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URGENT - Problem with guinea pig mat in fur

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Millieex

Millieex

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hello, i have a long haired guinea pig named floss. Whilst away on holiday my grandmother was looking after her as well as my other guinea pigs. Whilst at her house her fur has developed a thick matt. The matt has bits of woodchippings in also.

The problem is floss hates to be restrained and likes to run around. I do not want to stress her or hurt her but i fear the matt is not good for her health.

how can i remove the mat safely without inhurying her?

any tips on calming her and trying to keep her still?

Thanksx
 
could you wrap her in a towel with the mat sticking out and then carefully snip the hair to remove the mat, i think it needs to snipped out as it will gradually pull tighter the more matted it gets.
 
I'd just put her on your lap and try to calm her and distract her with some of her favourite veg and talking to her calmly, stroking her hair gently so she knows your hands are there....and when she's as relaxed as possible, snip it out. If you can, try to keep your fingers inbetween her skin and the scissors, to minimise the risk of her getting caught with the scissors if she does wriggle.

It sounds like she definitely will wriggle and won't like it at all, but if you just get it over with quickly then she'll be fine after a few mins, if that. It's better out than in and she'll still love you afterwards!

If you really don't feel confident about doing it with her "loose" in your lap, then wrapping her in a towel or pillowcase is a great idea. Again, she probably won't like being restrained but sometimes it's necessary for their own good, I'm afraid. Perhaps you could get another pair of hands to hold her while you snip, or vice versa?

Good luck!
 
I have attempted to cut it out but it appears to close to the skin. I am fairly new to guinea pigs and i have never done anything like this before. :(

I am trying to search for places i could take to get it cut out ir to get her groomed but haven't found anywhere in the wolverhampton area.
 
Don't try to cut close to the skin with scissors. It needs to be done with a dematting tool. Probably a particularly fine one, for a guinea pig. Look for dog groomers in your area, and ask whether they have a dematting tool small enough for a guinea pig.
 
Or, guinea pig rescue organisations may have one, since they probably get matted animals come in.
 
Millieex said:
I have attempted to cut it out but it appears to close to the skin. I am fairly new to guinea pigs and i have never done anything like this before. :(

I am trying to search for places i could take to get it cut out ir to get her groomed but haven't found anywhere in the wolverhampton area.
Click to expand...

If you have transport, I'm certain there are a groomers near Doolittles on the Bridgnorth Road ?/ I'll see if I can find out more for you - we are in Tettenhall. Whereabouts in Wolves are you hun ?
 
I have had experience of matts very close to the skin on both rabbits and piggies, we have used a mans nasal hair trimmer before and electric razor that has the straight edge blades, not the circular ones.
 
CrawleyGuineaPigRescue said:
I have had experience of matts very close to the skin on both rabbits and piggies, we have used a mans nasal hair trimmer before and electric razor that has the straight edge blades, not the circular ones.
Click to expand...

Did you tell your OH what you'd been using his razor on? :)
 
Why don't you just get a clipper to it?- or get the vet to clip it off ?- vets have clippers to remove areas of hair over op sites. Or, as someone suggested, get a local dog groomer to clip it off (using a 40 oster blade)
 
As said before wrap her in a towel and distract her in some way, maybe someone could help you. If matt is really close to skin, what i would do it cut part of the matt off keeping your fingers between her and the scissors, then you may be able to tease it gently out with your fingers or a tiny piggy comb or something like that. i have long haired guniea pigs and i cut any hair that trails and comb them daily to prevent this happening and also stop their coat getting dirty and the ends.

Hope this helps.
Jules
x
 
Thank you for all your responses. I bathed floss which moved the matt further away from the skin then carefully cut it out bit by bit. Thanks again x
 
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