tips on my guinea pig

Question
Hi how r u i was wonderin how and how often can i bath my guinea pig i just got him from a rescue and he smells bad i put baby power in his pine shavings until i could find out if i can bath him  and what all he can eat i have him on SUNCRUNCH guinea pig food and he gets salads along with with extra carrots any info on what he should be eatin and takin care of him would be great thank you in advance  

Answer
Sherry -

Well, I've never heard of anyone putting baby powder in a guinea pig's cage before.  It might not be such a great idea.  Yes, you can bathe a guinea pig, but you probably won't need to do it very often.  What I would do is use baby shampoo to wash him and then make sure you dry him thoroughly with a hair dryer.  You don't want to even leave him damp, because he can get sick easily.

As long as his pellets were designed for guinea pigs, they should be all right.  As for vegetables and fruits, I would try to go lightly on them (maybe a very small helping 2x a day).  He can eat any fruit or vegetable EXCEPT any member of the cabbage family (including broccoli and cabbage) and rhubard.  These foods can cause digestive problems and even death.  Also, you want to stay away from plain head lettuce, as it really doesn't have any nutritional value.  Try carrots, spinach, green peppers, cucumbers, apples, oranges, bananas, etc.

Hope this is helpful.  If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me again.  Good luck!

Lorena