Fur Colour Changing. Normal?

[Anna Perry]

I have a female guinea pig who is around a year old. She has brown fur with some blonde patches. Some of the brown fur seems to be turning white. It was just a bit at first so I didn’t really think much of it - I thought I had just never noticed it as I haven’t had her long. However it appears to be spreading. Is this normal for a young guinea pig?
I’ve circled in the photo the parts of her fur that are changing.

 

[Wiebke]

I have a female guinea pig who is around a year old. She has brown fur with some blonde patches. Some of the brown fur seems to be turning white. It was just a bit at first so I didn’t really think much of it - I thought I had just never noticed it as I haven’t had her long. However it appears to be spreading. Is this normal for a young guinea pig?
I’ve circled in the photo the parts of her fur that are changing.

View attachment 72826

Coat colours can bleach as a piggy's hairs grow out. They are generally darkest and most intense in babies and then get paler and duller the older a piggy gets. In some piggies the coat can also darken (and dull) as they mature and they can grow more dark/black hairs. It depends on the their genes.

The paling is especially noticeable in long-haired piggies as they get paler the longer they are anyway and can bleach out quite a bit.

Nothing to worry about!

 

[Freela]

Colours can fade/change with time... my pig with a lilac face started off quite deep and ended up almost white/pale grey on the lilac patches as she aged. It's also possible for longer hairs to show some bleaching/lightening (like how hair will lighten in the sun over time.)