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maisie has tangled her bottom end

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biscandmatt

biscandmatt

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i'm a bit concerned about maisie. about a week ago she had quite a big tangled knot of fur on her bum. i managed to de-tangle it for her, gently trim it off, and gave her a quick wash.

today she is tangled again, with two knots this time. i managed to remove one, but the other is further under her and i don't want to risk doing that one.

she has always had a habit of dragging her skirt through her own wee, and has tangled it a coupe of times in the past and we went to the vets twice about it to make sure nothing was wrong, and it wasn't round her genitals so she was fine. this time there does seem to be some staining round her bum.

also, her poops seems a little bit softer than normal, and not as long.

i think it is because they have had pak choi a few days running now, more than normal as i am finding it hard to get veg now, it all seems manky. anyway, so i think that has been a bit too much for her, made her poops softer and stained her bum. the poops are soft but still formed. they aren't runny or anything.

she seems ok in herself, except she kept pulling at her underneath which is when i noticed the knot. she seems upset by that but then normal in ever other way, eating and drinking fine, she did a wee on my knee! and that looked normal. she is still popcorning and being generally herself.

should i give her another bum bath tomorrow to clean the staining and hope it helps that last little knot? or do you think going to the vets would be the best option? or bath her and see how she is after, and if still getting tangled. then take her to see? i don't really know what to tell the vet other than what i've said here.

sorry this is long. has anyone got any advice? thank you.
 
can you not cut her hair short on her bum, really short as i have a few longhaired guineas and ive found i have to cut their hair really short on the bum x
 
clairelove said:
can you not cut her hair short on her bum, really short as i have a few longhaired guineas and ive found i have to cut their hair really short on the bum x
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she has quite thick white hair next to her skin, then above that a long black 'skirt' (she's part sheltie), i keep it trimmed quite short, but she has tangled the white hair this time. and i trim as far down as i can without pulling the skin.

the knot underneath is right near her bum so i don't feel trimming there would be a good idea. the other knot was further than that and still very close to the skin.

i don't really know what to do, apart from maybe a bum bath again?

i really don't want to hurt her, or pull the skin, that's what i'm worried about.

eta: what is the best way to keep it short round the genitals without risk of catching her? any tips?
 
shaving with hair shavers my todd has real thick white hair too i just hold him in one hand and lift him up and trim around from the underneah but i do know people as got hair shavers on the bum area x
 
the joys of fluffy bum pigs!my advice is another bath and trim her bum as short as you can and try and brush her regularly it may help :)
 
clairelove said:
shaving with hair shavers my todd has real thick white hair too i just hold him in one hand and lift him up and trim around from the underneah but i do know people as got hair shavers on the bum area x
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do you mean a normal hair shaver? or a smaller one, like the ones used for nose hairs etc! :))

and would that not catch the genitals? i'm so scared of hurting her.
 
daleksarah said:
the joys of fluffy bum pigs!my advice is another bath and trim her bum as short as you can and try and brush her regularly it may help :)
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fluffy bum pigs! :))x)

i am going to do another bum bath tomorrow and hope that helps. i brush her alot but not underneath that much. i didn't think to. i think i get nervous about hurting their them by catching their bits or something! rolleyes

the rest of her hair is so shiny and in such amazing condition, but she just likes a messy bum! rolleyes
 
could you get the vets shave her under their? they can show you the best way to do it so you feel happy about doing it yourself? cats that get matted a lot ge shaved if they dont let you brush them!

you could cover her privates with a towel and shave around can use either shavers!
 
clairelove said:
could you get the vets shave her under their? they can show you the best way to do it so you feel happy about doing it yourself? cats that get matted a lot ge shaved if they dont let you brush them!

you could cover her privates with a towel and shave around can use either shavers!
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why do i never think of simple solutions! rolleyes covering with a towel is a good idea! :)

i'm going to give her another quick wash tomorrow, see if i can trim anymore bits for her, and see how she gets on the next few days. i might try and shave some hair for her aswell. if she gets knotted again though i think i will go to the vets and let them show me the best way to shave her.

i can't see her liking being shaved! she's so good with everything but she didn't appreciate the hairdryer when i tried that. mind you, she hadn't been with us that long so maybe that is why.

i'll update how she seems after another quick bath tomorrow. i think sometimes the fur looks worse because it's white, so you see any staining really clearly. rolleyes

thank you for your help. x
 
can anyone recommend a shaver? i thought maybe a nose hair trimmer would be better and easier to control as they are smaller and narrower? :)
 
Try a little bit of conditioner on the hair that tangles easily. It helps with the knots.
 
