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Small pets

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Original poster

Guinea pig bath? please tell all.

20 replies

threecurrantbuns · 24/06/2012 21:06

Ok your prob sick of seeing me pop up now but got two baby guineas for dds birthday. Read a book about them but from threads I've read on here it must be dated and Its a first for me.

Book said bedding/hutch should be layer of newspaper plus woodshaving plus Hay. This is what I've done but seems very inadequate compared to what I've been reading on threads.

Anyway, guinea pig baths?? Didn't know they needed bathing, please tell all and instruct please :)

OP posts:

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 24/06/2012 21:37

Hi, (I read your other thread about what time pigs leave mum, and I honestly couldn't tell you . They reach sexual maturity very early . IIRC the ones I've seen in Pets@Home were 5 weeks old and very little. The ones I got as a child -long time ago- were about 8 weeks .They were much bigger and one was already pg. I'm pretty sure we rehomed ours about 5-6 weeks, mainly because that was when the sow got fed up with them.)

WRT baths- yours are way too young and skitty to worry about baths just now. They are difficult enough to hold as babies, 100% worse when they are soapy .

The only time I'd bath a mini-pig (that's what they call

KRITIQ · 24/06/2012 22:08

Yes, good advice. If you have a pig on the whiffy side, try rubbing him down with toddler wipes. They usually smell fresh and fruity and you'll have a fragrant rodent again in no time!

Original poster

threecurrantbuns · 25/06/2012 07:27

I had never even heard of a guinea having a bath until reading on here. Couldn't believe it, is it a necessity or just because of smell?

OP posts:

BonkeyMollocks · 25/06/2012 11:15

I have just started using Megazorb as a bedding and its fab. By far the best I have tried! Keeps smells down, easy to clean, very absorbent.
Can be quite tricky to find but try horse bedding suppliers! A big bag cost me £10 and its looking like it will last me months :)

With regards to the bath, advice is different everywhere you go I have found. Some people say every month, some people say every 3 months....If they start to whiff to much, or they need bonding with another then its a good thing to do. I did my two a few weeks ago with Johnsons baby shampoo. :)

I think the main thing I personally would be looking at would be the condition of their coats. They can get dry skin, so I am guessing a nice scrub in the bath would help keep their skin in good cond and will feel better for them. Think dry scalp having a massage All my thoughts though, have no idea if its fact!

Also I have heard that boys grease spots can get a bit gunky. I haven't had this yet but if needed a quick wipe with a baby/toddler wipe should do the trick. Like KRITIQ said, the toddler wipes smell lovely. I but the melon ones for ds!

My Big pig smells. He has quite a masculine aroma. But I am with 70, I don't care, I luffs him but not when he shoves his smelly arse in my face!

Original poster

threecurrantbuns · 25/06/2012 11:38

Ok thanks lots of horsey shops in this neck of the woods so will look for that bedding. How do you go about bathing a pig and do they hate it x

OP posts:

BonkeyMollocks · 25/06/2012 11:44

I just put a towel on the bottom of the bath and filled it to belly height with warm water. My bath is a bit sloped so there was one end with barely any water and one end that was neck height.

Big pig hated the water but liked the scrub and the cuddle in the towel afterwards to get dry.
Little pig just did his usual trick of being abit scatty and ran up and down the bath. I am fairly sure it was happy running, he seems to like water he always has is paws in the water bowl but then he is in a class of his own with the Guinea weirdness

I know some people do it in the sink/washing up bowl so there is less room for them to leg it.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 25/06/2012 21:27

Just make sure you have everything you need beside you.The water should be shallow enough to not get into their ears or eyes.I put a towel in the bottom of the bath.
Shampoo diluted in a jug of warm water. Towel to wrap them and a dry one to dry them.
I put mine in a box of soft straw and hay when they are nearly dry. (mine don't like the hairdryer)

mercibucket · 25/06/2012 21:32

Mine love the hairdryer but hate the bath (careful not to burn them though)
I only wash a few times a year - mostly for something to do with the kids, who find it hilarious
Be careful they don't get a chill afterwards - takes a long time to fully dry off a wet piggy

mercibucket · 25/06/2012 21:32

ByTheWay1 · 27/06/2012 20:04

I have never ever bathed a guinea pig! The idea of it just made me laugh out loud!!

But ours are outdoor piggies, so no indoor smells....

mercibucket · 27/06/2012 23:22

You inspired me to visit gorgeous guineas for some smellies - shampoo and melts - bath time tomorrow :)

mercibucket · 27/06/2012 23:22

You inspired me to visit gorgeous guineas for some smellies - shampoo and melts - bath time tomorrow :)

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 01/07/2012 20:37

DD and I washed the boars today , they do take a long time to dry.
We towel wrapped them, then put them in a big box of straw in the sitting room. Then we wafted them with a warm heater to make sure.

They are smooth, fragrant, grease spots de-clagged. And as as heck.

damppatchnot · 17/07/2012 13:01

I bathed all my herd last week and did nails. All 25 if them

I'm using gorgeous guineas products and I'm really impressed

Two lost coats to a fungal infection and using the melts the scurf quckly went and the coats are growing back soft but thickly

BonkeyMollocks · 17/07/2012 19:14

That's impressive damp !

I did Big pigs nails tonight and that was a effort in itself!

mercibucket · 17/07/2012 20:54

Mmmm time for another bath I think! Agree about gorgeous guineas - big pig is growing back some lovely fur now

mercibucket · 17/07/2012 20:54

Mmmm time for another bath I think! Agree about gorgeous guineas - big pig is growing back some lovely fur now

FernieB · 18/07/2012 18:11

Wow damp - 25 pigs is impressive. It's hard enough bathing 2!

Mine are bathed every couple of months (whenever it becomes obvious that the smell is coming from them not their cage). I put a washing up bowl on the kitchen floor and cover myself and the surroundings with towels. They don't like standing in water, so I have a few jugs ready and put a pig in the empty bowl and pour just enough on to make him damp enough to lather up. Then it's a frantic battle between me and pig to rinse him off before he legs it. He is then wrapped in a towel and patted dry before being blow dried with the hair dryer on a low setting (and at a bit of a distance so it's not too warm) - they both like that bit.

After doing this twice I am always wetter than they ever are.

racingheart · 25/07/2012 22:32

Fernie, thanks for that honest account. I just came on here to find out about bathing our gps as they are starting to smell (after two years - pretty good going!) I can tell our boars won't be happy with the arrangement, so I think I'll do what you did and hope for the best.

racingheart · 25/07/2012 22:35

Are gorgeous guineas products only online or do pet shops sell them?

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