Guinea Pig Grooming – What You Need to Know
Guinea pigs are perfect pets for the entire family to enjoy and take care of, and in spite of common misconceptions they’re in fact quite low maintenance so far as pets go. Yet as with any family pet they will require some day to day care and for that reason it is very important to learn the fundamentals of grooming your cavy.

We begin with taking care of your guinea pig’s toenails. You need to keep an eye on your pet’s toenails because when they get too long they will be painful to the cavy. Cavies will maintain their toenails themselves, to a certain extent, if you happen to put items with rough surfaces inside their cage. They are going to scratch at these things for the particular purpose of attempting to keep their nails short. The best type of things to keep in their cages for this purpose is a brick (without holes), and abrasive rocks and stones. Look at their nails frequently and if they need trimming here are some tips.

Your Cavie’s Toenails

The proper tool to clip your cavies nails will be small finger nail scissors or clippers. Before you start clipping you must remember that guinea pig’s nails have blood vessels going into them, like other pets, and this is known as the “quick”. Do not cut into the quick or ıt’s going to injure your cavy and their nails will bleed.

If the cavies toenails are clear it’s going to be easy to see the quick – it is the pink area that extends from the toe bone into the nail. Trim their nails just above the quick, again, making sure not to cut into the quick. Some cavies have black nails and the quick is difficult to see. In this instance it is a good idea to just trim a very small amount from the nail every time, but you will need to trim their nails more often.

If you do wind up cutting the quick you will have to stop the bleeding at once and you can do so with some iodine, or with a product call ‘Quick Stop’ which is purchased from pet stores.

Cutting your guinea pig’s toenails with some assistance from another person makes the job a lot easier. If you have a helper then one of you are going to hold the cavy securely while the other one does the trimming. Wrapping the cavy in a soft small towel with it’s feet sticking out is the most effective method to use. You can try this same method if you are doing the job alone.

Your Guinea Pig’s Teeth

Being a member of the rodent family, your cavy has two large teeth in front called incisors. Believe it or not these incisors keep growing throughout the life of your cavy! If the cavy doesn’t keep them worn down by regularly gnawing on rough surfaces the teeth will grow so long that the cavy cannot eat, and then you need to get your pet to a veterinarian to have the teeth ground down or trimmed.

Again, your cavy is able to do a very good job of keeping their incisors in check when they have rough foods or some other hard items to gnaw on. Hard guinea pig food pellets are a good start, however you can even provide them with pieces of wood, cardboard toilet paper rolls, or hay bricks to gnaw on to keep their teeth short.

Give their teeth an occasional examination just to make sure there are no damaged, cracked, or broken teeth. Take your cavy to your vet if your pet has any broken teeth to have them fixed. They have to have teeth to eat!

Brushing Your Guinea Pig

Your cavy will need periodic brushing to help keep their coats clean, shiny, and healthy. A daily brushing is best when you have a long-haired cavy. If left long without brushing a long-haired guinea pig’s hair will quickly mat, and definitely will be hard to keep clean. A short-haired cavy only needs to be brushed once or twice a week.

You need to use a soft bristled brush, like a baby’s brush, to brush your cavies. If you are gentle then your cavies will actually take pleasure in this regular routine!

Brushing your cavy is usually all that is needed to keep your pet’s hair clean, therefore bathing your cavy is not necessary unless they have gotten into something which simply cannot be brushed out. Cavies usually are not fond of bathing and tend to offer plenty of resistance whenever you try to pour water on them or soak them in a sink full of water.

Mike Andrews is a 52 year old native of Colorado, and has been a life-long animal lover and guinea pig enthusiast. Mike would like to see that all pet guinea pigs are properly cared for. He has written additional articles relating to guinea pig grooming on his website at http://www.PetGuineaPigsInfo.com. Please visit and check out his eBook “Giving Your Guinea Pig the Love & Care it Deserves” and his FREE 10 part mini-course on the proper care and raising of happy and healthy guinea pigs. Peace.