Bath time- Vibrating????Help!!!

[RustBottum]

Hi.
I was giving my guinea pig a bath and i put him in a conaner with a face cloth at the bottom and used warm water to wash hime with. When he was done i wraped him in a towel and started to dry him. Then he started "vibrating" kind of like a cell phone would vibrate when you set it to vibrate. I changed the towel when that one got damp. But he still vibrated. Does anyone know why??? Or how i could prevent that?

 

[Guinea pig guy]

Well guinea pigs will usually make a kind of rumbling sound with the vibrating.This sound means that they don't like whatever was done to them.If you rubbed his bottom while you were drying him than that is probably the reason why he made the sound.Many guinea pigs don't like there bottom to be touched by other pigs or humans and will usually make this sound to tell you to stop doing what it is your doing that they don't like.

 

[RubyPiggie2]

Cold? Dosen't like what's happening?

 

[*LovesGinny*]

mine vibrates too but only when i give her a bath and she's still damp. I know that when she's stopped shivering she is warm enough to either go back in her cage or on the floor.

 

[Smudger]

My piggies do that too-I always just assumed that they weren't best pleased at having been given a bath!

 

[Krysanthemum]

Yeah, mine too. She shivers for about an hour afterwards, until she's fully dry. She gets particularly cranky when I try to dry her bottom. On the other hand, she seems to enjoy being wrapped up in a big fluffy towel, so it can't be all bad.

 

[misspigglie]

What type of shampoo do you use for the baths?

 

[Smudger]

I use 'no more tears' shampoo.

 

[*LovesGinny*]

I use dog/puppie shampoo, because it was already in the house. (we have a 4 year old Golden Retriever).

 

[Smudger]

I have a really good book that says any shampoo you'd use on yourself is fine, as are dog shampoos, and apparently herbal shampoos are good for getting rid of lice. It just says to keep the soap away from their eyes (which is common sense really).

 

[AngelsCavies]

mine makes vibrating sounds when I bathe them or pet them and they love it. They purr. thats what it sounds and feels like.

 

[hiRINA]

mine makes vibrating sounds when I bathe them or pet them and they love it. They purr. thats what it sounds and feels like.

What's the difference between vibrating and purring? I just got a new guinea pig and when I hold him, he does a lot of that vibrating (or is it purring?!). He's still getting used to me and I'm just looking for signs if he's happy. He's getting slowly acquainted with my other guinea pig.

 

[Treen]

I have a really good book that says any shampoo you'd use on yourself is fine, as are dog shampoos

I don't agree. People shampoos are full of unnecessary chemicals to make hair smell nice and feel soft - fine for us as we don't then lick all the residue from our hair (and no matter how well you rinse,a heap of stuff is left behind), not good for a small grooming animal. Again dogs are very different from guinea pigs, and what it may not harm them to ingest, could really throw a guinea pig's delivate digestive tract out of whack. Stick to shampoos made for small animals.

Guinea pigs shivering during or after bathing are usually cold or stressed. Generally, it's not an experience they enjoy.

It's different to the vibrating you feel when they're making a happy purring noise or their alarm noise. These two do sound very similar, so watch their body language to see if they're happy or not. A happy pig has a relaxed body, maybe with its head down and possibly slightly closed eyes. A stressed, unhappy or scared one will have a tense body and may have a raised head, wide eyes and in the case of being irritated by petting may bite in front of them or twist their head round.

 

[AngelsCavies]

There is a site where you can tell sounds of how they feel and I cant remember what site it is. Maybe treen or someone else knows the site.

 

[kavykritter]

i think you are supposed to use a shampoo that is safe for small animals ar kittens or puppies, and that the purring was (unlike a cat) a way to show they are unhappy.
I am also rather new to this, so i do not know if there is a difference between purring and vibrating, but i would guess not. is that true?

 

[ilovebabe]

my cavy does that too but i dont know why

 

[CactusCavy]

Could someone recommend a small animal shampoo?? (by name) I want to be prepared when i get my two piggers.

~Cactus

 

[dagwellismypigy]

do you have to give them baths, I mean you always say not to feed them what they wouldnt find wherever they came frome im sure they dont have bathtubs there?

 

[Smudger]

You don't have to bathe them, but it can be beneficial to give them an occassional one if their coats get a bit grubby or greasy, and it also helps remove lice if they have them.

 

[Susan9608]

When one of my long-haired pigs started looking kinda grungy, I asked my vet about bathing. He told me that bathing is okay, as long as it is infrequent, because if their cage is kept clean, guinea pigs are good about cleaning themselves. He also said I should use "Bunny Bath" because it's gentler than cat or dog shampoo. Just a suggestion!