Conditions Male Guinea Pig Smells Horrid

[CJMoore]

I have four males together in one cage. There are two adults and two babies. The cage is smaller than what they should have but I have nine foster pigs and three of them need to be housed alone. One pig smells absolutely disgusting. Does he smell because a health issue or does he just need a bath? If so how do I bath him?

 

[Soecara]

Where is the smell coming from?

If the whole cage smells like it (and it is more intense just after you clean the cage) he is probably just scent marking, but if it is coming from a specific area like his mouth or rear it could be a health issue. Bathing probably won't help unless the smell is coming from dirty fur, some of my boys actually scent mark more after a bath.

 

[CJMoore]

It is just him, the others and the cage is fine. We noticed that his private area seems more swollen compared to the others.

 

[bpatters]

Have you cleaned him? You should check at least weekly, and clean only as needed. See https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/85830-Awesome-video-on-how-to-clean-the-Anal-Sac.

 

[CJMoore]

We looked closer at him and found a very large hole near is private area. At first we thought it was a bot fly since it looked similar to the pictures we found. We brought Lewis to the vet and she flushed it but found no fly. She said it was a huge abscess and he had a high chance of dying. It has been a while since then and Lewis is doing fine. The hole is healing and he no longer smells. He seems healthy and happy. I don't think he will being dying any time soon!

 

[AnnikasMommy]

Glad you took him to the vet and he is doing ok. If you think about it, when humans have infectious areas they have an odor.