Any advice fo cutting seriously matted hair ?

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Rae1508

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Hi

I have recently taken in a 6year old Peruvian piggie (she belonged to my mum, so please don't make too many nasty comments !)

She is very much loved, and well cared for, but definitely needs some pampering!

Sadly she went blind about a year ago, and lost her cagemate about the same time. I think the combination of these things, and her age, has made her very nervous. She is still happy-ish to be held, but gets very very upset when you try brushing her, trimming her hair, bathing her, etc - so my mum stopped doing this as she didn't want to cause her any stress (I can understand why).

You can imagine the state of her back end - and her hair everywhere else is so long it must be really annoying for her - so i am going to have a good go at sorting it out.

I just wondered if anyone has any tips on how to remove the mass of hair at the back?

I always cut my own piggies with a comb and scissors – but mine have never got this bad. I want to try to cause as little stress as possible – so will probably do a little bit each evening until it’s sorted. I have considered getting a vet to do it – but i think it would be very stressful for her.

To be honest - i don't care what it looks like - i just want it to feel better for her.

Any thoughts ?

Thanks
Rach
 
is there any way you can post a pic? It might help people figure out the best way to attack it. :)
 
I haven't worked out how to put photo's on here yet - i will get husband to try tomorrow.

Put it this way - if i didn't know how much my mum loved her, i would be disgusted. It's about as bad as it can get. The ball of matted hair on her back/bottom is probably at least an inch thick. Luckily (amazingly) she has no sign of mites or any skin problems - and the mass is just hair, it doesn't have poo or nasty stuff in with it from what i can see.

I don't know whether to try and cut in beween the ball of hair and the skin - or whether to trim from the outside of the ball of hair until it gets smaller.

Thanks for replying - i will try and get photo's tomorrow
 
I think i'd do it from the outside a bit at a time unless you can physically hold it away from her skin to get the scissors into the mat without cutting her or hurting her by pulling it :)
 
In my experience if you cut the outside of the matt it makes very hard work for the scissors and will irrriate the skin as the area between the skin an matt will move, also this will take a very long time and she will still be in discomfort. Plus the cutting of the matt will cause friction in the area it joins the skin and if she moves while you are cutting the matt it will be very painful if she pulls away and you have the matt stationary. Taking repeated attempts to cut off the matt from the outside will further stress the piggy towards handling if done over a long period of time.

When we have a rescue piggy arrive like this I give them a little rescue remedy/ (metacam instead if you have it) wrap them in a towel with their face and bottom exposed, used a pair of rounded scissors and cut away gently at the fur between skin and matt (cutting at an angle slightly away from the piggy to avoid catching skin) do so a very small bit of fur at a time and very gently while supporting the weight of the matt as I go so it does not pull on the skin further. Do so until the whole matt is removed. If only part of the matt is seperated this will pull a lot so I think it is best to take the whole lot of in one go, for a short time uncomfy for your piggy to go through but then instant relief from the matt.

There should be an area between matt and skin you can see by gently just lifting the edge of the matt.

If you have any worries about doing this I would contact your local rescue and see if they could come out and to it for you and save your girl a journey to the vets.
 
hope she gets dematted soon good luck with it, this is why i never get really long haired guinea pigs.:(
 
Make sure you talk to her gently and reassuringly all the time.

I had a blind piggy once. To keep her from freaking, I invented a special little phrase to signal I was going to pick her up and kept my fingers resting under her belly for a moment before lifting her up, so she could brace herself.

You could also try to flash her a pic of her being matted and the discomfort of it and then how happy she'll feel when it's cut off. Sounds a bit whacky, but it really works! Send her reassurance and love all the time; that keeps the panic down.
 
Thank you all very much for taking the time to reply.

I am going to do it tomorrow afternoon, so i can do it outside and i have plenty of time. She has always lived outside, so i think this will be less freaky for her than bringing her indoors. She has had a week to settle into my garden and get used to me - so i think now is the time.

Vikki - please can you tell me what 'Metacam' or rescue rememdy is? Can i get this from vets or a pet shop?

She is 6 - so i know she is an old piggie - but i still want to get her as 'up together' as possible. I have been hoping to get her for a while - as i can have her near my piggies (maybe even in with them one day) - and hopefully she can enjoy their company in her senior years

Thanks again for your advice - i will take some 'before' and 'after' photos and post them here!

Rach
 
Bach Rescue Remedy is available from most chemist/healthfood shops. Place one or two drops on the pig's tongue. Some people swear by it, others swear at it, either way it will do no harm.
Metacam is prescription only, available from the vet. Dose is 3 drops.

Stating the obvious but make sure the scissors are sharp.
The other cutting technique I use on occasions is to cut the matted hair with a scalpel blade, this is less traumatic for the pig.
Before others say it I will!
Don't try this at home unless you are confident and have a steady hand.
 
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Metacam is from the vets, but Rescue Remedy is a herbal remedy that is supposed to relax and calm, I use it on myself and the piggies (um, I have two bottles!) - a dab behind the ears.

Sophie
x
 
I actually bought hair cutting scissors from Superdrug for about £7 and they have been worth the money as they are sharp and made for the purpose.
Bachs rescue remedy is available from any chemist and is a herbal remedy to help calm.

When I cut my piggies hair, I always have my forefinger and middle fingers holding the hair between the skin and where it starts growing so there is no chance of cutting the skin, like hairdressers do when they layer. Hope that makes sense? If you could get another person to hold her whilst you concentrate on cutting, this will help a lot otherwise, put a bunch of tasty herbs/veg in front of her to distract her!

Good luck with it x
 
Get some proper hairdressing scissors - these are sharp and have a nice cut to them. You'll use them for everything in the future too, so it won't be a waste of money. It's probably going to be a two person job. My two Shelties HATE having their back ends touched, so my boyfriend will hold them while I trim them. You can also try giving her some of her favourite food whilst you're doing it, I give mine a bit of spinach for a treat as most pigs like this!
 
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