a little boy

Question
i was also wondering what i can do to moisturize his skin, he's some what dry and a little dandruffy, however i have checked for lice and his skin is healthy looking, with no redness, scabs, lesions or bumps, but he is itchy. hes terrified of water and has jumped 2 feet directly upwards to escape a deep tub i attempted to bathe him in, so im not sure about any shampoos actually working.
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Followup To

Question -
i have a male pig about 5 months old, that i recieved as a gift from a friend. this is my first male pig (i had an older female i adopted from the human society for 3 yrs) and i was wondering about a friend for him. he is in a 4 by 2 c&c cage that i can still expand some what, and he also has a separate smaller area for sleeping. i was wondering if a new boy would be a good idea for him since he seems lonely and doesnt move around too much during the day. i change out his toys frequently to keep him interested, but i read that if he has a friend this will make him happier overall. i also read that males some times have real fights and wont get along no matter what you do. shuld i get a friend for him? and also does the trick about applying vicks to their back ends so they smell similar really work? thanks

Answer -
Hello Aleea,

Getting him a friend is a wonderful idea. I do not reccommend putting vicks on either of them. Inhaling the fumes has been suspected to even cause pneumonia in children on occassion. However, bathing them together usually does the trick for that. Although, with him being young if you get another younger boar (4 - 7 weeks old would probably be best), you shouldn't have any trouble anyway. I'm assuming that you have already read up on introducing them since you asked about the vicks so I won't get into that. If I'm wrong and you do need advice in that respect let me know and I'll be happy to help. Keep in mind that if they don't get along, you can put them into seperate cages (or split their C&C) near each other and they will still have the need for interaction with their own kind fulfilled but won't be able to harm each other. If you get a young pup though, they should get along just fine. Good luck! I hope you find the perfect friend for him!

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs

Answer
Hello Aleea,

A breeder friend of mine reccommended Selsun Blue to me once when one of mine had dry skin and it worked wonders. She told me it would get rid of a fungal infection if he had one too. You need to be watchful though. If the Selsun Blue doesn't fix things, you may want to have him checked for mites just to be safe. As for how to bathe him, most pigs hate water and jump like crazy to escape. Try holding his front legs up out of the water while you bathe him, sometimes this helps to calm them down. I've also found that a sink tends to work better for the ones who hate baths the most. I'm not sure why except that maybe it just doesn't seem as intimidating as a large tub. If he just REFUSES to have a bath no matter what you do, go buy a kitchen sponge. It will take longer to get him wet and to rinse him off but it may get his bath done without having a terrified piggy. Sit him on a table on a thick towel (you could use a plastic container of some sort, but line it with towels so he won't be standing in a puddle). Fill a bucket with water and have it next to you. Fill the sponge and gently sponge the water onto him. Then shampoo him. Then sponge him off. It will likely take quite some time to rinse the soap off but it's inportant to get it all off. Then take a dry towel and dry him off (a blow dryer may be used if you are in a cool climate and he'll tolerate it, if not just keep him bundled close to you until he's dry). Hopefully you can convince him to take a real bath instead of a sponge bath, but if not, that is a possible option. Good luck!

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs