Bathing advice

[Jojoba]

I would like to give my pigs a bath at some point soon, but dont know how to go about it.

My older pig is around 10 months, and the younger 3 months. Neither have ever been bathed to my knowledge.

My older pig seems to often be a little mucky around his bottom - younger pig never is but older one seems to get a build up of whitish/yellow gunk (what is this?) which I usually wipe off with a cotton bud. However I think regular baths might be more soothing and cleansing for him as I never manage to get it all and a soak might work better.

Older pig has quite large man bits, unlike younger pig (who presumably is just not mature yet) and they do tend to get a bit yucky despite my best efforts. He also ALWAYS gets stuff stuck up there - bits of carefresh, hay, bits of food ?/, sometimes even up the eurethra! What on earth is he doing and how can I help (aside from lovingly pulling them out whenever it happens and giving him a cuddle and a bit of veg for the trauma)!?


So,

How regularly should you bath pigs?
What is the best way to go about it?
What should/ shouldnt you use?
Any tips for keeping his bits cleaner?


Thanks in advance


Jo

x

 

[Archie]

I to am looking for advice on this so look forward to hearing back from anybody on bathing tips

 

[Wiebke]

It depends on whether you have a longhaired or smooth guinea pig. Some boys have a very active grease gland on their bum. One way of getting it off is using fairy liquid for cleaning it off and then rinsing afterwards. Some boar owners do "bum baths" regularly.
Some of the muck in his privates is a "boar glue" (dried semen). Digging things out from the penis is one of the less palatable tasks of owning a boar, and some are worse than others. Being an active scent marker doesn't help!

While a few guinea pigs actually like it, most piggies are less than impressed with a bath, and some can jump VERY high to escape! So be prepared!
There is no "right" way of giving a bath - it's more about finding out what works for you and the pigs. Make sure that the water is never more than hand warm! Give both boys a bath at the same time, or at least dry them off together - it's less stressful for them and they bond even more over licking each other dry afterwards.
Some piggies don't mind being blow dried; mine freak and I let them dry off indoors away from any hay and dust. Always use the same shampoo for the whole group - the "tribe smell" is very important for piggies!

I hope that helps you!

 

[happypiggy]

hi there,


this is what other people have told me, fill nice warm water in the bowl or what ever you are bathing them in, it is different for all piggies when it comes to how regular you have to bath them and i got this link from someone on the guinea pig forum about the shampoo http://www.gorgeousguineas.com/

i don't know much as mine is too young yet so hope this helps

i'm sure some other people will help aswell x

 

[Jojoba]

I have ordered a couple of trial bottles from gorgeous guineas, thanks!

x

 

[happypiggy]

happy to help

 

[alcesterpigs]

Tribe smell?
A guinea pig's scent will not be covered by the smell of shampoo. Their sense of smell is highly developed. Have you ever seen a pig on a carpet whch has been vacuumed clean? They can follow the trail of aonther pig that had been there some days previously.

 

[YLC]

Hi everyone,
I bathe my guinea pigs about once a month, or when their bums get dirty, whichever happens sooner. This is what I do:
1) Preparation - Fill a tub (like what people use to wash real babies) with warm water. Have a smaller bucket full of soap. I usually have 2-3 squirts of soap inside, diluted with plain water (I actually use Johnson's baby shampoo, but I think pet shop shampoo should do too) and another full of clean warm water. Put a dry towel by the side.
2) Washing - Take the piggy and wet him/her with the small bucket of water. add the shampoo bit by bit, massaging the piggy. Take special care to wash the back, as this usually is the dirtiest. I also spend some time on their feet and toes, cos they often step in the poo. Also, if I'm going to trim the toe nails later, I'd rather they didn't have poo in them.
3) Rinsing - Once you feel your piggy is clean enough, I rinse him/ her with the small bucket of water, to get off the main suds. Then I pop him/ her into the big tub, to make sure all the rest of the soap is gone.
4) Drying - Once all the soap is rinsed, I pick out the piggy and wrap it in the towel, and dry. I live in Singapore, where it is warm, so I just leave them to air dry after that. But for those that are in cold countries, you may want to consider blow drying, if the piggy will allow it.

Important - Don't fill the big tub too high, or the piggy's head will go under. I usually it only about 5cm deep with water.
I also don't wash my piggies' heads, cos they don't like it and will struggle.

The first time I washed them, there was quite a bit of struggling. But now, they actually like it. Probably because all the massaging feels nice.

Good luck!