My Guinea pig hates having a bath!

Question
Hi, I recently got a baby guinea pig and it's an albino. It's a female. She is sooooo cute. I find it dificult to give it a bath because it doesn't like water and it keeps crying. I thought the water was too cold so i made it warm, and not too hot. I constantly checked the water temperature to keep it good. But my guinea kept crying, and when i put shampoo on it I'm very careful not to make it contact with eyes, ears, mouth or nose. I find it difficult to wash its belly with shampoo (i use guinea pig shampoo i got from a pet store). I give it a bath every day, is this healthy? I think it does't like it because i have a tray of warm water and i put the guinea pig in there. It's not too deep though. I hold it in my hand while washing it to make it more calm. I think it gets cold afterwards so i wrapped it around a towl and now it's sleeping. But everytime i give it a bath and i hear it crying so much i feel so bad and sorry for it. =(

Please help, is there a way where i can make the bath more peaceful and joyful for my cute baby?  

Answer
Hi Katherine,

Sorry I took so long in getting back to you. I have been ill and had family matters to attend to, so I apologise for the delay.

Congraulations on your new guinea. Just so you know, there is no such thing as an albino guinea pig. It's a common mistake; a lot of people make it. Usually they are known as PEW - Pink Eyed Whites. They are beautiful guineas.

Bathing every day is not a good idea. Once every 3 months is more suitable - every 6 weeks at the most. Daily bathing is very unnecessary, even if she gets a little dirty. Too much bathing can dry out the skin, and it causes stress and upset which can be avoided. If her butt gets very wet then you can just dip her butt into water eveyr few weeks and just give her butt a wash, leaving the rest of her dry.

Many guineas find baths scary, so don't worry too much about it. Just get the bath over and done with as quickly and safely as possible, and keep your piggy warm until she is completely dry. Don't worry about washing her belly - when she gets rinsed, the shampoo will cover her belly, so just rub over her tummy gently and it will get a good wash and rinse.

If she is brave enough, you can use a hair-dryer to help the coat dry quicker. Just make sure you don't put the dryer too close to your guinea, and always keep your hand between the dryer and your guinea - ruffling the coat as you move the dryer around is the best method.

Best Wishes,

- Laura