How to Bathe a Guinea Pig

Video Transcript

"My name is Dr. Endre Sos and I will tell you shortly how to bathe a guinea pig. It is important to know that even experts differ in opinion whether it is wise to give a bathe for the guinea pig but everybody agrees that good skin condition is a very important process and a very important goal also for guinea pig keepers but also for veterinarians dealing with the species. Guinea pigs are very skittish animals and this one is also so it is sometimes very difficult to bathe them. For this you have to prepare yourself very properly. You have to use a plastic tub and warm water which is not hot. This plastic tub must be only a little bit bigger than your piggie and you have to use towels, towels which are good for drying them and also tubs which are covering the bottom of this plastic tub and this will just avoid the slipping of the animal. If the surface is very slippery it can cause some problematic injuries so use generally warm water and shampoos which are good or eligible for the species and the other important thing when you are administering this always watch the animal. Try to calm down the animal. If the animal is panicking don't continue. If not you can continue with the proper shampooing. Be careful that the shampoo will not reach the eye or the ears of the animal and then it is very important to dry the whole animal. For this you can use the hair dryer or if the animal recognizes the sound, use the towel but it will take more time. What is very important because of the temperature regulation of these animals when it goes back to its cage it must be dry otherwise it can get diseases."