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Poop covered tail?

Lexxybell

Lexxybell

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
May 29, 2019
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I just adopted two girl pigs yesterday and have noticed they maybe weren’t as well cared for as we were led to believe! 😬 They are 2 years old. I let them out for floor time and noticed they walk funny. With a bit of help I had their nails trimmed (we noticed they were curling in) and so hopefully their walking will improve. Skye (my whitish guinea pig) might possibly have a sore on her leg and so will get antiseptic cream if she does. They both have very tangly and matted fur, especially around their bums. That’s when I noticed that Skye has what appears to be her tail but covered in hardened faeces and urine. Although, the problem is, guinea pigs don’t have tails. Sorry for the long post but does anyone know what this is and how it could be fixed? Could it just be matted fur or is it something worse? It would be difficult to provide a picture right now but I’ll try later if it is needed. Thank you! 🙁
 
Could it be a "skirt". A long bit of hair at the back of Skye that has got all matted? Try giving her a bum bath and see if that helps. I have to give Betsy a bum bath again in the next week or so as she is getting quite smelly and matted again. Then she needs a bum trim. I fill a bucket or the sink with a small amount of hand warm water add a bit of guinea pig shampoo from Gorgeous Guineas - Aromatherapy skincare products for guinea pigs then wrap Betsy's head end in a towel, support her on my arm and wash her bum gently and rinse it off well. Then she gets a very thorough towel dry while I'm trying to avoid the head end as that has the complaining teeth. She is usually very placid but she hates a bum bath.
 
Lexxybell said:
I just adopted two girl pigs yesterday and have noticed they maybe weren’t as well cared for as we were led to believe! 😬 They are 2 years old. I let them out for floor time and noticed they walk funny. With a bit of help I had their nails trimmed (we noticed they were curling in) and so hopefully their walking will improve. Skye (my whitish guinea pig) might possibly have a sore on her leg and so will get antiseptic cream if she does. They both have very tangly and matted fur, especially around their bums. That’s when I noticed that Skye has what appears to be her tail but covered in hardened faeces and urine. Although, the problem is, guinea pigs don’t have tails. Sorry for the long post but does anyone know what this is and how it could be fixed? Could it just be matted fur or is it something worse? It would be difficult to provide a picture right now but I’ll try later if it is needed. Thank you! 🙁
Click to expand...

Hi!

It is amazing how economic people keen to get rid of no longer wanted pets on the free-ads can be...
We see that on here fairly regularly; at the worst in the pregnancy section from yet another apparent virgin conception... :(

Please cut off anything that comes off easily at the back with scissors without you pulling. Then give them a gentle bath. Allow the poos to soak and gently rub off what comes off. Repeat the process until the bums are clean. Then cut out any remaining hair mats, being careful to not cut into skin, allowing the hair to grow out cleanly again. If you can, make it a two person job!
Bathing (including cleaning grease glands)
Use our piggy whispering tips if they are very skittish: Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips


It would be good if you had your girls vet checked. It sounds like they have been on a low/no hay diet and they may have nutritional deficits.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

It is amazing how economic people keen to get rid of no longer wanted pets on the free-ads can be...
We see that on here fairly regularly; at the worst in the pregnancy section from yet another apparent virgin conception... :(

Please cut off anything that comes off easily at the back with scissors without you pulling. Then give them a gentle bath. Allow the poos to soak and gently rub off what comes off. Repeat the process until the bums are clean. Then cut out any remaining hair mats, being careful to not cut into skin, allowing the hair to grow out cleanly again. If you can, make it a two person job!
Bathing (including cleaning grease glands)
Use our piggy whispering tips if they are very skittish: Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips


It would be good if you had your girls vet checked. It sounds like they have been on a low/no hay diet and they may have nutritional deficits.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)
Click to expand...

