Bathing? - Paw Talk

xx Angelica<3 · #1 06-15-2009, 03:30 PM

Well, me and my mom were just wondering if gerbils need baths. I was thinking it would be a good idea to brush them lightly with a tooth brush, with some soap and water, not getting them too wet and not letting soap in their eyes or mouth or nose. They seem clean but I just thought it would be a good idea since it's summer here in Michigan and I bathed my other 3 gerbils when I had them. We bathe our rabbit Sunny and our Guinea Pig, Bucko. Thanks, and let me know if you don't reccomend it. Also, I heard that they take sand baths. Well the closest petstore to me is PetSmart and i'm not sure if they sell Sandbaths. Can you buy them? Or do you make them?

Jinxy · #2 06-15-2009, 03:52 PM

Same question, is it really safe to bathe your pets if they are dirty? and if it is, what is the best way to do it(especially for hammies)?

bathing my guinea pig is often a struggle because he is a drama queen and doesn't like his 'do' being messed up

I don't like clipping his nails either, they get so long so fast and he just hates when I do it even though I make sure to never cut too close at all (i usually only take off the excessive length)

xx Angelica<3 · #3 06-15-2009, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jinxy


	Same question, is it really safe to bathe your pets if they are dirty? and if it is, what is the best way to do it(especially for hammies)? bathing my guinea pig is often a struggle because he is a drama queen and doesn't like his 'do' being messed up I don't like clipping his nails either, they get so long so fast and he just hates when I do it even though I make sure to never cut too close at all (i usually only take off the excessive length)

LOL, our 2 year old Guinea, Bucko, is a drama queen too. He loves his little mohawk and thinks we're doing bad giving him a scrub!

**Sasami** · #4 06-15-2009, 09:29 PM

Gerbils groom themselves so you shouldn't need to ever bathe them. The same actually goes for rabbits and guinea pigs--they're self-groomers. It's the reason that people bathe dogs but not usually cats...the cats groom themselves. You should really only bathe pets like that if they get into something and are dirty.

If you must ever bathe a small animal, I'd advise buying a shampoo intended for kittens or rabbits. You don't want to use regular human shampoo because it might be too harsh or contain something that's not approved for use on animals.

sez · #5 06-17-2009, 04:00 PM

No gerbils but hammies here

Don't bath them! They will groom themselves... and tbh.. they lick themselves to get clean... ingesting soap would be bad! (however well you think you've washed it off)

You don't need a special bath, just a heavy-ish dish, preferably quite deep.

Use the special sand sold in petstores.. usually with the Chinchilla stuff.

canadiancritter · #6 06-17-2009, 07:17 PM

I agree with the above posters.

Small animals as well as rabbits and guinea pigs do not need to be bathed in less it is ABSOLUTELY necessary (i.e. their covered in poop or something).

It is safe though to like hamsters (and others) use a sand bath every now and then.

The pet store will sell it as chinchilla sand, and you can just put a small amount in a dish and place it in their play area (not cage) and if they want to use it they will.

xx Angelica<3 · #7 06-17-2009, 10:42 PM

Alright. I bought some Chinchilla sand today and put it in a bowl and sat it on the bed for about 20 minutes and observed. Josh just stood there and tried to escape, and Drake dug around it some, and scratched at it. I'm going to get them used to it by using it everyday. Good idea?