Grooming schedule

[Black piggies]

I've recently adopted two Peruvian guinea pigs, (or are they Shebas I was wondering), never having had long haired before.

Sarah who runs the rescue advised me to keep their hair short, cutting every 6 weeks or so, which I'll do. I am nervous about that, but thank you @Betsy for the hairdressing guide!

Between times, how much should I brush them? Would weekly be enough, with their weigh in?

One of them is severely timid but looks healthy, the other one is confident but elderly and congenitally small and skeletal, less than 700g, Sarah said she didn't think she'd live when she was handed in to the rescue, though Sarah had them for 10 months. With her being so frail, I don't want to mess with her unnecessarily, but want to look after their coats as I should.

Thanks.

 

[Betsy]

What beautiful piggies! Are they boys or girls? If they are timid just a quick hairbrush on a different bit of their body every day until they get used to it will be fine. When they are used to being handled, you can brush them all over. Pay attention to the bit near the rear end as that will get tangled and dirty with wee and poop if you don't keep it shortish. I need to give Patsy another bum bath (joy of joys!) which will be fun (as she hates it) and it will happen later on in the week. This is the look she gave me last time she had a bum bath .

 

[Free Ranger]

I chop my Louise about that many weeks apart but I don't do anything with brush or comb in between because she hates it so! Each time the brush catches a little tat or tangled hair she cries and jumps. So I just do the big chop, brush out the loosies and any debris, and leave it at that. Sometimes the bum end has to be done a bit more often as she trails wee from the 'feathers' on her back legs. Don't chop off the whiskers or eyebrows. She's a different pig when she's short-haired... she can see for a start! She also tends to get waxy ears and I think it's because of the long hair giving her a hot head so that's something to keep an eye on. She scratches more when her hair is longer too - we treated her and her fuzzy friend for mites on the off-chance which did actually reduce shedding but she still scratches a bit. She also came from rescue and she is 3 but she was from a good home and I was surprised to find she didn't like the grooming because I just assumed she must have been groomed a lot. But there you go! She was just under a kilo when she arrived in December but has piled it on to 1.33 now as we bring in a lot of grass!
Before... and After!

 

[Jill B]

Maybe this is controversial but I don't brush my two long-haired piggies. I intended to but soon realised that it wasn't necessary for them. I guess other people's experience might be different. Mine get a cut every few weeks which deals with any matted bits around the bum end but otherwise their hair doesn't get tangled at all.

Pumpkin, a coronet


Pink, a Peruvian

 

[Black piggies]

Gorgeous piggies
My new ones are girls.
Lots of different advice there but all about making sure their bums are OK! Oh no, I have to face the "how dare you?" look on their face

 

[Betsy]

I only brush The Ever Beautiful Betsy when she is looking particularly unkempt as she hates it. Generally she keeps herself tangle free apart from round the rear end. She has a trim every 6-8 weeks.

 

[Black piggies]

She looks like she's stepped out the salon

 

[Black piggies]

I chop my Louise about that many weeks apart but I don't do anything with brush or comb in between because she hates it so! Each time the brush catches a little tat or tangled hair she cries and jumps. So I just do the big chop, brush out the loosies and any debris, and leave it at that. Sometimes the bum end has to be done a bit more often as she trails wee from the 'feathers' on her back legs. Don't chop off the whiskers or eyebrows. She's a different pig when she's short-haired... she can see for a start! She also tends to get waxy ears and I think it's because of the long hair giving her a hot head so that's something to keep an eye on. She scratches more when her hair is longer too - we treated her and her fuzzy friend for mites on the off-chance which did actually reduce shedding but she still scratches a bit. She also came from rescue and she is 3 but she was from a good home and I was surprised to find she didn't like the grooming because I just assumed she must have been groomed a lot. But there you go! She was just under a kilo when she arrived in December but has piled it on to 1.33 now as we bring in a lot of grass!
View attachment 179385 Before... and After! View attachment 179386 View attachment 179387

Yes the legs look so different to short hair, could imagine them being a wee trap. Many thanks.

 

[Freela]

When I had longer-haired pigs, I would trim any fur that reached the ground (both of mine were crosses and mainly grew 'skirts' at the back, which would tangle and get peed on when they were allowed to grow out... keeping them above ground level solved most of those problems.) Otherwise I found that they didn't require a lot of grooming other that a quick go-over with a slicker brush once a week or so. Any mats I just cut out rather than trying to brush out- that would sometimes happen around their back legs.

 

[Black piggies]

Thank you, that sounds manageable! I'm gearing up for the first trim before the next heatwave.