Bathing Your Piggy.

When bathing your piggy in a bath tub always check the water temperature to avoid any burns. Try to be as patient as you can be, because they will run around the tub making it imposible for you to shampoo them. When bathing your piggy in a sink be extremely careful because he/she will try to jump and if the piggy falls it can be fatal. I would recommend to bath your piggy with animal shampoo, because human shampoo can cause irritation in their skin and can dry out their natural skin's oil, even though I have never heard of any problems with human shampoo it's better to prevent. If you have any other question feel free to post.

My GP's love bathing. I wish it were safe to do it more often,,
they are completely free in my master bedroom as well as having a large C and C cage , so they dont smell.

I have purchased aromatherapy shampoo from Gorgeous Guineas in the UK and they love it.
Jamie

Aww, well my piggies hate it

My pigs love bath time, too- one in particular really enjoys swimming, and squeals the house down when we take him out!

As for shampoos, yes, pet shampoos are better, but if you have trouble getting hold of them, Johnson's Baby Shampoo is good too. It's very mild and gentle, and it doesn't sting them if it gets into their eyes.

Well My piggies hate it Although my female piggie loves swimming she is the only one that loves to swim.

Momma loves bath time, as she really likes to swim. She swims under the running water from the tap, and comes out sputtering, then does it again. Zippy never liked baths or even wet wipes, but he's gotten better as he got older. Little Girl just huddles on the float I use for them to get out of the water. I use to use a big rock, but it's holding the second level ramp up off the cage bottom, so they use a bath pillow I bought and never use.

I find it helps to hold their front feet off the tub surface, so they can't run as easily. That way I get to shampoo them before they get a good enough grip with their hind feet to try and take off. Rinsing is always interesting. Momma will swim under the tap water, and rinse herself. Little Girl doesn't want anything to do with any of it, and Zippy is trying to climb my arm to snuggle with me now that he's soaking wet, lol.

I know it's an investment, but a place in the UK called Gorgeous Guineas carried Neem Oil Shampoos and Conditioners for piggies. My gang loved them, while they tended to fight when I used baby shampoo. I found the animals shampoos in pet stores have perfumes in them, so the pigs always came out smelling like Poodles, lol. Zippy is very sensitive to scents, and he hated the Baby Shampoo. He didnt' mind the Neem at all, and it keeps all biting flies, fleas, mites, etc. away from the piggies. It also conditions their skin, and really helps with dry skin problems.
Luckily piggies are small, so they don't take much shampoo or conditioner at a time.

HAHAHA! I do the same thing I hold their front feet that way they can't run and I think they feel a little more protected in their little minds lol

I bath my piggies once a week, do you guys think that is too much?? They love the water, I use baby shampoo. I have 4 piggies and 2 of them are skinny pigs. I've heard the skinny pigs need to be bathed more often, does anyone have experience with that? I use coconut oil or Utter Balm after their bathes.

i dont know about the skinny pigs, but ur 2 other cavies shouldn't be bathed more than once a week, cuz it can cause skin irritation. (well, thats what everyones told me, anyway

Once every two months is advised with Rex or US Teddies, as they get itchy skin if you don't bathe them. Other piggies just need baths when they are dirty.

I let mine sit on my hand and let them decide to hop off or not. The water is as heigh as their neck, so the heads stick above water. That allows them to swim or walk. All of mine swim and love to do so.

I had one piggie once who adored swimming so much, he refused to come out of the water and kept jumping back in, lol!

Lol, I haven't had the chance to see them enjoying baths. Although, they are behaving better everyday good sign.

how high would you put the water in a bowl to wash your pigs?

I always bath my babies in the bath tub and I keep the water running, but in case of a bowl I will stop the water 'till it reaches the piggy's neck to avoid any water getting in their ears.

I don't have any cavies yet, but i bathe my rabbits in a kiddie pool and scrub them with baby shampoo and then turn the hose on low to wash the shampoo off. then put them in a pen in the sun to let them dry.

this method works alot better for me than the bathub because they get all scared in the tub and its hard to rinse them. cavies might not though.

Bathtubs or kiddie pools, it's about having a safe place to bath them, where they can't get out. Kiddie pools are okay if you have a place to keep them between washings, a place to put them during washings and a way to empty all the water once you're done. Not good in apartments or really small houses with very limited floor and storage space. Bathtubs are always there, as are kitchen sinks, where I also bathe my piggies sometimes. Everyone will try different things and find the one that's best for them, and the kiddie pool will be great for some people.
Piggies shouldn't be left in the sun to dry. They shouldn't be left in any drafts, and too much sun is bad for them, as they prefer cooler temps. Anything much over 75 degrees, especially direct sun beating on them, can be way too much heat.
It's best to wash them and wrap them in a towel to absorb as much of the water as possible. If it's nice and warm, they can probably air dry after that. If it's not nice and warm, finish drying them with a hair dryer set on "lo".
Rabbits are sturdier than guinea pigs and have thicker fur. I had bunnies, and loved them. My favorite, Freddy, was huge, and use to trip me when I got the groceries out of the car, to see if there were any bunny treats in there. He'd follow me into the house, too. His son, Little Bun, use to ride in the car with me, with his head out the window and his ears blowing in the breeze.

I must agree with Laurie (3piggles) I dry my piggies with their own towel and I make sure each of them are dry before putting them back on the cage. Teddies are easier to dry as their hair is so puffy and smooth that they can dry up in less then 3 minutes without the hair dryer. I use my bathtub to bath my piggies it's easier lower and I don't have to drain the water . I have enough space to use a kiddie pool but for me the tub is easier in any aspects. I tried the sink, but it didn't work they jumped a LOT and one of them almost flew all over the kitchen, that's why to avoid any injuries I stopped bathing them in the sink.

When a cavy gets skin irritation from bathing to often, is it called something?

such as itchy-pig-skin-itis? lol, but more scientific.

I have always call it skin irritation, but maybe someone else in the forum has another way of calling it. Good question!

I would call it dry skin. It's probably caused by the soapy stuff that is used: what is it?

I have also heard dry skin, but I can't think of any other name(s). About the soapy stuff I guess we can call it chemicals ??? anyone? :D

Also, be sure not to bathe your piggies too often. Ironically enough, it can dry out their skin if it is done on a regular basis more than once a month.

Using a shampoo with aloe helps condition their skin. Only wash them when they're really dirty or smelly. Even regular dirt isn't reason to bathe them, as they clean themselves. If they get into a lot of poo, have long hair that gets tangled with debris and things like that, they need to be washed. A natural shampoo with few if any chemicals is the best to use. Also avoid shampoos with perfumes. Scent bothers guinea pigs, and can irritate the skin the same way it irritates some human skin.

It's nice that he likes it because, one of my sweeties don't like it at all. I bath them in the tub because it's safer and easy for my height lol (5'1) and I have to keep an eye on him because he jumps more than a kangooroo one hand I rub him and the other one blocks his way from jumping out of the tub he's a brat baby.

lol, relly?!? he sound's stubborn my lil guy can be that way somtimes,and nobody comes between him and his veggies!!! but ya bath time is great for both me and my lil piggie...