Bathing: Can I bathe him?

[Gorrific]

One of my new boys has kind of long hair. And his tummy is.... well, soaked with urine. Is it safe to bathe him to get this off so that it doesn't hurt him? What is the proper way to go about bathing him? I have some baby shampoo from when my neice stays over, and also some sensitive skin small dog shampoo [my chihuahua's very sensitive]. Would either of these work?

Oh and I'll probably be asking a lot of questions as these are my first Guinea Pigs [went the shelter route!] and I don't want to hurt them.

[distancel]

About his wet tummy - you may not be using absorbent enough bedding. Piggies with longer hair need really absorbent bedding or they will get their fur wet. Well all pig's fur will get wet if their bedding is not absorbent enough. What kind are you using? You should trim the fur around his bottom too because it can get dirty and wet and there's no escaping that.

As for bathing I watched a video on youtube for instructions have a look at this: YouTube - Bathing Your Pet Guinea Pig it shows a long haired guinea pig too so it may be helpful to you.

It is quite a long video but it is a good way to learn how to do it. I found it is also okay to put maybe less than an inch of warm water in a sink and actually sit the piggy in it if they have a lot of muck on their tummy, instead of holding them under the stream. But do it all quite quickly because they can get quite upset being in water for too long.

Just don't bathe him too often. The opinion varies but mostly I've been told no more than once a month, or else every 3 months. Because their skin can get dried out. Oh and you should use a shampoo especially for small animals.

Hope that helps. Pretty sure others will be able to add more concrete advice.

[Gorrific]

Is there any right or wrong way to trim his hair? I'm using fleece as bedding currently, and there's a space that's just hard floor so either one could be the problem. In the video, they use baby shampoo but you said small pet shampoo should be used. So is either one more or less damaging for them?

[rabbitsncavyluv]

A small animal shampoo is better than a human shampoo unless you're treating for fungus or dry skin (then Nizoral is okay).

[JD In Van]

My boy peed on the tile floor in the kitchen then decided to lay down in it. He was soaked.

I took a warm damp cloth and gently towel bathed his stomach and feet and that totally did the trick.

Do NOT use any shampoo except for small animal (rabbit shampoos are fine) or non medicated kitten/puppy shampoo.

[pigsforlife]

Long haired pigs require a lot more grooming their short hair pigs. I have a sheltie Ella, who has gorgeous locks but tends to get herself in a bit of a mess. Here are some tips for you that I have picked up over the time;

- Keep their hair cut back ~ have the pig sit on the ground and brush their hair out. Using scissors with a rounded point cut back all of the hair touching the ground. Hair that touches the ground gets caught in the bedding and makes a huge mess.
- Cut super short around their bottom ~ even with absorbent bedding (I use fleece in the main area and 100% recycled kitty litter in the kitchen area) their bottom gets wet if their hair is long. I cut the hair around her bottom, legs and up her tummy a bit super short to help prevent this.
- Bum washes ~ quite regularly (about every 2-4 weeks depending on the pig) their bottoms get gross and just need to be washed. I fill up a container with warm water and dunk only her bottom in it. I take her out, scrub her bottom with Posh 'N' Go (shampoo by Gorgeous Guineas specifically for long haired pigs), and dunk her bottom back in to rinse it off before drying her.
- Whole washes ~ not needed as frequently, I only do it about every 3 months but follow a similar process as a bottom wash. You need to be sure that their hair is dry, this is particularly important in long haired pigs as otherwise they would get very cold, very quickly. I use a combination of towels and a hair dryer on the low setting.
- MOST IMPORTANT - Daily brushing ~ removes any knots or tangles and helps keep their hair nice and clean.

I do not ever wash my short haired pigs, in fact they very rarely need any sort of grooming.

[Gorrific]

Well I decided to just run a bit of water over him, since I don't have the appropriate shampoo. I then combed him out and trimmed his hair underneath. What kind of guinea pig would he be? He's not got insanely long hair like the ones I've seen in pictures, but it's definitely not short.

[pigsforlife]

Do you have a picture of him?

[Gorrific]

This is him and my other one.

[pigsforlife]

He doesn't look like he is a real long hair. Especially when I compare him to Ella.

This is her having a bath;



Although you can't see her whole body - this one is a good comparison photo. Her hair seems to be thicker and longer than your boys.



Maybe he is a cross?

[Gorrific]

Hers is maybe half an inch longer than his, from what I can tell. The shelter said he was young though so maybe he's still growing? :P

[lissie]

He looks like American Silkie mix.

[pigsforlife]

Actually, maybe you are right. Ella's hair looked similar when she was a bub - very "ragged" (in a nice way ) looking until it grew out. If I didn't cut it back, her hair would be a lot longer.

[YayPiggies]

You can also get electric clippers specificaly for small dog's feet and ears and just shave his hair maybe 3/4 inch shorter.