How Can I Make My Guinea Pigs Hair Smooth And Shiny?

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Rebecca owner of peanut

Rebecca owner of peanut

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Hi,

My guinea pig, is a alpaca, the hair around his waist to tail (i know he doesnt havent a tail, good way to explain) is lovely , curly and smooth, the hair/fur above his waist is quite wirey.

He has carrots, brocolli, cauliflower, green cabbage leaves, vit c drops, excel nuggets and excel timothy hay...

He gets bathed in small animal shampoo..

thank you :)
 
It is his breed which indicates how his hair is. My short self's have shiney hair but my Rex cross does not. You cannot change that. Can I ask if you are adding the vitamin drops to water? If so any vitamin is lost through evaporation. I give mine vitamin c tablets suitable for small animals. I crush one and put it on a piece of cucumber for each piggy. He is adorable by the way!
 
Hi thanks for your reply,

Thats how his hair is then, thought it maybe because i wasnt giving him correct vitamins,

I am adding the drops to water, i shall get some vit c tablets, thank you for your kind advice
 
I love fozzy hair! I have one very shiny smooth short haired piggy and two fozzy, wiry rex ones and Hamish even has the most amazing floofy tailfeathers! Their hair is genetic and different types are more or less curly, shiny, short long etc and that's just the way they are made!

Vit C tablets are better than drops in water, putting anything in a piggies water tends to discourage them from drinking..... My boys think the tablets are like sweeties! Oxbow make some guinea pig specific dose ones as human ones are too high dose. My boys chew them up with no problem but I kw many people crush them and put them on veg.
 
Gorgeous guinea have a shampoo that is specially formulated for longhair guinea pigs that helps making grooming more easy; it is called posh'n'go. Please be aware that not all breeds have a shiny coat, alpacas are one of them. http://gorgeousguineas.com/shampoos.html

You can find a list of what veg and fruit they can have, including vitamin C high veg and herbs, in this thread here: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/...veg-and-fruit-list-with-vitamin-c-grading.42/
Hay should make up to 80% of the daily food intake; a healthy gut also makes for a healthy coat. Give about 50g/1 cupful of mixed veg per piggy per day, including one high vitamin C veg or herb every day (like a slice of pepper of any colour, a fliet or chunk of stalk of broccoli or a sprig of coriander/cilantro, parsley, dill or mint). Pellets: Unlimited until the weekly weight gain slows down, then very gradually reduced to the half or handful that a mature adult needs after 15 months old. Fresh water daily, no additives in the water (you can't control the intake; piggies tend to drink noticeably less and it only promotes the growth of algae). Please don't overdo the vitamin C and take what is in the veg and the pellets into account, when syringing additional vitamin C. Long term vitamin C overdosing can lead to health problems. Please weigh your piggies weekly throughout their lives; it is an important health monitor.
 
Our (now deceased) guinea pig Basil was by himself for a few weeks in 2011 and his hair was quite wiry. Once we joined him up with his little friend Spotty, his hair became beautifully smooth and silky. Is yours happy?
 
Some piggies are just destined to have crazy hair no matter what you do, my longhaired crazy pig would have neat hair just after a bath and a comb for approx 5 minutes and then booom he looked a mess again :-(
 
I took him vets friday, she weighed him, trimmed his nails, did a health check, said he was fine :) maybe it is because he hasnt got a cage mate, I'm looking into that part.. he does have time with me and my daughter on a regular basis, he is much loved, i will let you know when i find a suitable cage mate, if his hair improves... it has always been kind of wirey

Thank you all :)
 
If you get him a friend please adopt from a rescue were he can choose his own friend. This saves getting a guinea pig he is not compatible with. With a rescue you can be sure the piggy will be healthy and correctly sexed.
 
Alpaca guinea pigs are so cool! Embrace his crazy, wiry hair!

Beauty comes from within. The hay and nuggets you are feeding are alright. However I would look at providing a more varied vegetable selection so he gets all the nutrients and vitamin C he needs. There is a comprehensive post about guinea pig diet in the Food section of the forums. As mentioned above, ditch the Vitamin C drops. If you are feeding a good array of vegetables daily he won't need them. However have some vitamin C tablets on hand in case (Oxbow brand are good).

Regular grooming, the occasional bath, and a cage mate may help improve his condition :)
 
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