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New Piggie I Really Need Help

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Einahpets16

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello this week I got a baby girl as a christmas present from my boyfriend. She's a peruvian guinea pig and she's just 3 months old her name is Agatha*.
As you may know peruvians are a long hair breed and she has a gorgeous long white hair. But I notice she's kind of dirty on her belly and near her butt and I also notice her hair is tangled up in the same areas. I don't know what to do. I'm really worried about her because she seems uncomfortable. The women at the pets store said I should bathe her and cut her tangled hair but I don't want to scare her because she's with me since Wednesday. Can someone help me?
*You can see her sleeping in the picture. And eating cilantro in the other. (I'm completely in love of her she's so adorable)

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IMG-20151210-WA0005.jpg
 
What a gorgeous guinea pig !

... who is overdue a haircut !


Is there anyone who can help you?
 
Hi and welcome!

Giving your little girl a well-judged haircut on the sides and especially around the bum area to cut out the worst of the mats is going a long way to making her more comfortable. Keep those areas cut short in the future. That should take care of the worst of the smelly hair, too, so you do not have to bathe her unless the remaining hair is still extremely filthy. A mild baby shampoo will do. If you find it very hard getting rid of all the mats before the bath, try tackling them again after a bath. if you can, please wash her in a basin with just a shallow bit of water either on the kitchen or bathroom floor or in a shower, so that she cannot hurt herself if she panics and jumps blindly.

If necessary, try to rope in your boyfriend to help holding her, so you can cut. She is going to look nice if you cut the strands verically rather than horizontally. Make sure that you have got a finger between the scissors and the skin and ty to cut without pukking on the skin. Keep up a steady stream of chatter and praise her lavishly.

Here are a couple of before and after pictures on how the belly and bum should look from underneath from my own peru girl:
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Tegan after her haircut - you can see that I keep the bum end very short to prevent matting and soiling.
upload_2015-12-11_18-2-1.jpeg

Is she your only piggy? In the long term, she is going to be much happier with company of her own kind. guinea pigs are group animals and not wired to live on their own. Companionship

You may find our information bundle for new owners helpful in settling in your little girl:
" Starter Kit" Of Information Threads For New Owners

PS: We have got members from all over the world and find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can always tailor any advice to what is available and doable where you are. Click on our username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you!
 
Thank you very much for your reply. It was really helpful for me. Your little girl is so cute. I love her kind of hair cut. That makes me wish to have such a gorgeous hair like hers.
Yes, she's my only piggie for now I know she would be happier with I friend I had read about that a lot on the Internet. So I'm planning on having a friend for her sooner than later but first I would like to give her a bigger cage. The one I got now is 1 meter long and half meter wide. I think is find for herself but with a friend it could be kind of crowded so I'm planning o having her a second floor.
So going back to the topic should I try to cut her hair now or should I wait until she's more confident of me. She's not scared of me she actually had let me touch her head but she doesn't let me hold her or touch her body. So what should I do?
 
Your piggy is gorgeous. She doesn't look like a very young piggy so taking that into account and if she reacts well when handled I would bath her and clip her back, that way you can get a good look at her skin and condition. I'd let her then settle in but certainly give her a treat for being a good girl getting cleaned up.
 
Your piggy is gorgeous. She doesn't look like a very young piggy so taking that into account and if she reacts well when handled I would bath her and clip her back, that way you can get a good look at her skin and condition. I'd let her then settle in but certainly give her a treat for being a good girl getting cleaned up.
Hi. Well the woman at the store said she was like 3 or 4 months old. Is that young for a guinea pig?
 
It's still young for a pig, but I reckon is older than 3-4 months. How are you getting on with the bath and clipping?
You think? Mmm... So how can I know how old she really is?
About the hair cut I took her to the same hairdresser of my dog and everything went really good. She's so sweet and she was such a good girl. So now she looks like a mini lion. We cut a big part of her hair because it was tangled up around her. I think she's more confortable now because she jumps around her cage. IMG-20151215-WA0000.jpeg
 
Now that was a wise move....getting a professional groomer to help:nod:. I believe that finer and smooth nails on the feet indicate a younger animal, older ones have coarser and broader nails? But check that out as I might have read it wrong.
 
Now that was a wise move....getting a professional groomer to help:nod:. I believe that finer and smooth nails on the feet indicate a younger animal, older ones have coarser and broader nails? But check that out as I might have read it wrong.
Thank you really much. I'll investigate about it. I don't really care how old she is I mean I love her no matter what but I would like to know her real age so I could take care of her better.
 
She's definitely young. Being a long fluffy breed such as she is they tend to look older but you can tell by the size of her ear in relation to her head that she's still a young piggie.

My guinea pig Bakura looked very large, the same size as my adults and he was only a couple of months old. He had a similar look to yours.
 
OH MY GOD THE FLUFF. SHE IS SO BEAUTIFUL. :luv::luv::luv::luv::luv::luv::luv::luv::luv:

ahhhhhhhhhhh i am so in love with peruvians :wub:.......bleugh! why are there none in rescues when you're wanting! :doh:
 
She's beautiful! Congrats! :) I love lilac pigs, they are one of my favorite colors! r
 
She's definitely young. Being a long fluffy breed such as she is they tend to look older but you can tell by the size of her ear in relation to her head that she's still a young piggie.

My guinea pig Bakura looked very large, the same size as my adults and he was only a couple of months old. He had a similar look to yours.
Hi. I think you're right. I had been investigating and they say you should see the nails and hers look smoth and light color. So that make me think she's young. I think the pet store lady is right and she's about 3 to 4 months.
 
OH MY GOD THE FLUFF. SHE IS SO BEAUTIFUL. :luv::luv::luv::luv::luv::luv::luv::luv::luv:

ahhhhhhhhhhh i am so in love with peruvians :wub:.......bleugh! why are there none in rescues when you're wanting! :doh:
Thanks. :D She's sexy and she knows it. Because she actually stay still when I took her some photos. :agr: I do love peruvians too. I think they're like a kind of bad day of hair but in a gorgeous way.:whistle: Here they're definitely hard to find you can just find them with specialize breaders. No rescues for piggies in here. :td:
 
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