You Can Bathe Your Guinea Pig
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Even the best of guinea pigs needs a bath every now and then. Guinea pigs are like cats in that they love staying clean, but also tend to get into sticky situations where a bath is unavoidable. Long haired guinea pigs have a harder time keeping clean than short haired ones. Guinea pigs are not known for their love of the water. Bathing in water was unknown to their ancestors in Peru and Patagonia. In order for your piggy to be safe and clean from a bath, you need to do some preparation before you bring your piggy to the tub.
Operation: Piggy Bath!
You should always have some very gentle shampoo on hand just in case of emergencies, such as your piggy getting into some mud or compost. PHEW! One of the best products for bathing guinea pigs is Four Paws Bunny Bath, widely available in pet shops and online pet stores. In an emergency, if you don't have Bunny Bath, use a puppy shampoo or Dawn dishwashing liquid. Children's shampoos can be too strong for a guinea pig.
You will also need:
- a sink or basin
- plenty of towels you don't mind being nibbled on
- a pan or measuring jug filled with lukewarm water for rinsing
- your piggy's brush
- (optional)a warm box or cage with a hot water bottle at the bottom and plenty of towels over it
- (optional) a hair dryer (set to very low)
- a sense of humor
Guinea pigs can be prone to chills when wet for too long, so you want to get them dry as soon as possible. They also can get very scared in new situations, so you want everything in place before you bring piggy in to get the bath over with as quickly as possible.
The Act of Bathing
Only fill the basin or sink with an inch or two inches of water at the most. You will not need to submerge your piggy. Better too little water than too much. You want the water to not even go over piggy's back. Use lukewarm water NOT hot and NOT ice-cold, but warm for a baby.
Place piggy in the "tub" and use your hands to get the body wet. Avoid the face and eyes. Use a small amount of shampoo and gently rub into the piggy's fur, taking care not to get any in the eyes, nose or mouth. Most guinea pigs freeze in a new situation and stay quiet. Others scream their heads off.
When your piggy is soapy he or she is ready to rinse. Use the measuring jug to rinse the piggy off. Unplug the water if you have to. I would pick my guinea pigs up out of the sink and gently pour the water over them to rinse them off. This process is greatly helped if you have a helper.
Drying Off
Put the piggy immediately in the middle of a towel and gently dry off the worst of the wet, wrapping the piggy up loosely in the towel. While the fur is damp, quickly brush the fur. If the guinea pig has a mat that can't be untangled, just cut it out. It will save a lot of time and stress for both you and piggy in the long run.
If your piggy will tolerate the noise, you can set your hair dryer at very low or low and dry for a few minutes. I could never do this with mine, but many piggy owners have successfully used a hair dryer. Keep the hair dryer at least a foot away from the piggy's body in order to avoid burns.
Since the hair dryer was not an option for my guinea pigs, I had a large cardboard box for them to dry out in. On the bottom of the box was a partially filled hot water bottle. Over that I put old towels. NEVER put the guinea pig directly on the hot water bottle! I then put my palm flat on the towels to be sure they were warm, but not hot. I then placed the wet piggy in the box with a treat like a carrot or apple slice.
Keep the piggy out of drafts until mostly dry. Then you and the piggy are done. You can place the piggy back in his or her cage or hutch. Then you can show off your squeaky clean piggy!
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Comments
Hi, Rizi. Good luck with your new piggie. I will have an article up very soon about gps and toys. GPs are vegatarians, with timothy hay being their food staple. They also need GP pellets (NOT rabbit) as they contain the viatmin C gps need. For some quick and comprehensive answers to your gp questions, check out:
i love guinea pigs
is there some ikind of sand they can bath in i need to know fast bc i am getting a guinea pig too!!!!
No, only chinchillas bathe in sand. GPs keep themselves very clean, so bathing should only be occassionally. Good luck with your new GP :-)
Rizi, you'll be happy with a guinea pig! i have 6 and they're great! they're my first guinea pigs. they're really easy to keep too. they need cleaning regularly, fresh food regularly cos they have a habit of sitting in the bowl, clean water and hay. they're lovely!
i have to bathe my GP 2 day his fur is all dirty :)
do u bathe a short haired guinea pig the same way
my piggy is about one year old and his name is oscar but we call him nascar because he runs forever =]
im gonna give my piggie a bath for the first time so because his piddle and poops make him stink
wish me luck
Hi I was jus wondering somebody said that Guinea Pigs swim. I thought it was just so cruel someone would do that to a little piggy, so in your opinion what do you think about a guinea pig swiming in a pool, sink, or any other body of water??
Not a good idea
I have 2 guinea-pigs 1 long haired and 1 short haired and they both absolutley LOVE the water i use tescos own baby shampoo and they love the hairdryer to but it make them sleepy!
My guinea pig feels scared when i want to take her for a bath
this wuz very sucsesful
Hi! Just wanted to say that I just bathed my piggie for the first time and that she absolutely adored all the attention. She didn't even mind the hairdryer! She has definitely earned her veggies tonight! Hope it goes well when we have to bath her again in the future.
