance • Severity: HIGH • Prevalence: COMMON • Description: Complete hairlessness provides no insulation. Minimum ambient temperature 20°C essential — even lower than recommended for Skinny Pigs in practice. Hypothermia risk is higher than in the Skinny Pig.

•Name: Immune Deficiency (Thymic Hypoplasia) • Severity: HIGH • Prevalence: OCCASIONAL • Description: Some Baldwin lines have documented thymus gland underdevelopment leading to reduced immune function. Affected individuals are more susceptible to infections and may have shorter lifespans. Breeding lines should be screened.

•Name: Vitamin C Deficiency • Severity: HIGH • Prevalence: COMMON • Description: Daily vitamin C essential — same as all guinea pigs.

Fun Facts

The Baldwin Guinea Pig is born with a full coat of hair — the gradual hair loss over the first 2 months of life is a characteristic unique to this breed. Owners describe watching their Baldwin's coat gradually disappear as one of the most distinctive aspects of raising this breed.

The Baldwin and Skinny Pig hairlessness genes are non-allelic — they are caused by mutations at completely different genetic locations. When a Baldwin is crossed with a Skinny Pig, all offspring are fully coated (having one copy of each hairless gene but neither in the two copies needed for either hairless trait).

Carol Miller, the discoverer of the Baldwin mutation, noticed that the hairless offspring of her White Crested guinea pigs were not simply a variant of the Skinny Pig already known in laboratories — they were born with hair and lost it, a fundamentally different developmental pathway.

Also Known As

True Hairless Guinea PigBorn-Bald Guinea Pig

Related Tags

#guinea-pig#hairless#truly-hairless#born-with-hair#non-shedding#temperature-sensitive#american-origin#unusual#rare

More Guinea Pigs

View All

Abyssinian Guinea Pig

South America — breed type developed in Europe

Alpaca Guinea Pig

Developed in USA — cross between Peruvian and Texel guinea pigs

American Guinea Pig

Andes Mountains, South America — domesticated 3,000+ years ago

Coronet Guinea Pig

Developed in UK — cross between Silkie and Crested guinea pigs

Back to All Guinea Pigs