Fur Or Hair?

[twiams]

I was on facebook this morning and a local rescue put a status saying

"Can i just remind people that guinea pigs have hair and not fur so will need lots of hay in their beds to keep warm this winter.”

I understand the hay bit but, i thought hair was fur, is there a difference? Do guinea pigs have hair rather than fur? I’ve always just called it fur. I don’t know if i’m just being a bit stupid here haha.

 

[Briony_S]

Hmm I'm not sure I thought it was same thing?

 

[twiams]

I tried googling it but just seemed to get loads of different answers... may have to pester my tutors for an answer when i go back to college on Monday haha.

 

[piggyfan]

I though hair was finer. Rabbits have fur and it feels very different.

 

[Wiebke]

Guinea pigs have officially got hair and not fur.

 

[twiams]

Well you learn something new every day i suppose!

 

[Cucumber Club]

Fur has three distinct layers, with a fluffy, highly-insulating under layer, the main layer, and a longer over layer in places, that acts a bit like whiskers and helps the animal feel their way around (they tend to have these longer hairs on their legs, shoulders etc.)

 

[Jess]

A very valuable piece of information if you ask me!

 

[Hermes]

Fur and hair are exactly the same thing, it's purely a matter of semantics as to whether you call it hair or fur. However, there are various growth patterns of hair/fur and different types of hair/fur within the individual and between individuals. The thing about guinea pigs is that they only have a single layer of hair/fur and not a fluffy 'down' undercoat so their hair/fur is a comparatively poor insulator compared to other animals e.g. rabbit hair/fur.