On a Sunday morning in the Pontville Hall north of Hobart, excited children, and equally excited adults, present their guineas pigs on small squares of carpet to be judged.

The Hobart Cavy Club (HCC) holds regular shows for pet and pedigree guinea pigs, with ribbons and prizes including things such as celery bunches to be handed out.

Ten-year-old Bridie got interested in guinea pigs when she went with a friend to check out the Christmas guinea pig show.

Bridie got hooked on guinea pigs after seeing a show by the Hobart Cavy Club with a friend. ( ABC Radio Hobart: Carol Rääbus )

A little over a year later, the family has 27 piggies and Bridie is about to show her first pedigree cavy.

"If they're mixed breeds you can only show them in pets, and if they're pedigree you have to show them in the serious part of showing," she said.

"After our pet shows I saw the pretty pedigrees that were shown and I just really wanted to [do it]."

The first section of the show is fancy dress, which might be more fun for the owners than the piggies themselves. ( ABC Radio Hobart: Carol Rääbus )

Her first pedigree was a satin dark-eyed cream called Champagne.

"When you're taking them to shows you have to wash them, clip their nails, get their guard hairs out and you have to clean their cage every two days or something, especially if you have 27," Bridie said.

"I have all of my guinea pigs in my cubby house and they get fed carrots, corn, lettuce ... they are pretty spoilt because we grate their carrots for them."

The pet section of the show encourages good grooming and good care for the guinea pigs. ( ABC Radio Hobart: Carol Rääbus )

The pet section of the show teaches children how to look after their guinea pigs well, with categories including heaviest pig, cutest couple, fancy dress and best pet condition.

Emily Vince joined the HCC 30 years ago at the club's first anniversary show after her sister got a pet guinea pig.

She is now an accredited judge and until recently was breeding pedigree cavies.

Emily Vince is taking a break from owning guinea pigs but will get back into it when her young children are older. ( ABC Radio Hobart: Carol Rääbus )

"I started with pets and continued on to the pedigree side," she said.

"It is competitive, [but] it is fun though.

"We have a lot of good banter between the members and it's always fun to see who's going to win at the end of the day with what breed.

"Everyone cheers everyone else on and helps each other out with grooming and presentation."

Details of how to join the HCC and their next show can be found of the Hobart Cavy Club website.