[Gpdd] CARE Bathtime

Penny Charlesworth piggyfriends at tesco.net
Tue Jul 17 08:01:59 EDT 2007


As I am sure that you all know, our piggies' ancestors came from the grasslands and mountains of South America, where the dry climate suits their coats.

Here, in the damp miserable climate of England, they are prone to a an assortment of fungal conditions called mycoses. Some piggies seem to pick it up more readily than others. I have found that the rexes ( teddies ) with their stiff erect coats and the Abbies, whose coats tend to stand out from their body are less affected than the basic short-haired variety of piggy.

You can tell if your piggy has a fungus infection by tugging gently at the coat along the back near the "tail" end. If the hair comes away in your hand, this is caused by the fungus. The coat also has a greasy feel.

All piggies arriving here at Piggyfriends have a shampoo as they often have unwanted visitors in their coats or they are already suffering from fungus or worse still mites. So after a dose of Ivomec for the mites, off to the bath they go.

I bath my herd on a regular basis, some more often than others. White piggies invariably get a bit messy around the read end, as do the long haired ones and I find that this is a good time to give that long hair a trim. I use an anti fungal and anti parasitic shampoo, which leaves their coats lovely and shiny.

Most piggies have no problem with being shampooed and those with initial qualms soon get used to it and usually enjoy bathtime.

Sapphie, Barley and their three sons love the bath. They lay flat with their little legs sticking out behind them and look so relaxed, covered in suds, while the shampoo does its stuff. This takes four minutes. Frodo loves to do laps of the bath, while Sam likes to roll the shampoo bottle around with his nose. Guinness always liked to explore the plug hole and push the shower hose around.

After I have finished typing this, Gingerbread and Diamond, both long-haired girls, are going to have a bath, followed by Satin, whose ivory coat tends to get stained at the back.

So that is why I bath my piggies. Those of you fortunate enough to live in dry climates can just gloat.

Regards from Penny and the Piggyfriends.

Living vicariously through guinea pigs.




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