bathing

*BATHING YOUR CAVY*

It is not necessary to bathe your guinea pigs very often as they are generally very clean animals, but if you do decide to give them a bath the following is the method I use.

There are a variety of ways to
give your guinea pig a bath.
The following is the way the
I bathe my cavies,
and is not necessarily the
way that others do.

NOTE: Unless your guinea pig needs an urgent wash,
choose a nice sunny day to give them a bath - preferrably sometime in late morning when the day is at its warmest.

EQUIPMENT
To bathe your cavy, you will need the following equipment (right)
* an area to wash the cavy - the laundry sink, maybe a plastic basin out on the grass;
* a container to have clean leuk warm water in for the final rinse (I use a 1 litre bottle);
* shampoo- a regular pet shampoo (such as one that is suitable for cats) can be used;
* a small container / cup - for scooping the water;
* 2 towels - one for standing the cavy on, the other for drying; and
* eucalyptus oil plus a soft tooth brush (if cleaning a boar's oil gland also).

PREPARATION
Before you start bathing and you have all the equipment needed, prepare the following:
1. Have all the equipment ready - in close reach of where you are going to bathe the cavy.
2. Fill the basin / sink with leuk warm water to a height of about 7-8 cm (for an adult cavy - so they can stand on the bottom with their head completely out of the water).
3. Fill the container / bottle with leuk warm water and set aside (you can possibly make this slightly warmer, as it will cool a little before using for the final rinse).
4. Set the towels out flat on your work area.
5. Remove the lids from the shampoo / eucaluptus oil (I have learnt from experience that this is often very hard to do when trying to settle a nervous cavy)
6. CUT THE GUINEA PIG'S TOENAILS! - make sure these are trimmed back so to save you alot of unnecessary scratches.

All the photos on this page are ones that I have taken when bathing my roan sow - "3 Magic Beans" she is a good girl and likes her baths.

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10.

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REMEMBER:
Not all guinea pigs enjoy baths!

Remember, not all cavies will enjoy
taking a bath - when scared, the cavy will often struggle, try to
run and even may attempt to jump out
of the basin. Make
sure you have a
stronger grip on them by holding them
firmly around the shoulders - if possible, maybe even have a
2nd person to help.

CLEANING THE GREASE GLAND ON BOARS
Cavies have a gland at the base of their spine (where a tail would be if they had one). With boars, this can become built up with a greasy substance that secretes from the gland. I generally clean the gland (if needed) before I bathe the cavy. The way that I clean this gland is as follows:

Dip and old, soft toothbrush (one that is no longer being used) into some eucalyptus oil. Rub the greasy area gently - but firmly, with the eucalyptus brush and you will see the grime coming away from the fur. When the grease is removed - wash the cavy as usual - making sure to remove all remaining eucalyptus oil.

THE BATHING PROCESS (to make it easy, lets make the guinea pig a girl named Piggy)
1. Get Piggy out of her cage and carry her to the work area.
2. Hold her firmly, with one hand under her chest the other under her rump (bottom).
3. Lower her slowly into the water and make sure that she is standing firmly on the bottom of the basin - by removing your hand from her rump.
4. Using a cup, pour water over the coat (from the neck down to the rump) making sure to properly wet the coat - this may take quite a few scoops as water often beads off the coat.
5. Remove Piggy from the tub and place her onto the first towel - do not dry the coat.
6. Place a small amount of shampoo onto the coat - going down the spine.
7. Rub the shampoo into the coat thoroughly - from the neck down, including the stomach and legs.
8. Lift her (hold tight she will be slippery) and place her back into the tub.
9. Using the cup, scoop and pour the tub water over the coat and use your hand to massage and work the shampoo out of the coat.
REPEAT steps 5-9 if you think the coat needs a really good clean.
10. Remove the plug from the basin and allow the water to drain out - hold onto Piggy.
11. Keep Piggy in the basin and pour the water from the container over Piggy's coat - massaging the coat to make sure no shampoo is left on the coat.
12. Wipe the coat to get the excess water off.
13. Take piggy out of the basin and place her onto the 2nd towel, wrap her in the towel for a minute to get alot of water off, then dry the coat thoroughly - working your hands back and forth.
NOTE: this will not dry the coat completely - if the day is warm, you can put Piggy back into her cage and she can dry herself, or put her in a run on the grass in the sun. If it is a cold day, the use of a hair dryer may be needed.

13.

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"Beanie" helps to dry herself off