Unlike most of the creatures in the rodent family, guinea pigs do not wash themselves. It’s not that they enjoy being dirty, the design of their body restricts their flexibility, therefore limiting their cleaning habits. Grooming your guinea pig is important, and as a responsible owner, you will have to bathe your guinea pig, like it or not.
Washing your guinea pig doesn’t have to be complicated. First, you need to know what type of personality your guinea pig has. No matter what you have read, as a guinea pig owner, and breeder I can testify first hand that guinea pigs can jump. I have seen guinea pigs jump as high as 15″ straight up out of water. To prevent your guinea pig from getting hurt, do not take your eyes off it during bath time. You can wash your guinea pig in a bath tub, sink, or even a Rubbermaid storage tub. You can wash your guinea pig outside, in a storage tub, if it is a warm sunny day.
To wash your guinea pig first place an old washcloth in the bottom of your tub or sink. Next place your guinea pig on top of the cloth. The cloth will help keep them from sliding, and help clean their nails at the same time. Next slowly add warm water, just enough to over your guinea pigs legs. Using an old cup dip water over your guinea pig to wet him. Avoid pouring water in your guinea pigs face or ears.
Now that your guinea pig is wet you can lather them up. You can by a special soap for small pets such as Squeaky Clean at your local pet store, or you can use baby shampoo. After you have your guinea pig lathered up, it’s time to rinse. Make sure you rinse your guinea pig well, to remove all traces of soap.
Once your guinea pig is washed, and rinsed, quickly bundle it up in a towel. You do not want your guinea pig to get chilled if you can avoid it. Towel dry your guinea pig the best you can, and then re-bundle them in a dry towel. When your guinea pig is dry you can brush it out using a soft baby brush, or a toothbrush. Do not use brushes designed for dogs. Stiff bristle brushes can cause small lacerations on your guinea pigs skin, which can lead to infections.
Washing guinea pigs is not that difficult. You should wash your guinea pig at least twice a month. Like most animals, guinea pigs do need some oil on their skin to be healthy, so you should never wash them more then once in a 12 day period unless they really need it. After the third or forth time you wash your guinea pig it will start to calm down during bath time.
