Dirty Ears

[Starbucks]

I was wondering how do you guys clean your piggies ears? All of my piggies are rescue piggies (not handled much) so they don't let me get in their ear with a Q-Tip at all.

Is there any other way to do this? One of my piggies has dirty ears, so I wanted to clean them A.S.A.P.

How do you do it?

 

[Treen]

You shouldn't really be putting q-tips in any ears - human or animal. They just tend to push dirt further in and can cause great injury to the ear if the cavy shakes its head at the wrong time.

I use cotton wool pads if I clean my pigs' ears. I dip the pads in warm water, squeeze off the excess and gently wipe the ear from the inside out. They're not usually dirty - I just do that as part of their twice a year bathing routine.

If they are dirty, try gently warming some olive oil and use that on the cotton wool pads (making sure you squeeze off any excess) the same way. Make sure it's wiped dry afterwards too.

If they're getting very dirty, pop to the vet as ear mites may be an issue.

 

[Starbucks]

i was told to use mineral oil. would that work as well?

 

[critterlover]

Mineral oil is petroleum-based. Personally, I would use olive oil instead.

 

[Treen]

Olive oil is what many doctors advise people use for blocked ears, and if you leave a bit on it's safe for them to ingest.