Bathing: Soap?

[Shadow1]

My pig get dirty so we bathe her twice a month or so.
NEways my dad wanted to buy something to help get rid of mites and fleas. My brother said shampoo. My dad asked me if I could use soap on my GP.... Can I?

[Milkingit]

Use only shampoo meant for kittens, small animals and rabbits.

Mite and Lice shampoo is very strong stuff, they need to be treated with the proper medication for that.

Also, you should not bath your guinea pig too much, they will end up getting dry skin. Why is yours getting so dirty? I've had my GP, for a month longer then you and they are perfectly clean still.

[Shadow1]

ok
thanks!

[Paula]

Guinea pigs don't really have a problem with fleas. For mites or lice the best treatments are Ivermectin or Revolution. You can also use Advantage if the pig has lice, but Advantage won't treat mites. If you go this route make absolutely certain you have the dose right.

Don't use soap. You can use a shampoo formulated for rabbits or small animals, or puppy or kitten shampoo that has no added medications (such as for fleas/ticks).

Pigs really only rarely need bathing, more like only every few months and not twice a month or more. It's not good for their skin to be washed so often.

[Ibbet]

Originally Posted by Milkingit

Why is yours getting so dirty? I've had my GP, for a month longer then you and they are perfectly clean still.

I was wondering also. I've had Hippie for almost a year (August 4th) and haven't had to give him a bath yet.

[Shadow1]

I just realisef this typo!(Bad Keyborad)
I bathe her 1 a month

[Ly&Pigs]

Bathing even once a month is way too often. Most pigs rarely, if ever, need a bath and some only need butt baths. Usually it's long haired pigs that need bathing and they only need it once every 3-4 months if kept groomed properly.

If your pig stinks, try cleaning the cage more often.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

What type of cage do you have and what type of bedding are you using?

[MissFormosa]

I have washed my pigs in mild baby wash. It rinses out well and doesn't strip the moisture from their skin.

I don't bathe them frequently either. I washed each one when I got them and then not that long ago, we tried the "group bath" hoping it would help ease tensions between Alton the boss pig and Byron the raging hormone.



When Alton's or Byron's grease glands get really waxy, I do put a little dish soap on the gland and de-grease it, but I wouldn't use it on any other part of the pig. I make sure it is also rinsed really really well.

[Amsley246]

Originally Posted by MissFormosa

I have washed my pigs in mild baby wash. It rinses out well and doesn't strip the moisture from their skin.

I don't bathe them frequently either. I washed each one when I got them and then not that long ago, we tried the "group bath" hoping it would help ease tensions between Alton the boss pig and Byron the raging hormone.



When Alton's or Byron's grease glands get really waxy, I do put a little dish soap on the gland and de-grease it, but I wouldn't use it on any other part of the pig. I make sure it is also rinsed really really well.

Any type of human shampoo, even baby shampoo is still harsh on their skin. It has to be either bunny, kitten/puppy or small animal.

[MissFormosa]

Originally Posted by Amsley246

Any type of human shampoo, even baby shampoo is still harsh on their skin. It has to be either bunny, kitten/puppy or small animal.

Yes and I have also heard it is okay to use both. I would recommend whatever you use, you check the ingredients first. I have had a bad experience with bunny shampoo.

We had originally purchased something called "Bunny Bath" when we got Alton. It said it could be used safely for guinea pigs and other small animals also. Alton seemed to get a sort of dandruff from it and we had sworn we had rinsed him well enough. When we looked at the ingredients, we decided not to use it again. It has practically the same ingredients as cheap human shampoo! Here's the ingredients:
water, sodium laureth sulfate, lauroamphoglycinate, sodium trideceth sulfate. cocoamide DEA, ped-150 distearate, sodium chloride, EDTA, diazolidinyl urea, DMDM hydantoin, citric acid, fragrance, methlychloroiso- thiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, FD&C yellow 5, FD&C yellow 6

The thing is, I would be most concerned with the second main ingredient listed on the "Bunny Bath" and in many other puppy/kitten/small animal shampoos - Sodium Laureth Sulfate. This is the gentler version of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS). It is a dangerous chemical and not only is it used in skin and hair care products, but also in cleaning products. It cleans by way of corrosion. It will actually dry out skin, rather than moisturize it by striping away the protective lipids that help skin retain moisture. It can cause hair loss, skin irritation, rashes, and infection. Ever wonder why bubble baths warn that they can cause rash and UTI's? SLS (and Sodium Laureth Sulfate) is also used as a primary skin irritant in clinical testing. Laboratories use it to irritate skin on test animals so that they may then test healing agents to see how effective they are on the irritated skin. So even if Sodium Laureth Sulfate is gentler than SLS, it still is a very dangerous chemical. Both are derived from the ethoxylation of dodecyl alcohol. Sodium Laureth Sulfate is used in products that we expect to "foam" (such as shampoo) and has more "foaming" power than SLS.

When you look at the ingredients, you can see that all that "Bunny Bath" is is a chemical soup and could very well pass as a cheap brand of human shampoo. The only difference is the label, the packaging, and the marketing.

We use Burt's Bee's baby wash on the pigs (and our toddler), which is very mild and has almost all natural ingredients:
Water, decyl glucoside, lauryl glucoside, coco-betaine, glycine soja (soy) protein, coco-glucoside, glyceryl oleate, sucrose laurate, glycerin, betaine, vanilla planifolia (vanilla) fruit extract, illicium verum (anise) oil, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil, citrus medica limonum (lemon) peel oil, eugenia caryophyllus (clove) flower oil, glucose, xanthan gum, glucose oxidase, lactoperoxidase, fragrance

So far, we have had no reactions to the Burt's Bees wash, but we don't wash the pigs often.

[Paula]

As a general rule, guinea pigs should not be washed with any kind of human shampoo. It's more likely than not to cause dryness, itching, and otherwise make your pig uncomfortable than something specifically for animals.

I understand that you have a pig that had a reaction to Bunny Bath, but it's actually something that's very well tolerated by many pigs, including all of my own who have had to have a bath.

What should be recommended for a first time pig washer is a shampoo that's formulated for bunnies or small animals, or kittens/puppies as long as there are no added ingredients for killing fleas or ticks rather than any kind of baby wash or any human shampoo or soap.

[MissFormosa]

Well now I am wondering and am curious...

Could my pigs reaction to the "Bunny Bath" be because he is a P.E.W.?
He does seem sensitive sometimes - he used to get allergic reactions to the aspen bedding and the pine bedding we used. The "Bunny Bath" did contain a skin irritant as the second main ingredient...