How old can a GP take bath?

[kennethlhm]

How old or at what age can a GP take its first bath?

 

[Treen]

It shouldn't need one until it's at least 6 months as pigs don't need (and shouldn't be) bathed more than a couple of times a year. Given a clean environment, they will keep themselves clean provided they're in good health.

If they have some kind of skin problem which means they need to be bathed at a young age, then your vet will advise you.

 

[kennethlhm]

I have a young GP which is around 6-8 weeks. Her back side is dirty. Currently she is under quarantine as she is bought from a petshop. I think of bath her before putting her in same cage with my other GP.

 

[LiciaMommycott]

I've had my GP's since Feb (the first) and May (the second) and the only time I bathed them was for their introduction to each other. I read that smelling the same will help them get along better (or was it a shared trauma that brought them closer? ;-)

Anyway, apart from that bath, I haven't done anything since May. They seem to stay pretty clean.

 

[kennethlhm]

I intend to bath the young one because I want her to be "clean" when I put her inside the new cage with the other 2 adult.

 

[LiciaMommycott]

I think I would bathe a dirty pig regardless of the age (as long as it's old enough to be away from its mom - i.e. no newborn). However, before letting it have access to your other pigs make sure it's bottom isn't dirty due to some intestinal bug that could get passed to the others.

 

[kimklempa]

Hello

Ours were 8 weeks w/ first bath and 4 months w/ second bath and everything was perfect, please note the winter is coming up and that may not be true for a 8 week old to get a cold..... we bought ours in June so they dried quickly

KK

 

[LiciaMommycott]

FYI - both my pigs liked the hair dryer. I set it on cool setting and used it to dry them completely before putting them back in their cage. They seemed to enjoy it.

 

[Treen]

First try wiping the area clean with damp cotton wool (warm water only) and se if you can clean her up that way. Far better to just clean the area you need to rather than subject them to a full bath. If she continues to have a messy bottom, she'll need to see a vet. Might be worth getting her checked out anyway if she came from a pet shop and has a dirty bottom - could indicate that other things haven't been taken care of so having her treated for mites may be a sensible precaution.

I've never bathed before introductions. If I think scent is going to be an issue and cause a commotion then I simply take a tiny smear of lavender oil (I touch the top of the open bottle and then rub it between my finger and thumb until you can barely see there's anything there) and dab it just above their nose. It always chills things out a little, and is far easier on them.

 

[Denise]

Licia, I have also read that about bathing them before introductions so they smell the same. I did not do that since mine were in quarantine together and left together, to my home.

 

[kimklempa]

Bath wipes

Since I have puppies I use dog disposable wipes, I found them at petco and use them for the gp's only because I just wanted to clean their underside since the cage went too too many days w/o being cleaned, I found the wipes in the dog/cat shampoo isle and no reaction from the gp so far they are safe and useful., I get 24 or 25 in one pack and use them at least twice a week for a quick no water bath

Kim

 

[Treen]

You should just use cotton wool dipped in warm water if a particular area needs a quick spruce. Those wipes have loads of chemicals on and will leave a residue and you don't want to coat a small grooming animal with stuff like that. Especially if it's forumulated for dogs/ puppies - small animals have much more delicate digestive systems so ingesting small amounts of residue will affect them far more.

But really, if their cage is kept clean and they're healthy, they shouldn't get dirty - it's as simple as that. Chemical wipes sould never be used as a substitute for good cage hygeine. It's so important for their health that they have a clean environment.

 

[ILoveFudge400]

i have began to bath my 6 month old guinea pig coco and he is fine. But i will not introduce bathing to my 11 week old until he is around coco's age.

 

[blink1177]

I bathed my guinea pig for the first time yesterday. He is about 4 months old. The problem is....he likes to sleep in the litter box so he was just as dirty the next day! Why do they insist on pooping and peeing where they sleep?