Texel Care Routine

[machuandpicchumummy]

I am absolutely in love with Texel piggies and we are looking to get another pair of boars this summer and I would love to get Texels. I was just wondering if they have any special requirements I may not have thought of? Such as, are they suited to both indoor and outdoor living, are shavings appropriate bedding for them, any personality traits etc, prone to any health issues, are they hard to keep cool in hot weather? I realise they would need very frequent grooming with their coats being so long and thick. If anyone's ever owned any Texels, any advice would be great.

 

[Wiebke]

I am absolutely in love with Texel piggies and we are looking to get another pair of boars this summer and I would love to get Texels. I was just wondering if they have any special requirements I may not have thought of? Such as, are they suited to both indoor and outdoor living, are shavings appropriate bedding for them, any personality traits etc, prone to any health issues, are they hard to keep cool in hot weather? I realise they would need very frequent grooming with their coats being so long and thick. If anyone's ever owned any Texels, any advice would be great.

Hi!

Please keep their bum ends /around their legs cuts short - these are the areas that tangle and matt quickly. Alsokeep their hair off the floor and if necessary cut the undercoat shorter to allow them full mobility and minimise the tangling. Judicious hair cutting goes a long way with long-haired piggies; especially with messy teenage boys!

For the summer, we recommend a radical short haircut (or two, depending on the weather and heat spikes); the hair will grow back for the winter, so no worry. But it is like wearing a skisuit on a tropical beach. You will see for yourself just how happy your boys will be without their mop! Small dog clippers work best with long-haired piggies.

For Texel grooming you will need an afro comb. Use our piggy whispering tips and a treat for afterwards (like their favourite veg) if they hate being groomed, which most long-hairs do. For the ones that really hate grooming, keeping the hair cut shorter does help a lot.

Please do not overbathe; in most cases a gentle bum bath (see our boar Care guide) is sufficient. Overbathing can dry out the skin and mess with the skin microbiome, which is an important part of the immune defence. It can cause more problems than it solves.

We generally recommend to bring any piggies indoors during weather extremes anyway. Even an insulated shed or a hutch in the shade can become a death trap in hot weather. Long-haired and even more so thick-coated piggies are at a higher risk of heat exhaustion or stroke.

You may find the information in these guides here helpful:
Help with better compliance (use a mix of love and mild dominance)
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips
Who is the Boss - Your Guinea Pig or You?

Grooming care and our VERY comprehensive hot weather guide with ALL available tips and information on how to spot the worst hot weather problems:
An Illustrated Guide to Hair Cutting (with videos and pictures for summer cuts and winter cuts)
Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths (hairs in the anal sac or in the penis shaft are more common in long-haired breeds)
Bathing (including cleaning grease glands)

Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike

I hope that this will help you?

 

[rp1993]

Our pig Pepper has a bit of Texel in him(we think)..
this is his current winter cut.. under his bum is shorter but I keep it long at the top!




Summer hair

We keep him on fleece which i would reccomend over shavings!
I notice his boar bits need cleaning a lot more with fur and gunk vs Pringle out Aby.
We have cooling pads in the summer and he lies in them a lot!
His coat gets brushed once/ twice a week but that’s because he is a cross bread and I find his coat doesn’t mat as it’s very soft!

 

[machuandpicchumummy]

Hi!

Please keep their bum ends /around their legs cuts short - these are the areas that tangle and matt quickly. Alsokeep their hair off the floor and if necessary cut the undercoat shorter to allow them full mobility and minimise the tangling. Judicious hair cutting goes a long way with long-haired piggies; especially with messy teenage boys!

For the summer, we recommend a radical short haircut (or two, depending on the weather and heat spikes); the hair will grow back for the winter, so no worry. But it is like wearing a skisuit on a tropical beach. You will see for yourself just how happy your boys will be without their mop! Small dog clippers work best with long-haired piggies.

For Texel grooming you will need an afro comb. Use our piggy whispering tips and a treat for afterwards (like their favourite veg) if they hate being groomed, which most long-hairs do. For the ones that really hate grooming, keeping the hair cut shorter does help a lot.

Please do not overbathe; in most cases a gentle bum bath (see our boar Care guide) is sufficient. Overbathing can dry out the skin and mess with the skin microbiome, which is an important part of the immune defence. It can cause more problems than it solves.

We generally recommend to bring any piggies indoors during weather extremes anyway. Even an insulated shed or a hutch in the shade can become a death trap in hot weather. Long-haired and even more so thick-coated piggies are at a higher risk of heat exhaustion or stroke.

You may find the information in these guides here helpful:
Help with better compliance (use a mix of love and mild dominance)
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips
Who is the Boss - Your Guinea Pig or You?

Grooming care and our VERY comprehensive hot weather guide with ALL available tips and information on how to spot the worst hot weather problems:
An Illustrated Guide to Hair Cutting
Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths
Bathing (including cleaning grease glands)

Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike

I hope that this will help you?

That's really helpful thanks! I have long curly hair myself so I can only imagine how hot it must get for them in summer! I do worry about keeping my pigs cool enough in summer

 

[machuandpicchumummy]

Our pig Pepper has a bit of Texel in him(we think)..
this is his current winter cut.. under his bum is shorter but I keep it long at the top!


View attachment 195298

Summer hair
View attachment 195301
We keep him on fleece which i would reccomend over shavings!
I notice his boar bits need cleaning a lot more with fur and gunk vs Pringle out Aby.
We have cooling pads in the summer and he lies in them a lot!
His coat gets brushed once/ twice a week but that’s because he is a cross bread and I find his coat doesn’t mat as it’s very soft!

Oh my goodness he is gorgeous one of my boys is half coronet so he has quite long straight hair at the back in the bum area and I sometimes find that can mat with grease and it needs to be washed. Do you use any special products for your part texel? Could you also send details of the cooling pads, we improvised with stones in the fridge last year but a pad would be great, like the opposite of their heat pads!

 

[rp1993]

Thank you!
Here is the link they are brilliant!
Ice Pod
You can also use frozen water bottles wrapped in a sock we use both!
We just use gorgeous guineas shampoo I bought the sensitive one and the oil melt but to be honest he is now very good at keeping himself clean and hasn’t needed a bath in months! When he was young he had wee wee pants a lot more so had a few bum baths! But he doesn’t like it and I don’t feel he needs it so I don’t.
We can just use a normal pet brush and a comb for pepper but he doesn’t have wringlets, he is very sensitive around his legs and bum when brushing we have to be extra gentle!
His hair also grows super quick he goes through 2-3 cuts in the summer so don’t worry about the lovely fuzz growing back as it does, and his comfort is more important!

 

[Wiebke]

That's really helpful thanks! I have long curly hair myself so I can only imagine how hot it must get for them in summer! I do worry about keeping my pigs cool enough in summer

Have a read through our hot weather guide - it doesn't just deal with keeping the cage cooled but also with keeping the rooms in which the cage is located as cool and contains lots of simple practical tips that in combination can really make quite a difference. Most people just swear by one or two tricks, but there is a lot more to it that you can actually do to keep the heat down on several levels. You can profit as well...

We have tested all the tricks ourselves and have put out warnings with wide-spread tips that could prove dangerous.
Hot Weather Management, Heat Strokes and Fly Strike