First time bath for daisy.. any tips?

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Skelly

Skelly

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My Daisy has just become old enough to have her first bath! :))
I haven't ever bathed a guinea pig so would really appreciate some general advice, also my house can ** quite nippy so is there anyway of keeping her warm and drying her asap?
Thanks, oh and i will post pigtures of her first bath :))
Jess.
Xx
 
Hi Jess, looking forward to seeing the pigtures :(|)

When I bathed Rodney I put some tepid temperature water in the bath, just enough to come up to just under his chin.

I used Gorgeous Guineas shampoo for Boars.

My tips would be - wash her quick and get her out and dry as quick as you can, not only for stress/health benefits but also because generally they dont like bath time lol!

Keep her nose, eyes, ears and mouth free of bubbles/soap/shampoo etc. I just used a flannel to wipe over his nose.

Have your towels to hand and ready to wrap her in it and towel dry her as much as possible. I did used to use the hairdryer on a LOW heat and power setting to then finish him off while I was brishing his coat.

Keep her warm and out of draughts until she is totally dry as well, they can catch a chill pretty easily.

Good luck!
 
Sing gently - or talk reassuringly - while you are bathing her.

Have lots of towels - my boyz like being wrapped in one of my old jumpers as well - ready to wrap around her snuggly.

Have a favourite veg treat on hand for after.

Also, one thing I did wrong the first time was to forget how slippy a bath/sink is. I lifted Marmalade up and he slipped and fell sideways trying to scrabble back up - it was very traumatic :(
 
The first time I bath any guinea pig I always do it in an ice cream tub on the floor, then if they jump out its just like jumping from a box. You want a big towel on hand to quickly wrap them up and so they can hide in it.
 
Shaz said:
The first time I bath any guinea pig I always do it in an ice cream tub on the floor, then if they jump out its just like jumping from a box. You want a big towel on hand to quickly wrap them up and so they can hide in it.
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Yeah I tried the tub/bowl thing first time I bathed Rodders but it took too long to rinse the shampoo off because I couldnt scoop up enough water to fill the cup I was using. He was getting stressed, I was getting stressed lol it was a disaster :(

I then tried the Kitchen sink but thats stainless steel and thought it would be too cold on his tummy. The bath was best for us, it gave him room to move around and I could scoop up enough water to rinse him quick.

Each person has their preferred bath time places, you will find the right one for your piggie and you.
 
I have only bathed my 2 girls once and it was much easier than I was expecting. Try not to get too panicky about it as pigs sense that. Just do everything very calmly and quietly and hopefully Daisy will enjoy her bath :)
 
try a big tub that way it can move around and as you bath more and more your guinea pig will learn tricks to escape the water my guineas jump out onto the towel but i am quite young (9) so i have much to learn




good luck
 
Thank you everyone!
your all so wonder ful and ready to help.
x jess
 
Vida said:
I have read that thread but I can't see at what age they should start getting bathed. Also, you say, please do not bathe if not necessary... so if they don't smell, their coats are shiny and there is no problems, we shouldn't bathe them?
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Exactly - smooth/shortcoated piggies most people bathe about twice a year, longhaired ones more often, although often a bum bath or a damp wipe will do the trick as well. Unless medically necessary, don't bathe youngsters under 16 weeks old and unless your piggy is very dirty, wait longer.

Each bath will destroy the natural oil film of the skin.
 
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