How to Groom Your Guinea Pig

To keep your guinea pig happy, healthy, and smelling good you need to groom it regularly. Depending on what breed of guinea pig you own will determine how much work you will have to put into grooming. For easy upkeep breeds such as the American Short Hair you will not have to put in to much effort. However if you own a breed such as a Sheltie, then you have your work cut out for you. And if you own nine guinea pigs like I do, then you have a part time job. Below you will find a grooming schedule that will help you on your road to a happy, good smelling piggy.

DAILY: Every day you will need to check your guinea pigs for cuts, and scrapes that need attention. You will also need to brush your guinea pig daily if its hair tends to tangle.

EVERY TWO DAYS: Every two days you need to brush long hair guinea pigs to ensure they don't get any tangles. Be sure to use a soft brush, and to brush in the same direction as hair growth.

ONCE A WEEK: Every week you need to give your guinea pig a rag bath. Using a wet cloth dampened with warm water, wipe your guinea pig down. Be sure to pay special attention to their ears, and feet. This is also a great time to look for any signs of sickness. Are the eyes bright, fur soft and lust, nose free of discharge?

EVERY TWO WEEKS: Every other week bathe your guinea pig with a special soap for small animals, or with a gentle baby shampoo. Be sure to rinse the soap from their skin well. If their fun is stained with urine use a small amount of peroxide on a cloth to wipe the fur that is stained. You might have to repeat this several times to remove all of the stain. You also need to clean their ears out. To clean your guinea pigs ears use a Q-Tip and gently remove any gunk that you can see. DO NOT sick the Q-Tip deep into their ears.

ONCE A MONTH: Once a month you will need to check your guinea pigs teeth for over growth. You can buy clippers to trim their teeth at your local feed supply, or pet store. To prevent their teeth from over growing keep something for them to chew on in their cage. Cardboard tubes, or chew blocks work great. Once a month you will also need to check your guinea pigs nails. If their nails is long they will need to be trimmed. You can buy special clippers or use baby clippers for this. If you hold the nail to the light you can see the middle of the nail is dark. This is the quick, and if you cut this, your guinea pig will bleed. To prevent this, stay clear of the quick, and only cut the tips.

As you can see taking care of a guinea pig means work. At first your guinea pig will not like any of these task, but in time they do get used to it, and it won't be so difficult. It usually takes my guinea pigs an average of two to three months before they get used to the entire routine. For more helpful grooming tips on grooming your guinea pig please visit www.cavyspirit.com.