Yesterday we gave Betty a bath. Most books will tell you that guinea pigs don’t need baths very often but when we put Betty in the tub the water turned brown. Betty has long hair so it drags a lot through the litter. Although we brush her regularly, her hair can sometimes get knots.
We began by filling with water a small, shallow litter box that we bought for this purpose. We placed it in our bathtub. We made sure the water was not too cold and not too hot. We then placed Betty in the tub. She was calm for the most part - at least at first. We then shampooed her with guinea pig shampoo we bought at the pet store. Once she was soapy, we dumped out the sudsy water and Betty tried to climb out of her small tub and run around our big tub! We rinsed her well with clean, warm water from the tap and wrapped her up in a dry towel. Next we put Betty on a towel on the bathroom floor and dried her with a hair dryer. While doing this, we kept brushing her with a soft brush. Then, we trimmed up the hair and layered it around her rear to help her stay a little cleaner. Sometimes Wilma chews on Betty’s hair and layers it for her. We trimmed her nails and - voila! A beautiful Betty!
Here are some tips to help you groom your guinea pigs -
1. Trim their nails about once a month (unless they get long sooner than that). Frequent trimming prevents the quick from getting too long. Be careful not to cut the quick or it will bleed. We use a regular human nail clipper for this. There are clippers made specially for guinea pigs, but ours works just fine.
2. After trimming, the nails may still feel a little rough. Mu cousin, M.P., gave me this idea. Try filing their nails using an emory board. Be careful not to file their skin. I filed Popcorn’s nails this way over the weekend and they’re smoother now.
3. When bathing, make sure the water isn’t too high, too hot or too cold. The water shouldn’t be so high that it gets near your piggie’s face. Use a clean cloth to clean the face if it needs it.
4. Make sure your piggies don’t get a draft while they’re wet.
5. A hair dryer can get very, very hot so make sure your piggie doesn’t roast. Keep your dryer held at a distance and keep the air moving quickly over the piggie.
Here are some tips to help you groom your guinea pigs -
1. Trim their nails about once a month (unless they get long sooner than that). Frequent trimming prevents the quick from getting too long. Be careful not to cut the quick or it will bleed. We use a regular human nail clipper for this. There are clippers made specially for guinea pigs, but ours works just fine.
2. After trimming, the nails may still feel a little rough. Mu cousin, M.P., gave me this idea. Try filing their nails using an emory board. Be careful not to file their skin. I filed Popcorn’s nails this way over the weekend and they’re smoother now.
3. When bathing, make sure the water isn’t too high, too hot or too cold. The water shouldn’t be so high that it gets near your piggie’s face. Use a clean cloth to clean the face if it needs it.
4. Make sure your piggies don’t get a draft while they’re wet.
5. A hair dryer can get very, very hot so make sure your piggie doesn’t roast. Keep your dryer held at a distance and keep the air moving quickly over the piggie.
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