Do You Have To Bathe Guinea Pigs?

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MochaMoo

MochaMoo

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Just a general question really.. Do they need to be bathed? I love my girls dearly, but it's taken them a long time to feel comfortable with me & my OH. They are all rescues and came from a home where they weren't given much attention.. For a long time, they would just hide from us! Now they will take veggies from us and even let us cuddle them :D I would love to bathe them, but I'm worried it will ruin our fragile bond :/ So far I've been using small pet wipes to freshen them up. They don't smell or feel greasy or anything. Would love to get some thoughts on this x
 
Generally no, we would usually only bath them if they were smelly, had a mites or fungal infection or such like. I have 4 piggies and I cannot remember the last time i bathed them, providing their cage is kept clean they shouldn't really need bathing.

Welcome to the forum, sounds like you and your piggies are making such good progress! x
 
Ditto what Toffee said, onlyl for boars if their grease glands get dirty they may need relatively frequent bum baths but still no need to give them a full bath other than the reasons above :-)
 
Aw, thank you both! They will be so relieved (as am I!) They don't really like the wipes so I couldn't see a bath going too well :/ Thankfully they're all girls and I've not noticed any grease gland problems. Just their nails to clip later then.. Should be interesting! I think I'm going to need some really tasty veg to say sorry later or I'm going to have 3 very grumpy pigs! Hehe x
 
Good luck with the nail clipping, after 6 years I have still never clipped a nail, mine go to the vets for that :))

If you hold them about a light you will see where to clip to.
 
I clip my boys nails. It's easier is someone can hold them while you clip
tasty veggies are a great distraction.
Fudge is easier to do because I can see the quick.
hutch no because is claws are black. So I just take the tips off...I cut his more because of that reason
 
I clip my boys nails about every 2-3 weeks. We do them first thing in the morning when they are hungry and so can be distracted by a whole baby corn each. MrS has to hold them while I clip - he loves to give me instructions but refuses to do it himself :roll:. He stands up near the window as being up a height stops Barney trying to escape (he doesn't like being cuddled as a rule). Then - the best advice I can give is DO NOT hold their foot while clipping the nails. They will start pulling away and it gets a bit stressful for all concerned. Instead, just rest the foot on your finger, if you don't try to take it too far away from their body they should hold still.
 
Thank you for the advice! I'm ok cutting rabbit nails, but I can hold their legs normally without any problems. Will try just resting their legs on my hand to see if that makes them less stressed :)

Marble should be ok, her claws are all white.. But Mocha will be very difficult! I am thinking about getting my OH to just take off the tips, would that be enough for now? They aren't awful, just a little sharp :)

They're going to have a nice, full cage clean in a few mins and the clipping will be after that.. Wish me luck! Haha x
 
It went really well! Thank you so much for the advise, no wriggly piggies :D We only took the tips off, I was so cautious because their nails are mostly black! So pleased though. They weren't too happy while we were doing it, but a nice clean cage & fresh hay helped them to forget ;)
 
i don't bath mine either. only if they have any condition like posted above.
 
I only bath my long-haired piggies. They get an annual bath in the summer on a really hot day.
 
MochaMoo said:
Just a general question really.. Do they need to be bathed? I love my girls dearly, but it's taken them a long time to feel comfortable with me & my OH. They are all rescues and came from a home where they weren't given much attention.. For a long time, they would just hide from us! Now they will take veggies from us and even let us cuddle them :D I would love to bathe them, but I'm worried it will ruin our fragile bond :/ So far I've been using small pet wipes to freshen them up. They don't smell or feel greasy or anything. Would love to get some thoughts on this x
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Yes I bath my piggies maybe once a month Cookie loves them and just stands enjoying them, but Beano hates them and try to scrabble out. I use Johnson's baby shampoo and use about a finger full.
Hope this helps
 
I give my two boars a full bath every 8 weeks and they get their grease glands washed every 4 weeks. They also have their anal sacks cleaned and nails clipped every 4 weeks. They are great in the bath and don't seem too bothered by it, and they even lick me when they are in the bath.:wub:
 
Cavy Lover said:
Yes I bath my piggies maybe once a month Cookie loves them and just stands enjoying them, but Beano hates them and try to scrabble out. I use Johnson's baby shampoo and use about a finger full.
Hope this helps
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Once a month really is too much and could dry out their skin. They clean themselves so you do not have to worry about monthly baths.
 
Piglet has a very greasy grease gland, and because of his long hair he used to (before he lived with me) get really matted, now I keep the hair over his gland cut really short and he has a bath as and when he feels a bit in need of it or he honks - he normally only gets his bum end done but he did have a full bath a couple of weeks ago. I used to do him in the sink but the last few times I've done him in the bath and run it so its deep enough at the plug end but shallow at the other - he runs up and down and seems to really enjoy it.
 
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