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Ollie is a really stinky pig

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hayleyh

hayleyh

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I have two pigs - Ollie, a white piggy, and Isiah, a tri colour piggy.
I got Isiah first and had no problems with smell. When I got Ollie a few months later I have had problems with their cage stinking so much. I tried all sorts of bedding.
Ollie stinks when you hold him so much that he makes your clothes smell. I dont have this problem with Isiah. If I sniff him he smells awful - Isiah doesn't.
I sometimes pick Ollie up and his belly is completely yellow, like it is urine stained. I bath him once a month but within days he is stained yellow again. I dont want to bath him too often.
It is really putting me off cuddling him because he feels so dirty and stinks. I give Isiah much more cuddles and let him lay on my bed and he doesn't leave a smell behind him.
The only thing I have noticed is that Ollie wee's much more than Isiah. If I cuddle Isiah he can sit quite contently for ages without weeing. When I give Ollie a cuddle he wee's within the first 5 mins, makes a mess and a stink and has to go back to his cage.
Does anyone else have a really stinky piggy and is there anything I can do about it?
 
If he wees so much he may have a urine infection. I think it is worth taking him to the vets for a check up. Do you clean his grease gland? Boars really need this done as it can get really smelly.
 
I dont think he has a UTI as I've not noticed any blood in his urine and he doesn't squeak when he wee's.
Its almost like his is weeing and then laying in it and soaking it all up and turning himself yellow. I dont think Isiah does this but I guess its hard to tell as Isiahs belly is tri coloured. Then again Isiah doesn't stink the way Ollie does.
I use fleece and vet bed now and change them out twice a week. They also have a litter tray with saw dust and hay which I often see them snoozing in.
I am going to give both their grease glands a good wash this weekend and see if that helps at all, but I'm convinced its Ollie's wee which stinks.
 
It could be worth getting him checked out as this is rather strange. It is sad you feel he smells too bad to hold. You need to get this sorted out so you can have a proper relationship with him.
 
I know - I always opt for picking Isiah up rather than Ollie - I feel bad for him as he doens't get as many cuddles. Is there some kind of piggy deoderant or something which will wash his fur without actually having to put him in the bath. I've tried using unscented wet wipes but these dont shift the yellow staining at all. Is there some kind of piggy dry shampoo? I shall have to do some research.
I will speak to the vet about excessive weeing too. Thanks
 
I have heard there is some dry shampoo but I am not sure where you can get it from. I really think the grease gland cleaning will help.
 
Both boys had their grease glands washed yesterday and I am please to say it has made a world of difference. Ollie still lays in his wee and turns himself yellow but the overall stentch has gone :)
 
I would agree to say that he may well have a urine infection. Even if he isnt squeaking when urinating and you may not see blood in the urine anyway. A course of antibiotics (preferably septrin) should sort him out. Boys *** sometimes smell when they are together, how old is Ollie? He may be going through puberty too? My boys can be a little bit stinky at times, but i found the best bedding so far for them is carefresh. Worth a try too. For now i would say get your pigs vet checked. And maybe try some gorgous guineas shampoo, usually makes my lot smell lush.

x.
 
My Little Pig likes to lie in his own wee too. He is sometimes damp all over his belly when I pick him up, but he does tend to clean himself up fairly quickly and I have never noticed him smelling bad (apart from when he had a collar on and couldn't clean himself).

The only time a guinea pigs urine has been very unpleasant is my Womble right now. He has a urine infection and it really stinks. Frequent urination also could indicate some sort of bladder issue.

I'd be considering bladder/kidney issues and would also want to speak to a vet about why Ollie isn't cleaning himself. How old is he? If he is still young, something like arthritis is unlikely so he should be grooming himself really.

Is Ollie a long haired piggy by any chance?
 
no he's short haired. I actually see him grooming himself more than Isiah. I think I will take him to the vets when they open. Would the vet just do a urine test or is there more involved?
 
They'll probably ask you to get the urine sample from Ollie yourself so I'd save myself some time ( and a double trip to the vets ) and do it in advance. It should stay fresh up to 24 hours in the fridge.
 
Pop Ollie in a clean/sterile container and wait for him to wee. Syringe it up and pop it in a pot. If you can't do this, the vet can sometimes palpate the bladder (gentle squeeze) to get them to urinate at the surgery.
 
Bet Ollie wont wee now! Bertie gets damp quickly, but it depends on what he has been eating in the greens line. Sometimes I sit him on a towel on my lap, but he doesnt smell....keep us posted
 
Give him 10 ml of water before you pop him into the sterile container, it does tend to speed things up a bit.
 
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