These insular guinea pigs have a much slower maturation rate than other cavies. It feeds on small mammals such as cavies, ground-dwelling birds, small lizards, and snakes. Microcavia (mountain cavies) is a genus of rodents in the family Caviidae. Cavies of various breeds have several colourations and patterns. Cavies have incisors that continuously grow and are naturally filed down by grazing habits. For short-coated cavies, most colours constitute breed variations bred and shown separately from other colours. There are also efforts to breed rock cavies in captivity as a potential food source. Otter and fox cavies have yellow and white ticking, respectively. Both male and female rock cavies care for their young. Adult cavies have a mass greater than 500g. The mite species were located on the ears of the observed cavies. In Makete District, cavies are largely fed with bamboo leaves.