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How often should I bath a long haired piggy?

MWpiggies

MWpiggies

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello everyone!
I’m sure this question has been asked before, but I’m asking again for extra clarification. I have a white, long haired boar named Eddie, and I wanted to know how often I should bathe him? I’ve read some people say when he gets mucky, but not even 1 hour after his bath he gets pee stains in his bum and belly. I keep his fur very short and trim it weekly, but he always manages to stain it. Also, is there any shampoos that you recommend for long haired piggies that I can get in Canada?
Thanks! 😊
 
I have a long haired boy but I’ve not needed to bath him (and the way he makes a fuss of his hair cuts, I am dreading the day he does need a bath!). His hair is kept as short as I can around his bottom but I don’t see any staining or anything concerning that he needs to be bathed. I’d do it if I needed to, but he takes pretty good care of himself really.
In short though the answer is likely bathe as infrequently as possible.

What is your piggy bedded on? Is he moving about enough?
 
i have a herd of 4 totally white hair.they all seem to stain there fur/hair.i give a grade 1 clip around their nether regions.give bum baths as needed.bath them every 3 months.i use megazorb and chopped rape seed oil straw bedding on top/so the bedding is very absorbent.i use gorgeous guinea pig shampoos .
 
It’s a good question about the bedding.
 
I use fleece with absorbent towels and or puppy pads underneath, changed weekly, with pee pads in areas he goes most, changed daily.
 
As for moving around enough, he gets floor time 1 hour a day. I also hide his food around his cage at meal times so he spends about 40 mins a day running around his cage looking. He also like to play with his toys and move his huts around his cage throughout the day.
Is this enough or should or should I do more floor time and other stuff?
Thanks for all the replies!
 
Pee pads are good. I have never found towels to be quite good enough at keeping the the fleece dry as towels themselves take a while to dry. I’m not saying that is the whole cause, but it is just an observation from when I attempted towels.
As he is alone, then perhaps do increase the floor time and as siikibam said look at the Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs thread. Perhaps if you feed hay in racks normally, maybe try to create a hay foraging area so that he spends time moving through hay, foraging, and exploring. Obviously you know him best but I just wonder whether he is maybe spending more time in one place than you think and that is why he is becoming stained so quickly?
 
Would 1 1/2-2 hours of floor time per day be good? Also, I have read both the thread on enrichment and the thread on single piggies, they were very helpful. He has a “hay level” where he spends a lot of time and I change the fleece there daily.

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Since this picture was taken I have gotten rid of the green hay bag and now he just has a big pile of hay, there are also pee pads on this level, should I change them twice a day or stick with once?
Thanks 😊
 
Honestly, my long-haired pigs were bathed only as needed. I do cut their hair to keep it from getting wet or tangled, especially around the bum. I think having a little bit of discoloration on white pigs is not that uncommon and I wouldn't worry as much about the staining as long as the fur isn't soaked or matted. If needed, you can give him a bit of a bum bath- just rear end in water in the sink and some mild soap/shampoo. Hope this helps a bit!
 
MWpiggies said:
Thanks! Another question, what shampoo do you use/think would work for him?
Click to expand...

If you can just use plain water then that is best.
You can get special piggy shampoos from gorgeous guineas. Not sure if you can get it in Canada though. If not the guide explains a baby shampoo can be used but if you can keep it to just plain water then that is a good thing.
Bathing (including cleaning grease glands)
 
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