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Washing Long Haired Piggy - advice please

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boozyfruits

boozyfruits

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Advice please
We are piggy-sitting our aunty's longhaired piggy for a week, whilst they go on hols.
Ridgey apparently is a peruvian, but i wonder if there is abby in him if that is possible. He has only had one bath this year, and he is dirty and greasy to the touch, and frankly needs a darn good wash.
We normally wash our short haired 2 in a wash bowl with piggy shampoo (p@h) rinse and towel dry.
do we need to do anything different with him. does he need conditioner? how do we blow dry him (apart from carefull, overhand to stop burning)?

also he is not used to being handled by humans, so we were thinking of doing it in the bath as a 'large safe area'.

all tips and advice gratefully recieved.
Becca
 
Peruvian with Abysinnian is very possible - "Abyruvians" typically have quite spectacular hairdos!

Wash him as normal - it is not much different to washing a short haired at all, you obviously just have more hair to wash! An extra rinse is usually helpful to ensure all suds are rinsed out of the hair, but other than that, it's usually straight forward. Conditioner does help, especially if the pig has any tangles in his hair.

Towel dry as normal. Some piggies love the hairdryer, others flip out at the sound of it. Best thing I found in such cases was to let the pig bury its head, facing me, in a towel and dry the body that way.

It is hard to know what he will accept best when being bathed, given he is not used to handling - most prefer an enclosed area, so it may be worth trying a bowl in the bath.

Good luck!
 
thanks CCC4.
i hadn't thought of bowl in bath. our bath has a mixer tap which will help rinsing him (we normally use jug for our 2).
do we need special conditioner, or can we use human conditioner?
Bx
 
Human conditioner is fine, although *personally* I prefer to use one from Gorgeous Guineas! On the subject of GG, Posh 'n' Go is the ultimate shampoo for long-hairs, it is enriched with conditioner and brings long-haired pigs up lovely.
 
An ideal way to shampoo a reluctant pig is to put him in a one litre ice cream container in the sink. This makes the pig feel secure and also you can put one hand over the box as a restraint.
Some shampoos can leave the hair feeling rather harsh, so give the pig a final rinse with Pantene Pro V conditioner which gives good results.
"............because they're worth it"
 
I would use shampoo or anything like that unless its really necessary. But if it is then I would only use Gorgeous Guineas range. Most shampoos from petshops and human shampoos are way too harsh and can cause a dry skin.

Also I know someone who used a human shampoo on theirs and the piggy groomed itself a day later and died from posioning.
 
What shampoo was it, Char? It is true that there are some strongly medicated human shampoos that would not be safe.
 
CCC4 said:
What shampoo was it, Char? It is true that there are some strongly medicated human shampoos that would not be safe.
Click to expand...

She used Herbal Essences I think, although I cant be 100% sure of the brand to be honest.
 
"It is true that there are some strongly medicated human shampoos that would not be safe."

What are they?
 
To be honest many of them have a chance of being bad for pigs, afterall they arent designed for them. Even ones that are designed for them in petstores can dry out their skin etc.

I would just use gorgeous guineas shampoo - its the best on the market for guinea pigs and your not spending money on useless or even worse potentially dangerous rubbish.
 
You seem to have quite a problem with human shampoos being used on guinea pigs.
How do you know that "guinea pig" shampoos are safe for gps?
Would gp shampos be suitable for people?
 
Update

Ridgey was washed friday night, in washing bowl in the bath. After about 4 rinses the water was starting to look clear-ish, but it was filthy at first. :)>>> He is definitely a different colour where we were able to wash him properly.
unfortunately hie long rump hair is matted, and is dreadlocks in places, but as he is not our piggy we cannot cut these out (we will talk to aunt about it).

as an aside, we got 2 babies from Becklen on saturday - went to collect one and came back with 2. all boys. so now have 4 boys of our own - we will have to invest in some GG soon! rolleyes
Becca
 
Good to hear he is clean, at least! You may be able to tease the mildest of the knots out very gently if you use lots of conditioner (although this would mean another bath), but as you say it is a haircut he really needs! I do hope your aunt gets him sorted properly (or agrees to let you do it).

Congrats on your new boys - are they all living together?
 
CCC4 - no they are not all living together. Monty and Arthur fell out a few weeks after they came to us supposedly 'bonded' - fights, screams, castanetting, blood etc, so got separated.
So it is a baby each for them. the 'extra' we came home with is 'seth' on BeckyP's latest post. Hels from Becklen is popping round wednesday, to monitor progress. But we'll ask her to advise us in Ridgey's hair at the same time (she does know this).

I have a feeling Ridgey may well end up with us long-term, but if he doesn't he is only on the otherside of town, so is easy to keep an eye on.

it was a bit of a shock going from 2 to 5 guinea pigs in 2 days!
Becca
 
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