Blitzen's Ongoing Fur Troubles

Lorcan

Lorcan

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Somehow, overnight, Blitzen has a huge matt near his butt, again. As awful as it might sound, I'm blaming Comet. They don't smell very strongly, don't get me wrong, but there's a distinct whiff to both of them that says "hormonal meltdown".

It's going to need cutting out, there's no way around it. Trying to wash it out or brush it out would be hopeless, but remember this is Blitzen. He hates being handled, won't stay still on my lap, and will only stay put on my shoulder long enough for me to get a tiny bit out. Plus he keeps squealing his head off the minute the scissors start cutting at it. It can't be painful, because he will let me lift it up fine, it's only when I start cutting that he starts squealing and fussing and no, the scissors aren't touching him so they can't be hurting him either.

Anyone got any ideas? I live alone so I have to solo this, so I can't distract him at the same time. And he does get really agitated at being handled - he's better than he used to be but he's always hated physical contact. It's not only about not wanting to hurt him, but I don't want to distress him either, and that's exactly what happens every time otherwise. He's going to hurt himself struggling at some point if this keeps up.

But, massive fur matt needs to go.
 
nightmare. no way you can get anyone to help at all? I would suggest getting his favourite veg and letting him tuck into it then trying to snip a little but often.

You could try a bum baff with some gorgeous guineas shampoo, try and loosen the matt a little.
 
What about a small pair of clippers?
I know someone posted recently about picking up a pair of beard trimmers in somewhere like Aldi it Lidl, and they said they were fairly quite and worked quite well.
I think clippers might be easier than scissors with a wriggly pig.

And I feel your pain.
Ruby starts chattering her teeth when she sees the nail clippers - this is before they have even touched one of her precious piggy nails.
They don't make life easy do they?!
 
I'd be wary of using clippers because at least with scissors, my fingers can go between him and the blades. Then there's the noise - he's happiest to sit staring over my right shoulder, so if he freaks at clipper noise he's going to go straight over my back.

I think his biggest problem is the shoulder thing. It makes distraction much harder than if he would sit on my lap. I think you're right, @sport_billy and I'll be getting a bowl and some shampoo tomorrow. If I don't survive you'll know why, heh.

@Swissgreys Comet ran a mile when the vet felt around the scruff of his neck, and that's before the needle went anywhere near him. I think Ruby's been giving them both pointers :))
 
My Netherland dwarf bunny sounds exactly the same. He hates being picked up for nail clipping, bum cleaning etc. I simply wrap him tight in a towel and get on with it swift and steady. I've tried other ways but nothing is as effective.
 
Redribbon said:
My Netherland dwarf bunny sounds exactly the same. He hates being picked up for nail clipping, bum cleaning etc. I simply wrap him tight in a towel and get on with it swift and steady. I've tried other ways but nothing is as effective.
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There's a thought, but would that work if I needed access to his back end? Wouldn't I have to leave the back legs free?

I wish I knew how he did it. The rest of his fur is always immaculate, then there's this patch that just seems determined to attract every gross thing going.
 
Okay, I've ordered some of the Posh 'n Go from Gorgeous Guineas and a washing up bowl for him to have a bath in...because after 3 years of being in England, I still don't have a washing up bowl. Is there anything else I should know before stuff arrives? I've never had a pig that needed bathed before and he is so flippin' awkward when he wants to be. It's going to be a learning curve all round!
 
You should perhaps buy some band aids (or bandages or whatever you call them over there) as I don't see you coming out of this unscathed lol.
 
I gave my 3 a bath yesterday. Thankfully they are pretty good.

What I do is fill a washing up bowl with enough water so it just reaches their bellies. I then bathe them in the bath so that if they do jump out, they land in the bath so do not fall far. Be very carful about bathing them in the sink. I'm terrified about them jumping out and falling on the floor.

When I bathe mine, they kind of stand on their back legs and rest their front legs on my wrist / arm.

