Grooming guinea pig is a regular maintenance of its owner that is really needed. Knowing how to groom guinea pig properly is important so that you can maintain the health of the hair and make it shiny too.
Grooming includes the process of brushing the hair, bathing and nail clipping. However, now it will focus more on the process of making shiny coat on guinea pig.
Guinea pig can also get some fleas, which might also affect the health of the hair, so make sure you know these tips on getting rid of fleas on guinea pigs.
There are two groups of guinea pigs: the ones with long hair and the ones with short hair. Both of them have their own difficulty. That’s why it is very important to know how to handle both and how to make both hair shiny and healthy. Let’s check them out!
- Guinea Pig Baths
Do you know that mostly guinea pigs don’t need baths? Most of them don’t like baths, so they don’t usually do it. If you notice that your guinea pig is a bit dirty, you can just wipe it to clean the dirty spot by using a baby wipe or shampoo that’s formulated for small animals. Never ever use human’s shampoo as it may dry out the skin of your small pet.
If your guinea pig really needs to do full-body baths, then you can use the shampoo that is formulated for guinea pig. Use lukewarm water too. Use the shampoo and the water that only reaches its belly.
Never ever put your guinea pig in the water or get the water into your guinea pig’s ears or eyes. Rinse it and gently dry it by using towel and a blow dryer on a low setting. Make sure that its body is completely dry, otherwise, it might get sick.
Bathing is very important to keep the guinea pig’s coat shiny and healthy as it maintains the hair clean too. Bathing will also bring a nice shine to your piggy’s coat within a few days because it stimulates the natural oils on its hair. Make sure to use only the shampoo that is designed for guinea piggy. Get the recommendation of the best shampoos for guinea pig.
Also get to know more details about guinea pig bath how to clean them properly.
- Brushing
Besides bathing, you also need to brush your guinea piggy’s coat, especially for those with long hair. Brushing the coat is able to prevent matting of the fur, redistribute oil and stimulate the skin.
Use the soft-bristled pet brush, grooming glove and comb. Do some experiments to see whether your guinea pig likes it and which works well. Remember to always be gentle while brushing the hair to prevent your piggy from being hurt.
There’s another benefit of brushing your piggy’s hair, which is “petting”. Your guinea pig should enjoy it and while you’re brushing, you could also examine its whole body. If you find any lumps or bumps, then you should discuss it with your vet.
Regarding to the types of brush you can use, there are three types of brushes you can consider. The first one is the soft brush. This soft brush is mainly used for brushing short-haired guinea pig.
The second one is the comb that is really useful for long-haired guinea pigs. Comb helps you to remove all the tangles. The last is the bristle brush, which is great for getting rid of minor tangles and removing loose hair in long-haired guinea pig.
Besides those brushes, you can also consider trimming the hair to maintain hygiene, especially when the hair is too long. It is very important to cut your guinea pig’s hair regularly.
Then, to do this, you will need scissors, but not the common scissors humans use. You can buy a pair of round tipped scissors for hair trimming. These scissors are a lot safer than the common scissors which have sharp ends.
You can also add virgin coconut oil to your grooming tools. Make sure the coconut oil is 100% organic. This virgin coconut oil is able to clean the grease gland in both males and some females.
- Add Some Fatty Acids to Its Food
If your guinea pig seems to have a dull coat, then it might need some additional fatty acids. There are some commercial dried food that promote a shiny coat and improve the coat condition. However, you can also do it naturally by adding 1 teaspoon of oil seeds per guinea pig every week.
You can also find this on the closest pet shop or consult it with your vet. Make sure to feed them best fruit for guinea pig a guide of feeding and best veggies to maintain guinea pig nutrition.