Shaving Guinea Pigs

Status
Not open for further replies.
kerry

kerry

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Aug 23, 2013
Messages
360
Reaction score
459
Points
390
Location
Stevenage
Hi everyone!

Ive posted here before about bathing guinea pigs but just for a recap:

Ive always had short hair male guinea pigs but then I adopted two female scruffy looking guinea pigs, not realising just how long their hair would get, it just continously grows. I have no problem with spending a few hours a day brushing them but they absolutely hate it. Ive never known guinea pigs to be so stroppy, the squeak and almost growl at me, reaching around to try and bite. Any other time they will happily fall asleep on my lap or eat food out of my hand, even lick my face, thats how nice they are when not being brushed.

So my question is: has anyone ever had their guinea pigs bottom end completely shaved? I cut their hair really short almost to the skin whenever they let me to prevent wetness and matts or if it bad I bathe their bottom and smother them in a towel to brush and cut their hair but they hate it and I know it stresses them out. I'm just thinking ahead to the summer when I need to prevent fly strike because they live outside.

Sorry for the long post, any advice is welcome
 
I wouldn't think they would like that. Surely clipping it short would be enough? And maybe wipe daily with a non scented baby wipe or animal wipe to ensure they are clean. My long haired HATES getting her back touched at all. But when we pick her up we use our hand to support her back legs and she tolerates this so now I pick her up, babywipe in hand, and while lifting her do a quick wipe there and then and she doesnt notice.
Do they complain about being petted at all? Mites are very painful to guinea pigs. The vet said its like sunburn. If they have early stages of mites (pre-hairloss) that could be why they can't tolerate brushing. Are they overly itchy?
Also maybe trim all their hair to a manageable length if they hate brushing that much. We cut our shelties hair shortish but hers is straight and doesnt really get tangled/dirty.
 
I'd love to be able to shave my white Peruvian boy ( probably the hardest colour, breed and gender to keep clean! ) I cut his hair short for obvious reasons, his long locks were gorgeous but they got tangled and dirty and he hated being groomed. I don't think he'd like getting it shaved but it would make life so much easier! Usually I just cut it really short at his butt and give him a wipe with a damp cloth every so often. I know long hair is a pain :D
 
I would cut it completely, cutting it short is enough, and I'd use scissors to cut them, not a shaver.
 
Cutting short would be best. Shaving irritates skin and would be a fairly dangerous operation on a squiggly piggy! By shaving you would be increasing chances infections in hair follicles (Folliculitis) and ingrown hairs which can be very painful.

I would stick to trimming them short enough to keep tidy and you can bum bath them more regularly in the summer if they get a bit whiffy.
 
Thank you to everyone who replied! I will just continue to cut it short and bathe them and hope that as they get older they will tolerate it more!
 
Hi my long hair hates haircuts she crys like a puppy but I am careful and dont hurt her. Think it might be the sitting still she hates.

I would try feeding veg whilst doing it as it may help calm down.
 
With my long haired piggy i cut the hair really short by her bum and back legs and i never let the hair on the side drag along the floor, i always try to keep it off the floor because i keep mine on bedding and thankfully I've been problem free, other than her giving me a few nips to tell me she's had enough grooming for now.

She's pretty much knot free i just brush her daily to make sure she's got no hidden knots she can't deal with and she gets a trim maybe every other week.

I tried with cucumber or lettuce or coriander which is her fav but she stills spins round at kicks at me or runs up my chest to get away! :doh:
 
We have a long haird one and just cut his fur. It's not easy, but he deadls with it pretty well.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top