Grooming

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Deleted member 147427

Hi my salsa is so fluffy I’m just wondering if I should groom her .
 
Can we have a picture of Salsa? I bet she's a cutie.

Honestly, in my opinion only, I think all piggies should be used to being brushed as some can't groom properly when they're older. So if they're used to being brushed it won't be stressful for them compared to if they're not.

I have have 6 short haired piggies (4 smooth coat, 1 Ridgeback (he looks like he has a mohawk) and a rex. They're all used to being brushed and having nails done. They're also used to me checking their mouths, teeth and bits.

however I have had my piggies a lot longer than you have had yours. Please ensure your piggies have settled in and are happy to have you invading their space before you start.

Things to ask yourself
- can I walk into the room without them running away and hiding?
-will they come out and greet me even if I'm moving or being noisy?
- can I put my hand in the cage? Do they run away or come to you?
- are they easy to be picked up? Can you do this in a stress free way?
 
Now, I'm no pro when it comes to breeds of pig but Salsa looks to be an Abyssinian. I've never had one but they don't look to have overly long hair so I doubt you'd need to brush her regularly or trim her hair.

Salsa looks like shes wondering what that tiny human is doing 🤣
 
She has quite long fluffy hair on
Engel said:
Now, I'm no pro when it comes to breeds of pig but Salsa looks to be an Abyssinian. I've never had one but they don't look to have overly long hair so I doubt you'd need to brush her regularly or trim her hair.

Salsa looks like shes wondering what that tiny human is doing 🤣
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she has quite long hair on her sides
 
I agree with @Engel all our longer haired ladies have disliked grooming, it actually got to the point where with Vimto it was detrimental to any bond we'd build up so we kept her fur shorter but she had LONG hair. Your little one Salsa looks like an Abby so unless bum fur gets matted i wouldn't do it regular, maybe a check every few weeks or so...
 
I don't groom my Louise but I do trim her with clippers esp around the face (avoiding whiskers and eyebrows!) and back end (she soaks wee in her leg feathers).
In summer she's trimmed all over. She doesn't much like it but she hates being groomed even more because it pulls at her tender skin. If I don't top and tail she can get urine scald on her back feet and she is less active because she can't see very well. If your floofy girl can see and her bum end isn't wet or dirty you don't have a problem! Here are pics of Louise:
Before Louise side view.webp and after cropped gigi.webpa shy pair.webp
 
Free Ranger said:
I don't groom my Louise but I do trim her with clippers esp around the face (avoiding whiskers and eyebrows!) and back end (she soaks wee in her leg feathers).
In summer she's trimmed all over. She doesn't much like it but she hates being groomed even more because it pulls at her tender skin. If I don't top and tail she can get urine scald on her back feet and she is less active because she can't see very well. If your floofy girl can see and her bum end isn't wet or dirty you don't have a problem! Here are pics of Louise:
Before View attachment 190172 and after View attachment 190174View attachment 190180
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She does have a bit of urine staining on her back end
 
Guinea lover 1982 said:
She does have a bit of urine staining on her back end
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Youll notice urine staining because she has a white bum. I've had white rats, hamsters and dogs and you really notice the staining either from scent glands, urine, grass stains and anything else you can think of. You won't notice it on pigs with darker coats, but that doesn't mean it's not there, you just can't see it.

I really wouldn't worry about staining. It doesn't mean anything, it's not bad, it wont hurt her. Not only that I think I've tried every 'stain removing' shampoo and conditioner out there with my dog Beau, and I can assure you it's a waste of money. Essentially you need to accept that white animals aren't destined to be white.

Here's Beau after refusing to come inside while it was raining so he spent all his time zooming around the garden and diggingSnapchat-470427782.webp
Did I get all that mud out? Nope and his feet where stained from the grass and I couldn't get that out either.

All I'm trying to say is don't worry.
 
Free Ranger said:
I don't groom my Louise but I do trim her with clippers esp around the face (avoiding whiskers and eyebrows!) and back end (she soaks wee in her leg feathers).
In summer she's trimmed all over. She doesn't much like it but she hates being groomed even more because it pulls at her tender skin. If I don't top and tail she can get urine scald on her back feet and she is less active because she can't see very well. If your floofy girl can see and her bum end isn't wet or dirty you don't have a problem! Here are pics of Louise:
Before View attachment 190172 and after View attachment 190174View attachment 190180
Click to expand...
Louise looks so much better with her fancy hair cut! I know that battle too well (with my other dog Bella), which is the worst of the 2 evils?

Bless them if only they understood we were trying to help.
 
Engel said:
Youll notice urine staining because she has a white bum. I've had white rats, hamsters and dogs and you really notice the staining either from scent glands, urine, grass stains and anything else you can think of. You won't notice it on pigs with darker coats, but that doesn't mean it's not there, you just can't see it.

I really wouldn't worry about staining. It doesn't mean anything, it's not bad, it wont hurt her. Not only that I think I've tried every 'stain removing' shampoo and conditioner out there with my dog Beau, and I can assure you it's a waste of money. Essentially you need to accept that white animals aren't destined to be white.

Here's Beau after refusing to come inside while it was raining so he spent all his time zooming around the garden and diggingView attachment 190206
Did I get all that mud out? Nope and his feet where stained from the grass and I couldn't get that out either.

