Grooming

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Sara412

Sara412

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Hi,

Looking at all the posts, I notice how well groomed your piggies look compared too my scruffy bunch.........What kind of brush do you use ?? and is there a difference between brushes for short and long haired and Rex's?? my Rex has very wiry fur (looks like he never lost his baby fluff although he is 3 years old!)


Also whats the best thing for cleaning grease gland - I know this has been posted before but can't find the post
 
For the grease gland I use swarfega. I think it works really well.

I was not aware Rex piggies were meant to be groomed. My Amina is a Rex of some kind and I do not brush her hair.
 
piggyfan said:
For the grease gland I use swarfega. I think it works really well.

I was not aware Rex piggies were meant to be groomed. My Amina is a Rex of some kind and I do not brush her hair.
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Thanks for info--- wasn't sure about grooming , but he always seems to have sawdust/ hay and grass sticking out of his fur- as I said I have a scruffy bunch:D
 
I've never needed to groom mine, Rambo has some longer breed in her but she seems to be able to maintain her hair without my intervention.
I will need to groom Rory more especially with the dreaded grease glands!
 
For long haired guinea pigs I would groom them 2-3 times a week to prevent matting, and bath and trim them about once a month, especially around the bottom area. For short haired piggies (eg. smooth haired, rexes, abyssinians) I would groom once a week and bathe every 2 months or so. I would use a pin brush/flea comb for long haired piggies and a soft bristle brush for short haired piggies.

For grease glands I use mineral oil or a gentle skin cleanser such as Cetaphil. Just wipe on and wipe off.

Even if they don't "need" grooming it's still good for them to get used to being stroked and touched all over their body incase you need to take them to the vet. It's also a good time to give them a close inspection for any abnormalities.
 
I too use Cetaphil (the oily skin one) for the boys' grease glands. They are short haired so don't need regular baths. On the odd occasion when they do need a bath I use a small animal shampoo made specifically for animals like piggies, rabbits & mice, sold in all our pet shops. They do shed hair, so once a week I use one of those soft bristle baby brushes on them. Both boys seem to love the feel of the brush on their backs as they tend to stretch out & give me chookie legs when I am brushing.
 
thanks everyone, I have a pet brush which is soft one side but harder on the other so will try that - don't worry they get loads of stroking and I pick the hay out from Brodie with my fingers at the moment but its a never ending task, I'm sure he thinks he's a cat as as soon as he's groomed he goes and rolls in the sawdust or bury's under the hay and I'm back to square one !
 
I have just bum washed my two piggies for the first time. The boys were brilliant didn't complain at all. Trimmed my new texel and all was peaceful and calm. Seems I was worrying over nothing. But Murray seems to have what I can only describe as dried pooh on his front claws, can't seem to move it, doesn't cause him any pain wen I try to get it off. Any ideas as what to do with it x
 
Shirley said:
I have just bum washed my two piggies for the first time. The boys were brilliant didn't complain at all. Trimmed my new texel and all was peaceful and calm. Seems I was worrying over nothing. But Murray seems to have what I can only describe as dried pooh on his front claws, can't seem to move it, doesn't cause him any pain wen I try to get it off. Any ideas as what to do with it x
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I just went through a similar thing. Nothing I tried would shift the stuff. As the affected nail was also badly curved & needed trimming I couldn't cut it because of all the gunk. Ended up having the vet do it. Members advised me to soak the foot in warm water for half an hour before trying to remove the stuff, to use sharp pointed tweezers, to try baby wipes, even my own fingernails - I tried it all & nothing worked.

Perhaps you could start a thread on this question and you might get answers that will work for you. It does need to be removed because eventually it could cause an infection. Good luck.
 
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