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Guinea Pigs Scratching And Biting Because Of Washing Powder?

Isabela

Isabela

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
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Location
Slovenia
Hello.

Is there any chance that my guinea pigs scratch and bite themselves because the washing powder that I use for their fleece blankets doesn't suit them?
I've since changed it. I used a liquid powder Blink Color Waschmittel Ultra-Sensitiv and now I switched to the powder one. The one I used before was without perfume and everything and I never used fabric softener.
And my guinea pigs have been treated for mites.

I really would appreciate your help since also my vet doesn't know what's wrong with them.
 
The weird thing is that both my piggies are doing this and also sometimes coughing.
I'll look up this person, thank you.
The washing powder is not BIO, but it is for little children and it says that it's without perfume and artificial coloring. Can you tell me why it's important that it's non bio? Thank you very much
 
Claire W said:
Bio has active ingredients that can cause irritation that non bio doesn’t.

Perhaps change washing powder brand and see how they get on
Click to expand...

Thank you for your answers. I'll do that and hopefully it'll be better! :luv:
 
Yes, biological washing powders etc contain enzymes to break down common stains which people with sensitive skin (and animals) can be sensitive to.
I always use non-bio for my family including pigs, because we have had itching with bio powders in the past.
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
Yes, biological washing powders etc contain enzymes to break down common stains which people with sensitive skin (and animals) can be sensitive to.
I always use non-bio for my family including pigs, because we have had itching with bio powders in the past.
Click to expand...

Does it say non-bio on the washing powder you use? Can you give me any tip to what I should be searching for? Like a brand?
 
The main brands in the UK all do a non-biological version of their various washing powders/liquids etc, as do the big supermarkets with their own-brand stuff, and it says clearly on the front of the packaging that it is 'non-bio' or 'non-biological'. I imagine that it is the same elsewhere, if you're not in the UK, but the term used may of course be different.
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
The main brands in the UK all do a non-biological version of their various washing powders/liquids etc, as do the big supermarkets with their own-brand stuff, and it says clearly on the front of the packaging that it is 'non-bio' or 'non-biological'. I imagine that it is the same elsewhere, if you're not in the UK, but the term used may of course be different.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much, I'll search for that :luv:
 
Rosie is allergic to most detergent brands - his skin gets irritated, he sneezes and his eyes get all watery. We treated for mites, fungus and URI until we figured out the reason behind this...

However, I don't think it's very likely that both piggies are allergic. Have the pigs been checked for fungal infections and/or parasites to rule them out? According to my vet, allergy is a diagnosis of exclusion.
 
RosieMaia said:
Rosie is allergic to most detergent brands - his skin gets irritated, he sneezes and his eyes get all watery. We treated for mites, fungus and URI until we figured out the reason behind this...

However, I don't think it's very likely that both piggies are allergic. Have the pigs been checked for fungal infections and/or parasites to rule them out? According to my vet, allergy is a diagnosis of exclusion.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry for your Rosie, I hope she's better now. What detergent brands do you use now?

They've been treated for mites and scratching but it didn't seem to work. I've just read that it can also be from the hay they eat and the dust. Since there's a lot of dust and people are allergic to it and have dry skin it could also be that. A few people on this forum suggested that the issue can be fixed by wetting the hay first and letting it dry or just kicking the hay to a wall or in a box so that the dust dissapears. I'm not sure which one is better.
I'm going to also try the non-bio washing powder to see if it'll help.

If I do all that how long do you think it could take for the results to show?
 
Claire W said:
A member on here @Beans&Toast I think had a piggy that was allergic to a specific brand of washing powder.

Is the washing powder you are using bio or none bio as piggy washing should be washed in non bio
Click to expand...

Thanks Claire! I've just posted a question to @sport_billy on another thread about this! I'll get some non bio for piggy stuff now I know.
 
Isabela said:
If I do all that how long do you think it could take for the results to show?
Click to expand...
I would start by changing the wash powder first - once all your washable items have been washed and thoroughly rinsed a couple of times to get rid of any lingering enzymes etc that might cause irritation, see if they stop scratching excessively. If that doesn't help after all, then try the other things.
I was once advised to try changing my pigs' bedding to paper-based, and rinsing their eating hay, because one of mine had a URI that wouldn't go away so the vet thought it might be actually an allergy. But that didn't help, it just turned out he needed a different antibiotic.
 
Isabela said:
I'm sorry for your Rosie, I hope she's better now. What detergent brands do you use now?
Click to expand...

Rosie (he's a he, long story :xd:) is now doing great, thank you!

