What Color Is My Guinea Pig? A Guide to Coat Colors and Patterns

Guinea pigs come in a wide range of colors and patterns, from the popular self (or single-colored) guinea pigs to the rarer Dalmatian, fox, and magpie patterns.

Guinea pig colors include beige, black, buff, chocolate, cream, gold, lilac, red, saffron, slate, and white. Many guinea pigs are a mix of two to three of these colors.

In this article, I’ve taken a look at various breed standards and compiled a list of guinea pig colors, followed by patterns you might see and colors they might come in.

While I mention show standards here, don’t worry if your guinea pig doesn’t meet them. Every piggy is perfect no matter how they look!

Guinea Pig Colors

All guinea pigs have between one and three different coat colors. They may be a combination of any of the following:

• Beige
• Black
• Buff
• Chocolate
• Cream
• Gold
• Lilac
• Red
• Saffron
• Slate/Silver
• White

Guinea Pig Coat Patterns

Self

Self guinea pigs are one solid color without ticking or brindling. They can be any of the colors listed above.

Pure white, cream, or gold guinea pigs may be either dark-eyed or red-eyed.

Agouti

These piggies have ticked coats that are caused by alternating, single-colored strands of fur. According to the British Cavy Council breed standard, Agouti guinea pigs may be any of the following colors:

• Golden – Black with gold ticking
• Silver – Black with silver ticking
• Lemon – Black with buff ticking
• Chocolate – Brown with red ticking
• Cream – Brown with cream ticking
• Cinnamon – Brown with silver ticking

Typically, an Agouti guinea pig’s underbelly is the color of their ticked fur. So, a golden Agouti will have a gold-colored stomach.

Argente

These guinea pigs have ticked coats due to bi-colored strands of hair. Most Argentes have red eyes as well.

They can be bred in the following colors:

• Lilac and white
• Beige and gold
• Lilac and gold
• Cream and beige
• Beige and white

Bicolor

These guinea pigs have two coat colors which don’t overlap, but instead appear in distinct patches throughout the coat. While they can have many color combinations, often they are white alongside a secondary color such as red or black.

The Dutch pattern is popular for bicolored guinea pigs. They have colored patches on their face and rear, with white fur elsewhere.

Tricolor

Tricolor guinea pigs are similar to bicolors but with three coat colors instead of two! One of the most common tricolor guinea pig color combinations are tortoiseshell and white piggies, which are red, black, and white.

Brindle

Brindle guinea pigs have patches of black and red fur with brindling where the colors come together. In guinea pig shows, more brindling is preferred, but all piggies are cute no matter what!

Dalmatian

These guinea pigs are white with black spots, like Dalmatian dogs. They have large black patches on either side of their faces with a strip of white on the nose.

It’s not recommended to breed Dalmatian guinea pigs together or with roan guinea pigs as piggies with two Dalmatian or roan genes can cause lethal white guinea pigs to be born. These babies have many health problems and tend to live short lives. Sometimes they’re even stillborn.

Fox

Fox guinea pigs have a darker base coat with lighter fur around the nose, eyes, and underside. These unique guinea pigs are quite rare, and I’ve personally never seen one in real life!

They’re bred in the following colors:

• Chocolate
• Beige
• Lilac
• Black

Himalayan

Himalayan guinea pigs have white fur and red eyes. They have dark points like a Himalayan cat, which occur on the nose, ears, and feet.

According to breed standard, preference is given to piggies with a sharp contrast between their markings, rather than colors that fade into one another.

The two Himalayan guinea pig colors are:

• Black point
• Chocolate point

Roan

These piggies have a dominant fur color with white hairs dispersed throughout the coat. They have no white on their face or feet.

Please never breed roan guinea pigs together or with Dalmatian guinea pigs, or support breeders who do. This is an unethical practice which produces lethal white guinea pigs.

Tan 

Tan guinea pigs have small tan patches around the chin, eyes, snout, ears, and stomach. Their base coat may be any of the following colors:

• Chocolate
• Black
• Lilac
• Beige

Tortoiseshell

Tortoiseshell guinea pigs have red and black patches with some overlap. Judges at guinea pig shows prefer the patches to be square and not meet at the center of the piggy’s back.

Magpie

Lastly, magpie guinea pigs are black and white with a unique checkerboard pattern. There may be overlap such as ticking or spotting in the fur as well.

I hope you’ve learned more about guinea pigs and their coat colors from this article. Please remember to never adopt a pet based on color or cuteness alone–also think about their personalities, and whether you can provide them with a good life!