Pet grooming guide

When choosing a guinea pig you need to consider the fact that they can live for up to 10 years, though the average is more like five to seven years. Though they are relatively easy to care for, a guinea pig cage needs to be quite large and, as they are sociable animals, you should probably get 2 (though rabbits also make good companions for them).

Guinea pigs don’t need too much pet grooming and how often you groom them is dependent on whether you have a long or short haired breed. Short haired guinea pigs will only need brushing somewhere between every few days to once per week, while long haired breeds will need daily combing to ensure that their coat doesn’t become matted. All breeds will require more brushing during the moulting season to help remove loose dead hair. A small, stiff brush and a comb are the only tools required. Start up at the neck region and move slowly down to the rump, following the lie of the coat. Use your fingers to gently loosen any knots and then comb out the remaining mat. It is completely unnecessary to bath a guinea pig and the process would cause them a great deal of stress.

Another important aspect of guinea pig care is nail clipping. If left to themselves guinea pig nails can become very long and start to curl under and dig into their feet. As most pet guinea pigs spend the majority of their time in wooden hutches or on grass there is little opportunity for nails to wear down naturally. However, nail clipping is an easy procedure and can be carried out at home during your regular pet grooming. You can use human nail clippers to do the job or else cat clippers work just as well. Hold your pet with its rear end against your stomach, so that it can’t try to back away, and then firmly hold its paw in one hand. Use the clippers to cut the nail to just above the quick. This is easy to see on light coloured nails but you may have to use your judgement on dark nails. You should try and cut the nails once a month as, if you leave it too long, the quick itself begins to lengthen which means that you have to allow the nails to stay long. If you accidentally clip the quick and it begins to bleed then hold a cotton wool ball to the affected nail until the bleeding stops. It is also possible to buy powders that stem bleeding by causing clotting from most pet stores.

While following your pet grooming routine keep an eye out for any skin problems or lice.