With our first guinea pigs - American & Abyssinian, we did not had any problems when it comes to the hair. Even bathing is not a problem since the hair was tangle-free even after a bath session.
It is entirely a different case with our long-haired cavies, especially one of our Silkie/Sheltie cavies - Coffee, a golden agouti boar.
We regularly groom our cavies, but the past 2 weeks we were preoccupied with the renovation of our house. Luckily, only Coffee is the one affected with matted hair. (Right now, I do not have the photo of Coffee with his matted hair, since we trimmed it out yesterday...).
Here is the photo of Brownie, which just got a new trim since he has matted hair close to the rump area.
Matted hair is quite common in long-haired cavies if their hair is not cared for properly. Most of the time, it is ideal to keep the fur short, particularly in the rump or back area. Trimming this part will only take a few minutes and must be done every 3-4 weeks. Just make sure that you are well aware where the legs and ears of your cavies are as well as the sensitive area close to the rump.
If matted hair is simply ignored, it will look undesirable, smelly and can cause the skin beneath the hair to swell or even develop infections.
If you have long-haired cavies, it is best to groom them every other day so that tangles and matted hair can be prevented, especially at their rump. In case you do not have time, you can provide your cavies with a trim every 3-4 weeks.
It is a known fact that it is always best to get a pair, instead just one cavy. We initially got one cavy, a black and white American sow. After reading how sociable guinea pigs are, we decided to add another American sow until we almost have a herd right now - 13 cavies and 3 pups, a total of 16 cavies. Well, it is definitely a large group. Our cavies are not living in just a single cage, but divided in double cages and single cages.
Cavies can get stressed out easily, particularly if they are alone. It is always best that cavies are in pairs or in groups. The sows get along well when they are in a group. Even though minor quarrels cannot be avoided, rest assured that it will subside quickly. As for the boars, they should not be kept as a group since there is a high chance that quarrels will arise, thus ending up biting each other. In our case though, we were able to keep three boars together in one cage. Even though they get along well, they barbered each other. Of course, we were disappointed, especially with our Lunkarya boar whose curly hair was trimmed down, almost looking like an Abyssinian.
Hopefully, once we can purchase new cages, specifically the triple cages, we can provide our cavies with their own space. It is definitely the best way to prevent them from barbering each other.
In case you decide to keep a group of cavies all together in one living space, it is best to keep several boars and sows. The members of the group are well aware of the rules, thus keeping any aggression at bay.
