i noticed on the link it says washing up liquid for the grease gland area... any type of washing up liquid? i.e value range or fairy?
scented ones or origional?
Esther x
Please be careful everone about using scented products...guinea pigs have very sensitive skin...which is why in years gone by they were the animal of choice for skin sensitvity tests for cosmetics/drugs etc. Essentail oils (often used to provide the scent in products these days) can upset guinea pigs skin AND respiratory systems and cause allergic reactions.
There's a lot of lavendar-sceneted small pet hygiene products floating around now, including shavings etc, so please consider thoughtfully before purchase)
It is possible to gently "pick/pluck out" any surrounding hair with "offending grease gland bogies" attached....I have seen Vedra from CCT do this with one of my more "productive" boars :red
You need to cut out all the matted/gunky hair first before you attend the grease gland itself. If you are using scissors rather than plucking...please be careful (I had an embarassing accident with Willow's bottom and a pair of scissors recently which required stitches at the vets :red)
The grease gland itself needs very gentle cleansing as it is just skin and very sensitive.
I have used all the following directly on the gland itself with no ill effects:
Swarfega,
Normal fairy liquid,
Star drops (my preference - this is actually very good for dissolving grease and I prefer it to Swarfega..and it's cheaper......and great for all other household cleaning applications. 99p in most major supermarkets),
Johnsons baby shampoo (not as effective on the "stubborn" gunk but little risk to the pig if used )
You need to leave the cleaning agent to soak for a few minutes before gently abrading it with eg a cotton flannel. A fingernail can also help gently scrape any gunk off the gland/skin itself.
Personally I would NOT use value range....as sometimes they contain a higher concentration of harsh detergents/chemicals (eg sodium dodecyl sulphate SDS). I myself have very sensitive skin and am allergic to a lot of cleaning products/washing powders etc...especially the value ranges and the more powerful biological cleaners....so I work on the prinicple that if my skin can take it then it's "probably" OK to try on my piggies
HTH
x