I'm not sure how my experience could help, as I'm not in the UK. I'm using Persil Baby Sensitive, which is an unscented, non-bio washing powder. I'm pretty sure there's a similar/comparable Henkel product on the UK market. It's a trial and error
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
I would start by changing the wash powder first - once all your washable items have been washed and thoroughly rinsed a couple of times to get rid of any lingering enzymes etc that might cause irritation, see if they stop scratching excessively. If that doesn't help after all, then try the other things.
I was once advised to try changing my pigs' bedding to paper-based, and rinsing their eating hay, because one of mine had a URI that wouldn't go away so the vet thought it might be actually an allergy. But that didn't help, it just turned out he needed a different antibiotic.
Click to expand...

Can you tell me how you rinse the hay? Do you put it in a plastic box and put water into it and rinse it? Or do you just give them the wet hay?
Thank you very much for your help again!
 
RosieMaia said:
Rosie (he's a he, long story :xd:) is now doing great, thank you!

I'm not sure how my experience could help, as I'm not in the UK. I'm using Persil Baby Sensitive, which is an unscented, non-bio washing powder. I'm pretty sure there's a similar/comparable Henkel product on the UK market. It's a trial and error
Click to expand...

Great name, Rosie :D
Thank you very much, you helped a lot. I'll try to look for that. If that's not avaliable I'll search for other non-bio washing powders. Hope it'll help :D
 
RosieMaia said:
Rosie (he's a he, long story :xd:) is now doing great, thank you!

I'm not sure how my experience could help, as I'm not in the UK. I'm using Persil Baby Sensitive, which is an unscented, non-bio washing powder. I'm pretty sure there's a similar/comparable Henkel product on the UK market. It's a trial and error
Click to expand...

https://www.goisco.com/pub/media/ca...f01e65c009f6943c2b1e9/4/0/4084500920057-1.jpg

This is what I bought. There wasn't any non-bio washing powder so I hope this will be similar to the one you have. Is this ok?
 
Looks perfectly decent to me! One can't predict what could be potentially irritating, but usually, baby products have gentle formulas.
 
RosieMaia said:
Looks perfectly decent to me! One can't predict what could be potentially irritating, but usually, baby products have gentle formulas.
Click to expand...
Great! I agree with you, you can't always know what irritates them. We'll see how it goes. Thank you again :luv:
 
Isabela said:
https://www.goisco.com/pub/media/ca...f01e65c009f6943c2b1e9/4/0/4084500920057-1.jpg

This is what I bought. There wasn't any non-bio washing powder so I hope this will be similar to the one you have. Is this ok?
Click to expand...
I agree with RosieMaia, pigs and washing powders aren't all identical in the way they react, try it and see if it is better.
Your choice proves me slightly wrong though - for some reason, Ariel don't make any non- bio washing products. I use Persil (non-bio) but that's just a choice I inherited from my mum; Fairy also do a non-bio.
What country are you in? It seems strange to me that you can't find any non-bio products at all.
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
I agree with RosieMaia, pigs and washing powders aren't all identical in the way they react, try it and see if it is better.
Your choice proves me slightly wrong though - for some reason, Ariel don't make any non- bio washing products. I use Persil (non-bio) but that's just a choice I inherited from my mum; Fairy also do a non-bio.
What country are you in? It seems strange to me that you can't find any non-bio products at all.
Click to expand...

I'm from Slovenia so it's the first time I've heard about the non-bio washing products. We don't have that kind of stuff like I saw that US or maybe also UK has. I had to find some similar things to what your brands have and that's the closest I've seen :D
 
Ah, I thought you might be from one of the former communist countries. Can you use Amazon for shopping? They sell washing products including non-bio, though I guess shipping costs would make it quite expensive, if the Baby Ariel doesn't help.
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
Ah, I thought you might be from one of the former communist countries. Can you use Amazon for shopping? They sell washing products including non-bio, though I guess shipping costs would make it quite expensive, if the Baby Ariel doesn't help.
Click to expand...
Yes we can use Amazon, it's not a problem. But as you stated the shipping is more expensive. Ebay is better in my opinion because of the shipping. I saw that they have the non-bio products there too.
 
Isabela said:
I'm from Slovenia so it's the first time I've heard about the non-bio washing products. We don't have that kind of stuff like I saw that US or maybe also UK has. I had to find some similar things to what your brands have and that's the closest I've seen :D
Click to expand...

Ah, you're practically a neighbour! :)

In mainland Europe, detergents are marketed in the opposite way. I.e. unless a detergent is marked as bio, you can safely assume it's non-bio.
 
RosieMaia said:
Ah, you're practically a neighbour! :)

In mainland Europe, detergents are marketed in the opposite way. I.e. unless a detergent is marked as bio, you can safely assume it's non-bio.
Click to expand...
Yes, you're not so far away :hug:
Oh great, I didn't know that. Thank you for that information. :luv: Can't wait to see the results!
 
RosieMaia said:
In mainland Europe, detergents are marketed in the opposite way. I.e. unless a detergent is marked as bio, you can safely assume it's non-bio.
Click to expand...

You learn something new every day! This is a very educating forum. I would have never even thought it might be the other way round (in mainland Europe), but I am glad to have found it out.
 
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