MATTED HAIR ON CAVIES

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.