Thank you! They’re going to get a bath and trim tonight. They weren’t free but they were very cheap! The lady’s reasoning for getting rid of them was her new baby. She said she loved the piggies but had no time. In terms of the low/no hay diet, I’m not sure how much they got on a regular basis but when we got them we had a log stuffed with it but no rack. They get plenty now though! ☺
 
Lady Kelly said:
It could be the grease gland. I would say if they are in that condition that a health check at the vets would be the best course of action
Click to expand...
Thank you! I’ll check out her gland and make sure it’s okay :)
 
Betsy said:
Could it be a "skirt". A long bit of hair at the back of Skye that has got all matted? Try giving her a bum bath and see if that helps. I have to give Betsy a bum bath again in the next week or so as she is getting quite smelly and matted again. Then she needs a bum trim. I fill a bucket or the sink with a small amount of hand warm water add a bit of guinea pig shampoo from Gorgeous Guineas - Aromatherapy skincare products for guinea pigs then wrap Betsy's head end in a towel, support her on my arm and wash her bum gently and rinse it off well. Then she gets a very thorough towel dry while I'm trying to avoid the head end as that has the complaining teeth. She is usually very placid but she hates a bum bath.
Click to expand...
Will do! She’ll get an all over bath (this of course won’t happen all the time) and trim tonight and we’ll see how she gets on :) Thank you!
 
Here are pictures of Skye and Cici! I tried to get pictures of their bums but it’s not so easy! 😂They’ll get their bath soon :)
 

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Lexxybell said:
Here are pictures of Skye and Cici! I tried to get pictures of their bums but it’s not so easy! 😂They’ll get their bath soon :)
Click to expand...

Poor girls! They look very matted indeed! :(

Cut off as much hair as you can pre-bath and then take care of the mats very close to the skin afterwards.
In summer you want your long-haired piggies to have a short haircut anyway, but it will all grow back by autumn! ;)
Always keep the hair at the back, around the genitalia and the legs short; this minimises matting and soiling and makes the grooming less of an ordeal.
 
Merab's Slave said:
They are beautiful.
My Priscilla recently had a bum bath.
I laid a towel in the bottom of the bath then used a shallow bowl to wash her.
She chuntered the whole time, especially when I was drying her.
She then liberally donated some poops
Have fun
Click to expand...
Haha, thank you, I will! ;) 😂
 
Wiebke said:
Poor girls! They look very matted indeed! :(

Cut off as much hair as you can pre-bath and then take care of the mats very close to the skin afterwards.
In summer you want your long-haired piggies to have a short haircut anyway, but it will all grow back by autumn! ;)
Always keep the hair at the back, around the genitalia and the legs short; this minimises matting and soiling and makes the grooming less of an ordeal.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I’ll make sure to keep them trim from here on out! 😁
 
Lexxybell said:
Thank you! They’re going to get a bath and trim tonight. They weren’t free but they were very cheap! The lady’s reasoning for getting rid of them was her new baby. She said she loved the piggies but had no time. In terms of the low/no hay diet, I’m not sure how much they got on a regular basis but when we got them we had a log stuffed with it but no rack. They get plenty now though! ☺
Click to expand...
Realised that because they weren’t free, adopt was not the right word, more like “bought but not from a breeder or pet shop” 😂
 
UPDATE: Cici has had her bath and is looking very pretty! 😍 There were more matts than could even be seen but we’ve cut away most (possibly all) of it! She then got bathed and brushed. It took soooo long though so unfortunately Skye is going to have to wait until tomorrow as we ran out of time. Thanks everyone for all the advice on matts and such! Lets hope that that’s all that the “poop covered tail” is on Skye! 😬😂BCE61A31-23ED-43D7-9C03-3B6AA0DABDC5.jpeg
 
UPDATE 2: Skye is clean! Thanks everyone, it was just a very very bad matt but now it’s gone! :love: They both looks so pretty! And the possible sore near/on Skye’s leg just turned out to be her grease gland...or nipples....or something else that doesn’t look dangerous (but correct me if I’m wrong!). 😂😂 Thanks for all the help I was given! X 831AAF7F-B173-4F93-98D7-08AD9243E805.webp29DBC3F8-27C2-431F-BB34-980261968A07.webp
 
Lovely piggies! So glad you rescued them, they deserve a happy loving home.
enjoy your new piggies and keep us posted we love to see pictures.xx :love:
 
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