It may be an idea to bathe Comet too so that they smell the same x
 
I use two bowls so that I've got some clean water for rinsing ready and waiting. I put my bowls on the kitchen floor in case of escapees. Would definately bath them both. The main thing is to have everything ready before you start, I learnt the hard way, dripping piggy and no towel. :doh:
 
piggieminder said:
I use two bowls so that I've got some clean water for rinsing ready and waiting. I put my bowls on the kitchen floor in case of escapees. Would definately bath them both. The main thing is to have everything ready before you start, I learnt the hard way, dripping piggy and no towel. :doh:
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I've actually ordered a couple of hand towels specifically for them as well, saves me needing to use mine. Plus I use fabric softener on mine, this way I don't have to stop! I was thinking of either putting the bowl in the bath or putting it on the bathroom floor, I smoke in my kitchen (and only in my kitchen) so I'm not really happy with bringing them in there even if the smoke has cleared out. Plus there's less places for them to disappear in the bathroom if they get any ideas.
 
I have two long haired sows that I have similar problems with! They don't mind being handled but as soon as the scissors come out! Well! They don't shut up you would think I was torturing them! It must be the sound or something that they don't like because I have two Swiss that I trim aswell and they sit there good as gold! But due to the heat I bit the bullet and with great difficulty trimmed them nice and short so the haircut will last abit longer. As long as he doesn't bite you I would say brave it and get it done. He might get abit stressed but it will be worth it in the long run! My two sows are much happier now!
 
JennaAnysse said:
I have two long haired sows that I have similar problems with! They don't mind being handled but as soon as the scissors come out! Well! They don't shut up you would think I was torturing them! It must be the sound or something that they don't like because I have two Swiss that I trim aswell and they sit there good as gold! But due to the heat I bit the bullet and with great difficulty trimmed them nice and short so the haircut will last abit longer. As long as he doesn't bite you I would say brave it and get it done. He might get abit stressed but it will be worth it in the long run! My two sows are much happier now!
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Oh, he bites. He has no problem with biting you if he thinks it'll get you to stop, heh. I used to try feeding him veggies first as a distraction, and he'd respond by picking them up in his teeth and throwing them back at me. Stubborn jerk, lol. Wouldn't have him any other way, tbh.
 
I have found that cutting the back hairs of my karate perus is easier on the kitchen when they are out of their comfort zone. Mum and auntie arrived in rescue totally matted in a very mucky rat cage; de-matting has been such a traumatic experienced that it has taken years to get over my needing to touch their bums for a short hair cut.

Sometimes it can also help if somebody else hold your piggy and keeps it distracted with treats and cuddles at the front end. ;)
 
And my tip would be to put an old face cloth or small cleaning cloth on the floor of the bowl.
This is a less slippy surface for them and makes them less likely to panic and scrabble about.

Honestly I was terrified the first time I had to bath Ruby, but with shallow, warm water, and a face cloth to stand on she almost seemed to enjoy it (well she didn't bite me anyway).
 
Make sure the scissors are sharp, if you need to use them after the bath, as dull blades pull at the hair which is uncomfortable.

Good luck!
 
Lorcan said:
Oh, he bites. He has no problem with biting you if he thinks it'll get you to stop, heh. I used to try feeding him veggies first as a distraction, and he'd respond by picking them up in his teeth and throwing them back at me. Stubborn jerk, lol. Wouldn't have him any other way, tbh.
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Oh, biting definitely makes it a harder battle! I would suggest the best thing is to everyday go slowly and just try to get it off little by little. Have you tried putting a tea towel over his head whilst you get his back end?
 
JennaAnysse said:
Oh, biting definitely makes it a harder battle! I would suggest the best thing is to everyday go slowly and just try to get it off little by little. Have you tried putting a tea towel over his head whilst you get his back end?
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Yup, then I struggle with the tea towel because if I put it too far forward, it falls off his head, put it too far back and I can't see where I'm trying to trim properly.
 
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