All I'm trying to say is don't worry.
Click to expand...
Ah she’s so cute 🥰
 
This is how floffy my salsa is
 

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She doesn’t look to be pure Abyssinian given she has longer hair.
I have a long haired boy and I try to do a quick brush with him when I do the weekly weight checks but he doesn’t particularly like it. I trim his hair fairly regularly and ensure it is kept short around his back end (His back end is kept short all year but I don’t trim the top of him so much in winter)
 
I don’t do weekly weigh checks as my girls are so difficult to handle . Should I get a grooming kit to groom her. She has never been groomed before
 
Guinea lover 1982 said:
I don’t do weekly weigh checks as my girls are so difficult to handle . Should I get a grooming kit to groom her. She has never been groomed before
Click to expand...

It’ll take time but it is so important to get into a routine of weighing them every week. It is the only way to be sure they are eating enough hay and can be so useful in picking up on the early warning signs of an illness. They will sometimes stop eating enough hay (so you will see weight loss) before showing any other symptoms.
The earlier you start getting into that routine the easier it’ll be. They won’t particularly like it, but it is easier to do it ASAP. If you need to give them medications at any point, then it is so much harder in piggies who aren’t used to being handled.

It was difficult to begin with as my boys didn’t like it and hated being handled. They have got used to it though, they don’t particularly like it, but it isn’t the battle it used to be. Lots of coriander while being handled worked! They will sit still long enough for their weight checks, nailing clipping and grooming but only if I don’t try to do too much at one time - for example, a weight check and clipping the front nails may be enough, then clipping the back nails the next day etc

How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely

I just use a baby hair brush and a pair of hairdressing scissors - nothing fancy

An Illustrated Guide to Hair Cutting
 
Piggies&buns said:
It’ll take time but it is so important to get into a routine of weighing them every week. It is the only way to be sure they are eating enough hay and can be so useful in picking up on the early warning signs of an illness. They will sometimes stop eating enough hay (so you will see weight loss) before showing any other symptoms.
The earlier you start getting into that routine the easier it’ll be. They won’t particularly like it, but it is easier to do it ASAP. If you need to give them medications at any point, then it is so much harder in piggies who aren’t used to being handled.

It was difficult to begin with as my boys didn’t like it and hated being handled. They have got used to it though, they don’t particularly like it, but it isn’t the battle it used to be. Lots of coriander while being handled worked! They will sit still long enough for their weight checks, nailing clipping and grooming but only if I don’t try to do too much at one time - for example, a weight check and clipping the front nails may be enough, then clipping the back nails the next day etc

How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely

I just use a baby hair brush and a pair of hairdressing scissors - nothing fancy

An Illustrated Guide to Hair Cutting
Click to expand...
Okay thanks for the advice .
 
Hardly any of my piggies enjoy being handled. But it’s in their interests to weigh and check them regularly. So they are all weighed regularly even if it means me chasing then round the cage to catch them. They also need to learn to be handled for health checks, nail clipping etc. They all get a treat afterwards (usually coriander) as a reward.
 
VickiA said:
Hardly any of my piggies enjoy being handled. But it’s in their interests to weigh and check them regularly. So they are all weighed regularly even if it means me chasing then round the cage to catch them. They also need to learn to be handled for health checks, nail clipping etc. They all get a treat afterwards (usually coriander) as a reward.
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Okay is it best to book them into a vet to get health checked every so often. My girlies haven’t had a nail clip yet
 
Guinea lover 1982 said:
Okay is it best to book them into a vet to get health checked every so often. My girlies haven’t had a nail clip yet
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Its recommended new piggies are given a vet check soon after you get them in any event.
A general vet check once or twice a year wouldn’t be unreasonable either.
It can be beneficial to learn/asking a vet nurse to show you how to clip nails as they can need to be done every six weeks so it can be of benefit to learn how to do it yourself to save the cost of the vet doing it every few weeks
 
I think I’d rather book them into one of my local vets to get there nails clipped . There not registered with a vet yet
 
Guinea lover 1982 said:
I think I’d rather book them into one of my local vets to get there nails clipped . There not registered with a vet yet
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Definitely best if you aren’t sure how to do it.
Its definitely a good idea to get them registered with a vet sooner rather than later.
 
Yeah I tried to get my girlies out to weigh them . I use there gnawing log to lift them out the cage but there little monkeys They just stay in there . I think they might still be a bit scared . But I always make sure there is plenty of hay in there cage
 
I bought a grooming kit but basically to get the rechargeable pet clippers - we've not used anything else out of it. The brushes and combs hurt her so much. Her fur - surprisingly even when short - is not smooth or silky so combs get stuck and pull. But the cheapest way to buy clippers for a pet was actually to get the kit so I just gave the rest away. We don't even use the clippers guards as she freaks because they feel like a comb so I have to just guess the length and hope for the best! It surprised me because although Louise came from a rescue her history was that she was a much loved piggy from an owner who had to downsize. She had also been 'shown' so presumably she was groomed a lot for that - perhaps that's why she hates it so much. She's a happy girl generally!
box of fluff.webp
 
i have a variety of piggies,some with long white hair,some curley,some short,some frizzy.in my experience it depends on the piggy.the messy ones,i keep to fur short around the bum and genitals.some are longhaired...boys seem to keep themselves very clean and need little trimming,just to keep it above dragging length.i brush all mine with a pin hairbrush once aweek.they all seem to get used to it.its taking it slowly and regularly.
 
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