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I recently picked up a Skinny cavy boar. The person that originally rescued the guinea pig did not know anything about them or how to care for them and turned to me since I raise guinea pigs.

He has been with me now for about 3 months and seems to be doing well. But I noticed he seems to have a few patches of dry skin. I feed my cavies a high quality feed from Heinhold(scroll to the bottom) that all of my cavies enjoy and have thrived on. None of my other pigs seem to be having a dander problem or dry skin issues but they all have fur.

They have pine shavings bedding and grass hay provided in addition to their foot with occasional Red Pepper and corn husk treats.

Is there any thing I can safely put on my skinny cavy's skin to help with the dry skin?

enter image description here Here is a picture of a skinny cavy for those wondering what they look like. The hair on the nose is the difference between a skinny and a naked (naked cavies have no hair at all)

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4 Answers 4

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Skin issues with skinny pigs can be quite common. I have two skinny boars at home that when they have dry skin I use an organic coconut oil on their skin and it lifts off the old dry skin and moisturizes it.

enter image description here

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I know this is a little late but I would recommend not using the pine shaving bedding. I have two skinny boys that I got from 2 different places that both advised me to use paper bedding because the shavings can be irritating/scratchy on their skin so maybe that would be causing the dry spots because of the way it rubs?? I'm not sure but I figured I would put that out there :)

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I found an article from petco about caring for the Hairless Guinea Pig (should be the same for your guinea pig.

"Guinea pigs stay clean and rarely need baths; if skin becomes flaky and dry, wipe with baby wipes containing Aloe or a damp washcloth" http://www.petco.com/caresheets/small%20animals/GuineaPig_Hairless.pdf

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  • I couldn't find anymore articles about it so sorry about the one and only link
    – Derrick K.
    Commented Dec 20, 2014 at 21:14
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your Guinea Pig shouldn't need any lotion on its skin. He should produce enough on oils on its own to moisturize his body. However, just like with people, sometimes things things a hairless might have dry skin.

I recommend a bath to soothe his skin plus clean off any external irritant that might be on his skin.

It sounds like his diet is good so it may not be that. Have you the checked humidity in the room?

Lastly, a soothing oil like Burt's Bee Nourishing Baby Oil, which has apricot oil, can help. Moisturize it in 2x day. It's good to call your local vet for advice also.

BTW, there is a cool video and info on hairless guinea pigs on this site: http://www.guineapigheaven.com/learn/guinea-pig-breeds/hairless-guinea-pigs/

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    "sometimes things things a hairless might have dry skin." - I think you might have missed a thought in there.
    – Spidercat
    Commented Mar 18, 2015 at 20:11
  • A bath really should be a last resort on a guinea-pig though. So easy for them to catch a cold, and they may easily panic as well!
    – Layna
    Commented Aug 28, 2017 at 5:27

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