Bathing

[LisaJ429]

Bathing

Wanted to find out if bathing a piggie is okay and if so, what anyone recommends for bathing them with.

 

[IceyStylez69]

bathing

I bath my guinea pig once a month, sometimes twice. It's okay to bath them, but try to use a type of shampoo that wont let their skin dry. (that can cause problems) I use PetBuy. It's sold at K-mart by my house, and is safe for guinea pigs, even though it's used to deoderize ferrets, but hey! my piggie has to be clean too!

 

[LisaJ429]

Re: bathing

Thanks for the information. I will try to find that shampoo or something of an equal. A clean piggie is a happy piggie!:evil:

 

[2steps]

Re: bathing

There's no real need to bath a pig, unless it's actually dirty off course. Baby shampoo is fine to use as it's mild but be very careful with it around the head as it will still sting their eyes.

 

[Briana D]

Re: bathing

the pH in baby shampoo might be a little harsh but it <span style="text-decoration:underline"><em>may</em></span> be better then normal shampoo. Bunny Bath is a good choice for shampoo - it's pH balanced and shouldn't irritate the skin.

2steps is correct. While some people on this board recommend bathing every month, the majority of cavy owners don't think it is necessary. Bathing too often can cause dryness and skin irritation. If you pig does need to be bathed often you may what to increase it's cage size or increase the amount of times you change the bedding.

 

[LisaJ429]

Re: bathing

Thanks for the information. My one piggie has sort of longer hair and loves to lay in her cozy and make her mess in their as well. I mainly notice around her "bottom" is where is sort of dirty but not really bad. My other piggie is a shorter hair and white in fact but she never looks dirty.

Lisa

 

[Briana D]

Re: bathing

If the bottom of of the pig looks dirty you can always just give a rump dunk. Put some warm water in the sink and dip her bottom in. Also since she has long hair, you might want to keep that area well trimmed.

 

[2steps]

Re: bathing

The baby shampoo I use has a very neutral ph as my daughter has quite sensitive skin

I have a pig who is the same LisaJ429, I didn't want to keep bathing her and possibly harm her so I started to bath just the dirty area. Then I though of trimming the hair around her bottom (cut it short close to the body but leave it longer the further away you go and you'll not even notice it's been done) It works really well. I have to do it every month or so, I'd say and she is now much more used to having it done.

 

[IceyStylez69]

Like I said previously.. I bath my pig once a month. But it also does depend on how long your piggies hair is. Mine in fact has VERY long hair, so he drags it everywhere! It's almost impossible to keep his hair short because it grows fast, but I do what I can. But I agree with most posts, you don't need to bath your piggie unless it's necessary, but make sure you properly dry them afterwards! 8o