General Grooming Of Guinea Pigs

Grooming plays a very important part in caring for your pet. The grooming requirements vary from pet to pet, some requiring daily brushing and combing others less often.

You should get your small animal accustomed to being handled and groomed from a very early age. Start grooming for a short period of time, gradually building up the amount of time you spend until your pet is quite happy to sit for you to brush it. You can also check the skin, by parting the hair, to see if your pet has any red, sore or inflamed areas that may require treatment. Also remember to check the eyes, ears, mouth, nose, feet and nails when handling your pet.

When checking the teeth and nails of your pet make sure they are not too long and making your pet uncomfortable. If the teeth are too long then the pet may go off its food and starve. They may even get abscesses where the teeth pierce through the skin, and ulcers in the mouth. If your pet doesn't exercise on a hard surface its nails may become overgrown. You should approach your veterinary surgeon to clip both the teeth and nails for you.

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Guinea pigs only need to be bathed if they are being shown or if they are dirty and smelly as a result of being ill. They may need a bath for medical reasons such as skin mites. If they have these mites then a special treatment for the skin may be necessary and the only way to apply this is to give a bath. Guinea pigs do however enjoy being brushed using a comb or brush. You may want to use a human babies brush and comb as these are soft and less likely to cause any damage to the skin. The long haired varieties of guinea pigs will require daily grooming, whereas the short haired varieties will require much less grooming, maybe even on a weekly basis.

In all small animals if they are old or overweight grooming may become difficult for them to do themselves. They do like to be clean so try and set up a grooming routine and stick to it throughout your pet's life.

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Article courtesy of PetPlanet.co.uk

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