How To Groom Guinea Pigs

PetsExotic Animals

  • Author Julia Solomon
  • Published January 25, 2009
  • Word count 1,015

While most small animals don't want much grooming, guinea pigs are different. Their teeth, pelt, and nails all want some express attention on a common footing. A guinea pig's front teeth prolong to grow throughout their intact life. If they are allowed to grow without any limit, the guinea pig will find it upsetting to eat and will, therefore, halt intake altogether.

The best thing you can do is to give your guinea pig with hard equipment to chew on: carrots and other hard vegetables, chew firewood or blocks, or even tree brushwood. Even although you offer these resources, however, you will hardship regularly to confirm the guinea pig's teeth to make steady they aren't fitting unmanageable. Check to see if the teeth are spinning private because this is a show of undue growth.

If you do remark that your guinea pig's teeth are receiving too long, then you essential to take him to a vet and get them trimmed down. Never try to lower a guinea pig's teeth yourself! Your vet will have the correct tools and experience to safely sleek the teeth to a typical piece.

Another tricky that sometimes arises with guinea pig's teeth, particularly if they aren't receiving all the vitamins they poverty in their diet, is that the tips of teeth may solve off. This can also make it tough for the guinea pig to eat. Take the cavy to your vet and nosh him a softer diet until the fang grows back suitably.

Guinea pigs' mustache also needs to be taken nurture of commonly. Keep in tended the guinea pigs with longer coat are vacant to require more grooming than little-haired cavies.

For dumpy-haired guinea pigs, you necessary to acquire a small brush and then use it on their wool at slightest once a week. The combing serves numerous purposes. For one, it prevents their whiskers from matting up and tangling. It also removes any chunks of dirt that may become varied up in the fleece. Because their pelt is passing, you maybe will never necessity to slim or cut it.

Long-haired guinea pigs are a different story. They necessary to be thoroughly brushed at least once per day every day. If you neediness to go out of civic for even a fasten of living, You will should to desert your long-haired guinea pig with somebody who can brush it for you since it doesn't take long for the locks to get horribly tangled. In actuality, even combing it once per day won't be enough to impede all the tangles from forming.

You will also should to do something with the curls when it gets too long since it grows another crawl in chunk every month. If you intend on viewing the guinea pig, You will should to wrap up the garnish curls so that it doesn't get trapped up around the animal's feet or mixed up in the urine and feces. Special wraps are presented, but You will want to link a breeder or guinea pig bash to find out where to goods them. If you don't idea on screening your guinea pigs, You will need to edge your guinea pig's curls every pair of months. Don't cut the curls too small. You want it just tiny enough so that it won't interfere with your guinea pig's movement.

Regardless of the font of guinea pig you have, You will also want to do periodic inspections of its coat to test for bedbugs. Lice are small sallow parasites that look like tiny worms. Guinea pigs often contract bedbugs from hay and from other guinea pigs. If you do see bedbugs on your guinea pig, you don't have to be alarmed. Generally, the bedbugs will sojourn on the guinea pigs and will not soar against your children or into your home. However, the lice do need to be treated rapidly. Your vet should give you with a shampoo that will slaughter the lice. Shampoo your guinea pigs and thoroughly hygienic their cages, then recap seven living later. You must recur the manner because it takes a week for lice eggs to produce and you want to make really to execute any of those remaining babies.

Finally, your guinea pig's nails need to be trimmed regularly also. While rowdy guinea pigs' nails are obviously worn down to an appropriate strip, this does not appear in enslaved guinea pigs. Lengthy nails can be sore to the guinea pig and to the people who practice him, bonus they can decode off or get snagged which can begin promote injury to your cavy.

You should tolerate your vet or professional guinea pig groomer to show you how to clip their nails the first time because it is more complicated than extra your fingernails. Like most animals, guinea pigs don't like to be restrained. It makes them feel vulnerable, and they'll resist as much as they can which makes garnish their nails tiring. Your vet will be able to show you ways to restrain the animal so you safely downright the garnish.

More importantly, the guinea pig's nails contain blood vessels much like a dog's. If you neat too brusque, You will cut into one of those vessels and your guinea pig will bleed copiously. When this happens you must impede the flow immediately! It won't take long for your small pet to bleed to casualty if you do nothing. Many pet supplies advertise a powder that stops the bleeding promptly. You may want to ask your vet what he recommends.

If you're anxious about hurtful your pet's toenails too short, you may be better off trimming them just a little bit but more frequently.

Except for combing the guinea pig's pelt, all other parts of the grooming process should be done by an adult, not a youngster. Clipping nails, trimming hair, and inspecting teeth should never be done by a teen. The guinea pig could become uneasy and could puncture out of fright for their own security. Or the child could make a misstep that could ground nuisance or injury to the guinea pig.

For tips on guinea pig food and guinea pig pictures, visit the Guinea Pig Care website.

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