Grooming Long-haired abbys

Cut the hair short whenever it needs it. Multiple times per week is WAY too many. The main thing is to keep the butt hair trimmed so it won't be such a mess.

And expect them to shriek as though every hair had a nerve in it. My abbys have HATED having their hair cut!

Awesome! And how often do you brush/ what do you brush with? I've seen some other folks talk about brushing every day, which I'm willing to do, I just want to make sure I'm not putting them through unnecessary stress. I've also seen people recommend a slick brush like this one: (broken link removed)

but the wire brushes make me a little nervous because that seems a little harsh to use on piggies. They're so delicate, and my long hairs are soooo teeny at the moment.

Btw I'm thinking about naming the brown-faced one Presley and the one with black on his face Sir Peter Bartholomew Fluffington the Third.

I don't brush, just keep the hair cut short.

Gotcha, thanks! I appreciate the help! I've never had long-hairs and while I assumed I would at some point, I thought I'd have longer to research than my cop buddy knocking on my door with a carrier lol. Some folks were planning on doing an intervention, but when they went in, they discovered it was too late. We're all pretty sad about this guy.

For starters, I refer you to this recent thread and my posts there: https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...ppers-Brands?p=1000514&highlight=#post1000514

I have had Abbys on/off for 30 years and started keeping cavies again about eight years ago. I have always had a love affair with Abbys and don't expect that to change. They are smart, mischievous, athletic and very vocal.......all the wonderful qualities that I love. I had the one Texel sow that you see in the post I referred you to, but otherwise it has been Abby boars.

We have grooming day about once a month where we do ear cleaning, genital cleaning, nails and in the summer, a haircut. Most Abbys tend to shed a good bit but I find that brushing them doesn't really help very much. I can brush Sparky and 30 mins later he is shedding on my dark clothes. I use a baby's hair brush or a soft toothbrush on the occasion that I do brush them. They enjoy the experience and will happily submit to being brushed.

Your boys appear to have longer hair than a regular Abby so they will probably benefit from regular trims around their genital area and back legs to ensure good hygiene. As you will note from my posts, I use small clippers for those areas and larger ones for the back and sides of the body. If you want to start regular brushing, I suggest you begin with once a week and see how that goes. As I said, as it approaches summer, then you may want to consider keeping their hair shorter.

spy9doc said:

As you will note from my posts, I use small clippers for those areas and larger ones for the back and sides of the body. If you want to start regular brushing, I suggest you begin with once a week and see how that goes.

Click to expand...

Thanks! Can you link to something similar to what you use in terms of "clippers"? There are so many ways to remove hair that I want to be sure I'm getting the right one lol.

It's not rocket science and you don't have to buy expensive specialty clippers from a pet supply. You can buy them from a beauty supply store like Sally Beauty Supply. I list more details in the link referenced earlier.

I simply went for economy and bought a set at Costco that has everything you need including scissors. I don't recommend using scissors but you will have them if you need: (broken link removed)