smelly guines pig =/

[miss_rawr]

I have 2 guinea pigs that live together, however one of them always seems to smell bad whereas the other one doesn't....

they get changed regulary and i've bathed the smelly one several times, thinking that maybe that's all she needs, yet she always seems to smell quite bad..

she's short haired and about 1 and a half

any ideas on what i could do?

many thanks
Hollie

[stephenie191]

Like her fur smells? Or a smell seems to linger around her?

I had that problem with some of my breeding males but never a female.

If she has any discharge coming from her i would say maybe a vet visit?


It may be that shes sleeping/resting in the wee corner or somthing like that so changing that every day might help

[Shell195]

Have her checked by a vet it is not normal for Guinea pigs to smell bad

[LoveForLizards]

Bathing makes the smell worse if its their skin/fur
Its not normal for them to smell at all, so a vet visit is deffo in order.

[saxon]

I'm just learning with my pigs but I have an alpaca boy who stinks to high heaven if I dont' bath him every week.
Mind you they are bathed and blow dried every week to keep their hair nice.

If you turn her over and check her 'bits' she may be in season.
Is it periodic when she smells???
I must say my sows dont' smell though.
I've not had a pregnant sow as yet but I have two in season sows now and they only smell a little.

Also check her skin for wet areas in case she has a skin complaint. I'm sure they can suffer from something similar to excema.

[LoveForLizards]

Originally Posted by saxon

Mind you they are bathed and blow dried every week to keep their hair nice.

Wash them, the oils are taken from their coats, they have to re-build them, they end up over-producing them because of the stress on the coat and they smell more People also believe that the more you wash them the worse their skin and coats get, and I have to agree as every natural oil is washed away and the skin is often left damaged because of the lack of oils. Normal show exhibitors/show breeders dont bathe any of their guinea pigs because of the natural oils being stripped.
I used to have an alpaca boy and with good substrate and cleaning times, he never once needed a bath.

[stephenie191]

The only time i Ever bathed my guinea pigs was when

* one had sloppy poo's and ended up covered in it
* One had lice so i bathed her in the shampoo to get rid of them


other than that i never did bath them.

I found once i bathed one, they tended to smell worse after a few days!

So i agree with the above statment

[miss_rawr]

i've probs made it worse with the bathing then becasue it does sem to be her fur, the smells only really notice able when she's climbed to my shoulder and so nearer to my face

I have made an appointment with the vet just in case, but she does seem to like to sit in the toilet corner a lot so it could be that...

thanks a lot for all your comments

[saxon]

My alpaca's don't smell any more than the other ones, short coated or merinos, if I don't bathe Apollo he smells but when I bathe him each week he doesn't. Shorn is bathed the same amount and he doesn't smell at all.
They dont' have any skin complaints either and their hair is in good condition it doesn't break or split.

[LoveForLizards]

Originally Posted by miss_rawr

i've probs made it worse with the bathing then becasue it does sem to be her fur, the smells only really notice able when she's climbed to my shoulder and so nearer to my face

I have made an appointment with the vet just in case, but she does seem to like to sit in the toilet corner a lot so it could be that...

One of my guinea pigs (an Abyssinian) has a slightly musky smell to his fur, but only noticeable if he is by my face.