Toffee4ever said:
Try a little bit of conditioner on the hair that tangles easily. It helps with the knots.
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another thing to buy! :)) they have the manuka and neem shampoo from gorgeous guineas. will see what conditioners they have. :)
 
now the big knot has gone, maisie has been cleaning herself and tidied herself up a bit! :)) that knot must have been hurting her. :(

she seems much happier today, popcorning alot! x)

looks like she has sorted out the smaller tangle herself aswell but will have a proper look later aswell.

now to make sure she doesn't get tangled again!
 
she has got two more tangles on her underneath, very close to her bum. there is no way i can trim there. i'm looking at what shaver to get, need to find one that will be ok.

i emailed chrissie at gorgeous guineas and she said from jan they won't be selling conditioners but all the shampoos will have an added conditioning ingredient. :)

i don't know whether to buy a conditioner and try and untangle maisies knots that way.. or get a shaver and shave them off. i don't know which would be better. can i shave through the knots? i don't want to catch her with it, or pull the knots. :{
 
right, i have ordered a trial size of the posh n go shampoo for maisies bum baths to help with the knots. and my o/h is going into tesco after work today to pick up maisies very own beard trimmer! :)) it has different attachments with it so should be fine. i need it quickly, can't wait around for post, so o/h is picking it up today.

maisie does have two small knots but at least she is still happy. but we need to get these little knots sorted asap.

i did find a pink womens shaver that i wanted to get.. just because it's pink! :))
 
flips said:
Good luck with the trimming. I'm sure Maisie will be much more comfortable when she's knot free. :)
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thanks. :)

feel so bad for her, i wanted to untangle them for her but just can't do it, they are too awkward to reach now. can't wait to get the trimmer.
 
got the trimmer today and just sorted her out. she was so well behaved. they were a bit wary of the noise of the trimmer at first but soon got distracted by coriander! :))

i managed to gently shave off the knot that was there. i've also trimmed the hair all around the bum area aswell. i went a bit too far up the back though, rolleyes:))

i cannot belive how thick the fur was! :o but she looks much better and cleaner now. :)

she has a bit of 'crusty' fur right on her bum hole, obviously i couldn't shave that, but it's only a bit, and some staining aswell. i think something has given her a little bit of softer poops and that has caused the staining.

i am going to give her a bum bath as soon as the posh n go shampoo comes from gorgeous guineas, which should soften the fur there, and clean the staining.

she was so good, she just let me get on with it, ate her coriander, and ches was sat next to us watching and eating coriander. they were just eating together. x)

then we had cuddles for ages which she loves. and then back to a nice clean cage and she did popcorns! x) she must feel so much better with that knot gone. :)
 
My long haired piggy suffers from 'knots in the bum area' too. I wash her end regularly and put a little conditioner on, this sometimes makes it easier to brush or comb out the knots. I do however trim her bottom area and keep it short, this should stop the knots forming.:)
 
catsanddogs said:
My long haired piggy suffers from 'knots in the bum area' too. I wash her end regularly and put a little conditioner on, this sometimes makes it easier to brush or comb out the knots. I do however trim her bottom area and keep it short, this should stop the knots forming.:)
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thanks. :)

i brush her regularly but this week she managed to tangle herself twice! rolleyes we got her april 09 and she has only got two small knots once or twice! i think she must have had some soft poops this week and that caused a knot, which then built as she trails through her wee aswell! rolleyes:))

i'm glad i got the trimmer though. i can't believe how thick the fur is round the bum! :o will keep there trimmed down regularly now. :)

i'm so happy today though because she is popcorning round loads, she must feel so much better. x)
 
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