Bathing yellow belly

Lacee979 · Jun 18, 2013

My little guy laid in some pee and now his belly is yellow. He's only about 10 weeks old and I'm not sure if he's big enough for a full bath. Any suggestions on how to get the yellow out?

cavykaitlyn · Jun 18, 2013

Wipe it down with a cloth dampened with warm water. That way he won't be submerged or have to worry about keeping his head up. Good luck!

aspecht · Jun 18, 2013

What if my pigs didn't lay in pee that I'm aware of?! I was going to make a post about this lol. My one white piggy's belly has turned yellow, and I was wondering if it was from the bedding? Or if he really did just lay in some pee when I was asleep.

cavykaitlyn · Jun 19, 2013

Yellowing COULD be from the bedding, depending on if it was dyed with something of that color. If you're okay with giving your pig a partial bath, some baby shampoo (or even better, exotic pet shampoo) on the spot should wash any dyes or pee out. If you can't give a bath, just follow the same steps but use some shampoo on a towel and then pour a little water on it or wipe it down with a wet cloth. Hope it's smooth sailing for all of you!

aspecht · Jun 19, 2013

cavykaitlyn said:
Yellowing COULD be from the bedding, depending on if it was dyed with something of that color. If you're okay with giving your pig a partial bath, some baby shampoo (or even better, exotic pet shampoo) on the spot should wash any dyes or pee out. If you can't give a bath, just follow the same steps but use some shampoo on a towel and then pour a little water on it or wipe it down with a wet cloth. Hope it's smooth sailing for all of you!

Thanks. I don't mind giving baths actually. I had to give Niko one when I first brought him home because he was FILTHY

PerfectPiggie · Jun 19, 2013

Get some super white coat brightener shampoo. Its really good stuff! I use it on my dogs and it gets rid of yellow stains in the fur. It whitens, brightens and conditions the fur.

The make I use is called Bio-groom, but their are others out there. You can buy it online, it mights be sold in pet stores and groomers aswell. It should be ok for the guinea pig, becasue its mine for dogs and cats.

Mastershroom · Jun 19, 2013

PerfectPiggie said:
It should be ok for the guinea pig, becasue its mine for dogs and cats.

I wouldn't automatically assume that. Guinea pigs need very gentle shampoo; most people recommend nothing harsher than kitten shampoo. Adult dog or cat shampoo would probably be too harsh.

FWIW, the stuff I use is called Squeaky Clean, specifically made for small pets. It has a very mild baby powder scent, and it's worked well with all of my pigs. 5 bucks a bottle at Petsmart.

SophieBunny · Jun 19, 2013

PerfectPiggie said:
Get some super white coat brightener shampoo. Its really good stuff! I use it on my dogs and it gets rid of yellow stains in the fur. It whitens, brightens and conditions the fur.

That doesn't sound like a good idea, dog shampoo is likely to be much too strong, especially a coat-brightener one. Sometimes even human baby shampoo is to strong for guinea pigs. It is better to be safe and buy a specially formulated guinea pig shampoo.

Rhyue · Jun 19, 2013

Human baby shampoo should NOT be used on Guinea pigs

Even baby shampoo is very drying and contains chemicals that can be toxic the GPs, especially since they groom themselves with their mouthes and can ingest residue. Its pH is also different from the natural pH of GP skin and cause disturbances to the skin's health, leaving it vulnerable to skin disorders, such as dandruff or fungal diseases. Washing your GP once in is unlikely to harm it, but avoid baby (or other human) soap if at all possible.

If you have an animal you will need to bathe more (like a long hair) definatelly look into getting a small animal specific shampoo (and even if not, its good to have anyway). If nothing else, get a sensitive skin kitten shampoo. Not cat. Kitten shampoo is better than puppy because it is formulated with the knowledge that cat's lick themselves (like GPs) and so they avoid compounds that are toxic on ingestion.

cavykaitlyn · Jun 19, 2013

Rhyue said:
Human baby shampoo should NOT be used on Guinea pigs

Even baby shampoo is very drying and contains chemicals that can be toxic the GPs, especially since they groom themselves with their mouthes and can ingest residue. Its pH is also different from the natural pH of GP skin and cause disturbances to the skin's health, leaving it vulnerable to skin disorders, such as dandruff or fungal diseases. Washing your GP once in is unlikely to harm it, but avoid baby (or other human) soap if at all possible.

If you have an animal you will need to bathe more (like a long hair) definatelly look into getting a small animal specific shampoo (and even if not, its good to have anyway). If nothing else, get a sensitive skin kitten shampoo. Not cat. Kitten shampoo is better than puppy because it is formulated with the knowledge that cat's lick themselves (like GPs) and so they avoid compounds that are toxic on ingestion.

It was just a suggestion. Thank you for your input though. I assumed baby shampoo was very gentle because I use it on dolls all the time and the one I have doesn't have all kinds of chemicals in it. Would even a natural blend be unsafe?

I was on the side leaning towards getting pet-specific shampoo, as it is less dangerous and also less of a guesswork game.
To the OP, do try to get the right shampoo. I wish you well.

aspecht · Jun 19, 2013

PerfectPiggie said:
Get some super white coat brightener shampoo. Its really good stuff! I use it on my dogs and it gets rid of yellow stains in the fur. It whitens, brightens and conditions the fur.

The make I use is called Bio-groom, but their are others out there. You can buy it online, it mights be sold in pet stores and groomers aswell. It should be ok for the guinea pig, becasue its mine for dogs and cats.

I definitely wouldn't consider using that shampoo! I wouldn't even use it on a dog, it can be very irritating to their skin, especially a small breed dog, which unfortunately is the ones who need it most. Last time I washed my Niko (only time honestly) I washed him with a bit of baby shampoo, because that's all I had and didn't have time to run to the store. I did make sure I rinsed him really good though. I will look again for the small animal shampoo, last time all I could find was to de-flea a ferret.

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Bathing yellow belly

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