Haircuts
Long haired guinea pigs which are not being used as
show animals should have the hair on their hindquarters
trimmed to floor length in order to prevent them soaking
up urine, and to make it easier to keep them clean.
The rest of the body coat still needs to be checked
regularly for matting and tangling.
The Grease Gland
A guinea pig's grease gland is situated at its rear
end under the tail stump. It is used for scenting other
pigs and marking territory.
In boars particularly, this becomes rather smelly and
needs to be cleaned when grooming your pig - and especially
before a show as points will defiantly be lost on the
judges table for a dirty grease gland.
Swarfega™, the versatile, famous green hand cleaning
gel which removes oil, grease and grime from the hands
of garage mechanics the world over is quite safe to
use when cleaning your pig's grease gland as it is kind
to human hands and guinea pigs skins. It will soften
hardened grease in about 10 minutes and then simply
wash off.
Nail Trimming
Guinea pigs have four toes on their front feet and three
toes on their back feet. Nails need to be trimmed regularly
or they will curl into sharp little hooks which will
make it difficult for the cavy to walk properly and
may also scratch you when your handle your pet.
 Trim
the nails monthly. A vet or experienced owner will show
you how. Avoid using scissors as they may cause the
nail to split - ordinary nail clippers as used by humans
are best for the job.
Be very careful not to cut into the quick - the blood
and tissue inside the nail. This can be easily seen
on a pig with white nails as the pink flesh inside the
nail, but is more difficult on a dark nailed pig, so
only trim the tips if you are nervous about cutting
too far.
Note that the blood supply grows with the nail, so
the longer the nail, the longer the quick. Therefore
with very long, overgrown nails you should trim off
a little every few days until the nail is back to a
suitable, comfortable length. By doing so the blood
supply will have time to recede inside the nail.
As a precaution you can buy some styptic powder from
your chemist and keep it near at hand. This will stop
any bleeding quickly if you accidentally cut into the
quick.
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