what shampoo
- Thread starter tish982
- Start date
Betsy
Anniversary Herd
You need a small animal shampoo. Something like Shampoos are very good. I believe they ship abroad. Do you only have 1 piggie @tish982? You piggy would really benefit from having a friend.
Companionship
Companionship
Hi!
In most cases a gentle bum bath with baby warm water around the back end is sufficient.
If you want to give a proper bath, for the US I recommend the shampoos Wee Companions sell in their rescue shop; they ship US wide.
Wee Companions Small Animal Adoption, Inc. - Animal Accessories
For the UK and shipping worldwide, Gorgeous Guineas provide gentle shampoos with a guinea pig sepcific ph factor.
Shampoos
There has been a strong move in the last years to only bathe if absolutely necessary (mostly for medical reasons) as too frequent bathing interferes with their skin/oil production.
When you bathe, please do so in a bowl sat on a towel on the floor to prevent injuries from blind panic jumps. We recommend a confined but water-proof area like a shower floor or bathtub bottom so your piggies cannot escape. Do not fill the bowl more than 5 cm/2 in max (making allowance for any water you add during the rinsing); the water should never more than just about touch the bottom of the belly. Make sure that the water is baby warm and test with your elbow.
Provide a dry towel next to the bowl to sit on and get a grip with their feet if they jump out.
If you use a hair dryer, only do so on the lowest setting and from at least a foot away. Accept that by far not all piggies do like it and that it can really freak out some piggies. Have a snugglesafe and a towel ready for those to dry off snug and warm but provide an option to move off if they fell too hot.
Do not put any piggies into cooler place until their coat is completely dry and keep them out of cold drafts while it is doing so!
Keep the hair short around the back end, the legs and the sides (especially the undercoat) of a long-haired piggy. This prevents the worst of the dirt and mats. Some hair can act like sponge for any urine and dirt because of its texture; some breeds are much more likely to get dirty because of that. Give your long-haired one regular bum baths if the back area is dirty. Keeping the critical areas short also means a lot less grooming and discomfort for the piggy during grooming.
In summer you give your long-haired piggies ar short-hair cut; they will thank you for not having to lug a skisuit around in hot weather! By autumn, the hair will have grown back again.
You can use scissors or pet grooming hair clippers. That will make your care a lot easier!
Betsy
Anniversary Herd
In the summer my long haired piggy The Ever Beautiful Betsy gets a Grade 4 hairdo spread over 2 days as she hates it and only lets me do 1 side at a time. She is used to being trimmed with scissors and doesn't mind that. I think it's the noise of the clippers (they are pet clippers so quieter than hairdressers clippers) that stresses her out.