Brian's butt stain

[lilsqueaky]

i just took in two 2 year old guineas and one of them, Brian, has some black stuff on the fur around his butt and it is kind of yellow in the center of that. I'm not sure if this is something to be concerned about. I never experienced this with my previous (female) guineas, and the other one appears to be fine. I can't really get them to the vet right now because they are still adjusting as I got them two days ago and are very scared of me right now. Which also means it would be hard to simply try and clean his butt off.

I switched to using fleece liners for these guinea pigs and have noticed light brown staining in areas, I would like to assume its urine but I am not sure if it's healthy that it looks like that on the liner or maybe it is just oxidizing with exposure? As I said I have never used liners so I don't really know what would be normal.

 

[Piggies&buns]

It looks like he has a dirty grease gland. Whether there is anything else going on, would require a vet to check
A vet check is advised for all new piggies if they have not come from a reputable rescue.

Bathing (including cleaning grease glands)

 

[lilsqueaky]

Ohh that might be it, I have a vet appointment scheduled in a few weeks for them. In the meantime, does anyone have sugguestions on how to bond with them better? Right now they are really scared of me, picking Brian up to clean him is pretty much out of the question at the moment, out of the two he is the more skittish one. I tried to do it last night and it just caused him so much stress. I'm just worried if I wait too long it could get infected.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Ohh that might be it, I have a vet appointment scheduled in a few weeks for them. In the meantime, does anyone have sugguestions on how to bond with them better? Right now they are really scared of me, picking Brian up to clean him is pretty much out of the question at the moment, out of the two he is the more skittish one. I tried to do it last night and it just caused him so much stress. I'm just worried if I wait too long it could get infected.

Building a relationship is always slow and steady - weeks, months, sometimes years. Of course this means health issues just have to be dealt with regardless.

The guides below may help with how to herd them (rather than pick up), along with the piggy brilliant whispering tips in the second guide linked below

How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips

 

[Betsy]

When I adopted Lexi and Thea 6 months ago they were scared of their own shadows especially Lexi. It took 6 months of me patiently sitting every night hand feeding them their veggies and gently talking to them to start trusting me. It's still a BIG no no picking them up so I have to herd them into a snuggle sack to be able to move them from the hutch to the run and back again. At cuddletime (which is not every day as it stresses them too much) I have to hide Lexi in a big cardigan for her to feel safe. She is still a very frightened guinea pig and starts vibrating after a couple of minutes. I use the guinea pig whispering techniques linked in above. Thea isn't quite so scared and does tolerate a cuddle and is very slowly turning into a cuddle monster. I took them to the vet the day after I adopted them for a vet check. Vets are used to skittish piggies especially if you explain to them that your piggies are frightened and nervous.