Guinea Pig Care & Grooming

Guinea pigs are adorable little fluffballs who love to cuddle and most have an energetic personality. The average guinea pig can live up to 9 years but their life expectancy changes with a healthy diet and proper care.

Taking care of your guinea pig and properly grooming them is critical to them having a high quality of life and extending their lifespan.

Basic Grooming of Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs actually don’t require a ton of constant grooming or care but it’s easy to get behind. As long as you’re consistent with your grooming (brushing, nail trimming, etc.) your daily grooming habits can be quick.

As long as your guinea pig isn’t getting dirty or living in filth you really only have a few things you should be doing weekly:

Trimming their nails.
Brushing their coat.
Checking their teeth and ensuring they are eating hay.
Giving them a bath (only if they are really dirty).

You do not need to bathe them all the time. You should only bathe them if their skin or hair becomes soiled with urine or feces. Usually you can do a simple “butt bath” and spot clean their fur.

Basic Guinea Pig Care

There are a few things you’ll want to try and do each day or each week for your guinea pig. These animals don’t require much but if you don’t stay on top of it like a chore list it can build up over time.

You should try to do a full deep clean of their cage each week by adding in new lining, cleaning out the litter box and washing all dishes and bottles.

You should make sure your guinea pig isn’t gaining or losing weight in abnormal amounts.

You should do a health check of your guinea pig and make sure you don’t spot any of the common signs of illness in guinea pigs.

You should do basic grooming of your guinea pig such as nail trimming, teeth checks, brushing their hair, etc.