cleaning

Question
Hi, today is the first time I have given my 2 8 months male guinea pig a bath and it went quite well.
My question is one of them which has more hair the grease glands near the bottom of the tail would be is very waxy even after a bath,have I not washed him properly? I didn't want to wash him again as I had just dried him and he is sleeping in a towel now. Should the bottom area be soft to touch of is waxy normal or not??
the thing is the other guinea pig hasn't got this problem, his bottom tail bit is not waxy one bit and doesn't smell as strong.
One last question is I heard cleaning the cage with diluted vingegar is very good, is this true? if so it would be much cheaper than the pet disinfectant spray which I always get scared incase it's too sensitive for the guinea pigs.
thanks amanda

Answer
Hi Amanda,

I don't see why diluted vinegar will be a problem, but you'll need to rinse and dry the cage after using it. It's probably best to stick to a hutch-safe cleaning spray. You can get some quite cheap ones in the UK (I don't know where you live). You don't need to use this everytime you clean them out, though!

I've never had a problem with any of my boys' grease glands, but I do believe some are waxier than others. The dominant male's will be stronger smelling than the submissive male's. If the smell is very strong or if your piggy seems unhappy, I know some owners use Swarfega (a car de-greasers). Before bathing, apply it to your piggy's grease gland, rub in, and leave on for 3 minutes before rinsing. Wrap your piggy in a towel while it's working so he can't lick it as it will make him very poorly. Then do the main bath as normal.

Good luck and if you have any other questions, just ask.

Best wishes,
Jenny.