Grooming long haired guinea pigs

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emilyjayne

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Hello, I recently got my two long haired boys. They’ve been with me for 5 days. I’ve kept guinea pigs in the past and feel quite confident in most areas of their care but I’ve never had long haired piggies before. I’ve read up on their grooming and know the importance of brushing their hair to prevent mattes. I’ve made the routine of brushing them every morning when I get them out of their smaller overnight cage before I put them into their bigger daytime pen.

My piggies seem to be very confident and happy being handled. One is a little more nervous than the other but will be more confident when he is with his friend. Both piggies will sit on my knee and take food from my hand and give my hand little licks - my understanding is that this means they’re not too scared? But my more confident piggy is very screamy when having his hair brushed. I was warned in the pet shop that he likes to scream but I would like to know if there’s anything I can do to coax him into accepting being brushed without screaming so much. I don’t want him to be distressed but his hair gets matted without being brushed. Any advice would be really appreciated :)

They’re also barely eating the guinea pig pellets I got them. They go through all their hay and veggies so they’re definitely eating, they just don’t seem to care for the pellets. I got the basic pets at home brand. Is it worth getting them a new brand of pellets?

Picture below of Kylo and Chewy loving some watermelon.

 
Welcome to the forum

Some piggies are just more dramatic about things than others!
I have a long haired and he hates being brushed so what I do is cut his hair short around his back legs, bottom and sides so that no hair drags on the ground. I find then that he doesn’t need to be routinely brushed as nothing is matting up. Don’t get me wrong, he hates it when it comes to his haircuts but they are only around every 6-8 weeks (perhaps a bit more frequently and more so in summer as I cut him short all over to prevent him from getting too hot).
Otherwise, giving lots of treats at hair time! Although my boy quickly wises onto what I am up to!

In terms of pellets, don’t worry if he doesn’t eat them - they aren’t essential in the diet. I only give pellets 2-3 times a week and even then I give less than the recommended one tablespoon per pig per day.
However I personally wouldn’t feed any pellet which contains alfalfa (or Lucerne as it is sometimes listed as in the ingredients) and if I remember rightly the PaH pellets do contain it so for that reason I’d personally switch away from them. What is important though is that you never overfeed pellets and stick to one tablespoon per pig per day of whatever type you feed

I feed pellets from Piggie Parcels. It is a small business run by a member of this forum. The pellets are just made from grasses.
She also sells lots of lovely forage which is what I mostly feed by way of alternative to pellets

An Illustrated Guide to Hair Cutting
 
@Piggies&buns has already linked in my guide, which is good as it means I don't have to.:D

When I first got my Texel Piggy Bramble last April she was only 4 months old. I slowly introduced the comb to her by gently combing her outside layer first. Then gradually over a few weeks I started on the under layers. Now I can groom her properly every morning. I make sure she is facing me on my lap so that if she does jump or run she jumps towards me or runs up my body. Also I make sure that I have one of my arms around her at all times so that if she decides to turn around, I have a protective arm around her.

I also get my pellets from Piggie Parcels My piggies inhale them.
 
Thank you for the pellets recommendation. My piggies now have some pellets from Piggie parcels on their way. Every brand sold in pets at home contained alfalfa as I found out when I went to get them some different pellets.

I’ll persist with gentle brushing and treats to win him over. He’s had a little haircut around his bum to keep him from matting in the meantime :)
 
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