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Grooming Guinea Pigs

Grooming is a very important part of Guinea Pig care. I recommend grooming short haired guinea pigs 2-3 times a week, also making daily checks for any matted or dirty fur. For longer haired breeds, such as Peruvians or Alpacas, grooming must be done on a daily basis as their coats can become easily tangled and matted. Unless your Guinea Pigs are being prepared for shows, I also recommend regularly trimming the fur so that it does not drag on the floor, therefore keeping it cleaner and easier to manage. I also highly recommend keeping the back area of your guinea pigs coats much shorter than the rest of the fur, ensuring that urine and faeces do not come into contact with their long coats. 

Bathing

Bathing Guinea Pigs is not a necessity and is only recommended when absolutely necessary. Male Guinea Pigs tend to need a bath more regularly than females due to more active grease glands.
The grease gland in a guinea pig is located just above where a tail would be (if guinea pigs had a tail). Some sows and some boars have active grease glands that can be a challenge to clean. Pet owners claim success with these methods of spot cleaning the area by using things such as Coconut Oil or Swarfega. 
When needed, you can use a pet safe shampoo by brands like Johnsons to give your pets a thorough clean. 
My personal recommendation is to bathe a male guinea pig 1-2 times a year and bathe a female 1-2 times every two years. 

What should I have in my grooming kit?

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Your Guinea Pigs grooming kit doesn't need to include lots of things or be overly complicated. All you need is a decent pet brush, a comb, nail clippers (if you clip your pets nails at home), hair cutting scissors and pet friendly shampoo. 
*Tip* You can get baby combs, brushes and nail clippers as a set in most pound / dollar stores, these are great additions to a grooming kit as they can be used for treatments such as Fly Strike. 
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Here's everything that's in my Grooming Kit...
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Pets at Home Small Animal Shampoo
Pets at Home Grooming Spray
Johnson's Fly Strike Protector
Pet Hair Cutting Scissors
Metal Pet Comb
Pet Brush
Baby Brush
Nail Clippers
Baby Nail Clippers
Baby Nail File
Baby Nail Scissors
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Toolboxes work great to store grooming items or medications as they seal tight, look tidy, have great organisational compartments and are easy to store. 
I use a Stanley Sort Master Tool Box to keep all of my grooming items tidy! 
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