Further Bathing Questions.

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

I've read various posts on here and Guinea Lynx about bathing piggies but I just had a few more questions, one of which is about behaviour and bonding as well so I hope putting it here with the bathing questions is okay.

Firstly, my piggies have just turned 12 weeks and I need to give them a Lice 'n' Easy shampooing as they have hay mites, as the bathing sticky has informed me, I need to condition and nit comb them however I can't find guinea pig conditioner anywhere? Can anyone suggest what to get for a conditioner? Also I'd like to clarify that only one shampoo is okay initially, and then another after a week?

Secondly, my girls have been bickering quite a lot lately (I believe they came into season) and although they appear to have calmed down, Bella has a small scab on her back which is probably from a little nip as they'd had dominance problems for about a week. Is it okay to bath with Lice 'n' Easy shampoo with a scab? If so, will bathing change their smell and cause a problem between them relationship/bonding/dominance wise?

Apologies for the essay, I just want to do things right as this is my first time.
Thanks for reading!

 

[sport_billy]

Tagging @Wiebke into this one, she is expert on all things bonding

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Tagging @Wiebke into this one, she is expert on all things bonding

Thanks! I was going to bath them today but I'm worried about doing it wrong, especially as it's the first time and they've just had a bad week. Still confused about the conditioner side of things too lol. So I've decided to hold it off til I'm happy that I'm not scarring them for life haha.

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Please can someone help? They really need their hay mites gone but idk what to do regarding the above questions.

 

[Mother Hubbard]

@Cavy Kung-Fu
Hi there, sorry for the delay, some times posts can be delayed when we're all busy living lives however no fear.
Re: shampoo and condition; try Gorgeous Guineas
Gorgeous Guineas - Aromatherapy skincare products for guinea pigs
They are very friendly and very savvy in this area, I even emailed them recently about using one of the shampoo on my dog and got a response. You can get conditioner which will work in tandem with the shampoo. I think from memory the conditioner contains manuka which is great for them. Re: the scab, I reckon as long as it's been scabbed for a little while and seems secure I would bath them both in an effort to deal with any dominance issue and then reward them after the bathing.
They are still young and even though you probably bought them together it doesn't necessarily mean they will continue with that bond. I find generally that sows bond easier than boars in my experience but it can also depend on many things, like surrounding, i.e. enough room to sort out their differences, two of everything etc. When having lap time, one pig per time but ensuring they are on the same lap fleece so the smells combine so when you put the final piggy back into their cage etc. there are no issues.

I hope that helps.

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

Thanks for your reply, yes I understand people are busy and such but I wanted to bump up the post so it wasn't forgotten as the poor girlies are quite infested now

I've emailed GG and hopefully will get some advice on what to use conditioner wise

Yes I'm pretty worried about their bonding, I don't really know what to do if they can't live together happily. They are almost 13 week old sisters, but lately they seem to be bickering a lot.

I'm going to be bathing them tomorrow now so hopefully it all goes okay!