I've had my guinea pigs for some time, but i havn't had to bathe them yet. My 2 pigs do a good job of keeping themselves clean. :)
thanks that helped alot because i just bought a guinea pig and i was wondering how to bathe it so thank you so much
Hi! I just got my first guinea pig! Miss Piggy! She loves to cuddle!!! But she has long hair and it is very weird looking! But i think it's cute!~ i was just wondering if i can give her a hair cut?
u bunch of people don't even know how to care for a guinea pig I have 10 and they are the smartest you ever heard of they know how to sit and lay down and go to sleep! isn't it exciting i'm gettin' two more for my birthday next week! so beat that
u big idiots u probably don't even bathe yourselves I bet the guinea pigs only bathe and not yall' I have 22 guinea pigs and they all have the same name you know how complicated it was to name them think about that doo doo's
I'm about to get a guinea pig and I already know the name and I have been looking for ways to take care of it and I still have to look some more you have helped me alot I already know how to walk it excersize it and more I want to know if it would be better to get a boy or a girl and I want to know some other good names because I'm not sure if I want the name I picked out if you could tell me that would be great! love,calley1234567891012345678910123456789101234567891012345678910123456789101234567891012345678910
hey yall' i got a guinea pig the other day and it's UGLY! moma got it for me and you know how these city folk are Ilive in New York and I ain't around no city folk cause ya know we just got a quiet little town here I went outside and I counted 14 prople can you beleive thet COW
hey i was wondering if u could help me more with a video i am going to get a g-pig for Christmas and i am not getting real info!
a guinea pig that i had as a child loved taking baths. i would give them to her in our bath tub and she would always try and go where it was a little deeper once i would rinse her. so once i slowly added more water and she swam around. she also loved being blow dried and brushed after. she was a very fun guinea pig
wow today i went shopping for my guinea pig Sofie and when i showed her all the new things i bought her she was so excited and squeaking in joy so people get out there and buy your guinea pig some toys or new things that he or she will enjoy!!!
ohhh boy today i just found out that my guinea pig has LICE!!!!! and now i have to buy this special type of mites, and lice shampoo to wash it with also i find out more and more about my guinea pig even though m only in the fifth grade but guinea pigs can get pregant up to 2 time so they can have the double amount of the babies and guess what my guinea pig Sofie is pregant again!!!!! does any one know how long it takes untill birth???
IVE GOT A 110 G-PIGS AND THEY LOVE TAKING WALKS IN THE GARDEN AND I HAVE A POOL IN THE GARDEN AND THEY LUV IT SO MUCH AND WEN I GET MY G-PIGS OUT OF THE BATH AND THEY CUDDLE UP IN MY BED FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND THE I PUT THEM IN MY BARBIE HOUS EWHERE THEY LIVE THERE AND THE HAIRDRYER IS A STUPID IDEA
thanks for the info! I'm going to get one and I'm so excited to take ot a bath
Love,
juliasos
wow, thanks, i have 2 new guinea pigs, ruby and gloria, they both are short haired and the cutest things you ever saw! They are the first piggies i have ever had and i have only had them about 2 days but i LOVE them. since i have only had them 2 days they are still getting used to me and the new habitat i was woundering if it would be safe to give them a bath so soon? i think the place they used to be gave them baths so it wouldnt be the first time for THEM, even so im still a little worried, Thanks for the great bath info!
Love, lise
I'm getting a guinea pig in a month or two and I was wondering if I should have the cage set up when they get home.
do they get sick? when u bathe them case normally they get sick!
Hello,
I can`t believe it that you let your piggy take a bath. It`s against their nature and they will die earlier. So please, don`t put your poor pig in the tub. They`re able to clean themselves!!
I am going to get a Guinea pig so how big does the cage have to be for one piggy?
Thank You
my guinea pig loves water she swims in the pool some times
I enjoyed your instructions, but I really don't think anyone should use Dawn Dishwashing soap on their guinea pig. The chemicals are way too extreme, and it could result in skin problems. Use guinea pig shampoo, they're gentle and nice.
iwant a guinea pig:)
i recently had to wash mine, he was'nt impressed ! but it was necessary. mucky little pig !
I have a Guinea Pig named Piglet. she is 5.5 years old. roughly how old is that for a guinea pig. older then 60?
My guinea pig, Brownie, has lice! Can I give him a bath?
Im very scared to give my guinea pig a bath. i just got it, and he doesnt even let himself hold. im very scared, and i dont know what to do. PLEASE HELP!
SEND ME AN e-mail at irvingglc@hotmail.com THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!! :)
how often are you supposed to give guniea pigz bathz?
I just got my first guinea pig and he s so cute he s name is toffy and he likes to cuddle up and eat carrrots too. Hes lovely and adorrable to me
thanks i just got my guinea pig today she is pure white
hey my guinea pig is a albino i got her today she is sweet the most gross thing is i fed her and i looked a her food and the were bugs in it anyway i think this helped alot
THANKS: CHELS :)
!!!!!!!!!!!! READ!!!!!!!!!! ARE YOU SAPOSE TO GIVE GUINEA PIGS BATHS OR NOT IF YOU NO PLEASE RIGTH TO " I LOVE GUINEA PIGS88" AND I WILL THANK YOU
PLEASE AWESNER
i have two, actually 3 gps i got what i thought were two girls but now i have a baby!(guinea pig) anyways i gave one her first bath today (not the baby) and she seemed okay, but do i need to wait until she is completely drie to put her back in her house? (calling it a cage sounds cruel! (my pigs have lots of floor and lap time!))
:) thxs evry1!!!
you said a lot of good stuff but i still do not now if we should give a guniea pig a bath or not
how long should my guniea pig stay in the tub for.im also scared to give her a bath too!
I would love to give my pig a bath, but i would be afraid she would get a chill and get sick :( so i don't think it's a good idea.
Rizi_da_best says:
2 years ago
i am about to get a guinea pig ! so need to get ready ! what does it eat ? what does it play with ??