bathing?

O

ourpiggypalace

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wasn't too sure where to post this or if anyone has asked before but how regularly do you all bathe your piggies and under which circumstances? thanks a bunch x
 
You do not need to bathe guinea pigs as a matter of routine. It isn’t good for their skin to be bathed and piggies are very good at keeping themselves clean.

There are occasions when it may be necessary but usually a quick bum bath is all that is necessary, and these are detailed in the links below. I’ve added the boar care guide as well in case your piggies are boars.

Bathing (including cleaning grease glands)
Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths
 
My long haired boy Finn gets bum baths but not often. Mine are indoor piggies so I keep up with cleaning of their living areas as well as my piggy Finn so the house doesn’t smell bad.
My Lara is very short haired with almost no hair but she is not a skinny pig. I can’t give her baths because she will get a cold and/or she will end up with dry skin.
My boy Finn needs bum baths, hair trimmed, and nails trimmed. Even though he is a boy, he needs more care than Lara, XD
 
in 4 years mine had about 2 baths and that was only due to them having ringworm... bum baths if they have a smelly bottom..
 
In four plus years Ruby has needed 2 bum baths and Lucy has not had a single bath.
It varies from piggy to piggy, but if they are smooth coated and their cage is kept clean they shouldn't really need baths.
 
I've only ever had to bath 1 old boar who had impaction, and another one who had arthiritis and couldn't always be bothered to pee where he didn't sleep
 
Only need to bath on the vet's recommendation or if your piggy has long hair and/or a mucky bum, only 3 of my 8 piggies have ever had baths and after realising not cleaning your bum equals a bum bath one of my piggies wised up pretty fast and got better at cleaning herself! A consistently mucky bum in a piggy that is young and mobile enough to clean themselves first needs a vet check but if the vet says they are just lazy with a mucky bum a monthly bum bath should be enough on a need-to hygiene basis :)
 
My current four piggies none have been bathed. 2 have had imaverol dips after a fungal outbreak and all of them have had to have a bum bath with a flannel for one reason or another (usually illness like when Lily had a womb infection to keep her clean). I have Poppy who is a bit messy but I just use a flannel and some hibiscrub around her genitals every few weeks or when it starts to get bad
 
Only bathe them if needed. Their skin is pretty sensitive, so bathing them too often can irritate it. I've had mine for five years, and he's only been bathed twice. I'd say bathe them if needed. When you do bathe, use gentle guinea pig shampoo. Don't use any human products. And try not to bathe multiple weeks in a row. It's really bad for their skin and coat.
 
The Ever Beautiful Betsy gets a bum two or three times a year whenever I need to give her a fashionable wedge cut around her bum. I only do this as I find it is easier to trim when the hair is clean. Betsy has long hair so needs bum baths when she gets a bit pongy...
 
Betsy said:
The Ever Beautiful Betsy gets a bum two or three times a year whenever I need to give her a fashionable wedge cut around her bum. I only do this as I find it is easier to trim when the hair is clean. Betsy has long hair so needs bum baths when she gets a bit pongy...
Click to expand...
Blodwen is also sporting a fashionable wedge cut around her bottom this week, after last saturday's bum bath and trim- she's also sporting a less fashionable hairdo at the front after Sweeney Piggle barbered her beautiful mane!
20200105_134329.webp
 
You should try a bath only when absolutely necessary. My short haired girls got a bath maybe once a year, sometimes every other year, when they were younger. As they got a bit older and they started to get arthritis and move around less, I’d give them bum baths as and when they needed it. Maybe like every other month or so.

My long haired girl is a bit more often though. I probably give her a full bath once a year but then bum bath her every other month. This is mainly just because she long haired and so get mucky easier than my short haired girls did.
 
Only if they need it. My Peru x Aby have never needed one in just over four years. My shortest haired is a bit of a mucky pup and required bath baths occasionally (3 so far in the same time) and the other has very fine hair that tangles easily and gets matted; she’s had one bath and is scheduled for one this weekend as she feeling a bit ‘sticky’
 
How would you practically do a bum bath? Is it dipping bottoms in a bowl of water or taking a flannel to it?
 
My beautiful long haired coronet pig was very prone to getting mucky and I would do bum baths for her quite often (say every 3 months or so, especially as she got older - she lived to be 7). I also had a Sheltie years ago who needed regular bum baths.

I would fill the plastic washing up bowl in the utility room with about an inch or two of warm water, with an old hand towel submerged beneath the water so her claws could grip a little, and then lower her in gently but kind of hold her under her carriage so that only her bottom was in the water, if that makes sense. I would then apply a bit of the ‘Gorgeous Guineas’ long haired shampoo and rinse out with clean warm water, then dry her off.

I would often trim her hair at the same time just to keep her comfy.

Needless to say she hated it but a little parsley bribery usually helped!

None of the others (all smooth, Abyssinian or Aby cross) have needed bathing.
 
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