FAQ: Grooming for small pets

Check the coat and skin, eyes, ears, nose, teeth, nails, feet and bottom, and weigh the animal. Such a quick check helps you spot changes in time that are worth showing to a vet.

It is worth seeing a vet if the animal scratches constantly, or bald patches, scabs, wounds, lumps, flakes, redness or a bad smell appear. Also if, after changing its care, the coat stays greasy, matted or dirty for a long time.

A coat and skin that stay wet for long can get irritated by urine, especially if the animal is overweight, ill or lives on damp bedding. Keep the bedding dry, gently wash and dry the area, and show redness or sores to a vet.

Regular brushing, especially during a moult, reduces hair in the cage and on furniture. It is worth brushing outdoors or over a towel and vacuuming around the cage more often.

A cage cleaned more often, low-dust bedding and brushing can reduce allergen levels, but allergies are often triggered by urine, saliva and hay dust. People with allergies are better off wearing gloves, cleaning the cage in a well-ventilated area and talking to a doctor.

Regularly empty old, damp or trampled hay from the rack and wipe away dust and urine residue. Plastic or metal racks can be washed in warm water, while wooden ones should be wiped and dried well.

Wash plastic hideouts in warm water with a mild unscented detergent, remove urine scale with diluted vinegar and dry them well. Chewed hideouts with sharp edges are better replaced.

Wooden, cardboard or hay toys that are soaked with urine or mouldy must be thrown away, because they cannot be cleaned. Sturdy plastic or ceramic toys can be washed and used again.

Guinea pigs eat and poop a lot, so droppings and wet bedding need removing every day. Do a general clean usually once a week, and change the hay often so it stays clean and dry.

In a degu cage it is worth removing dirty spots and spoiling food daily, with a full clean every week or two. Degus are sensitive to changes in scent, so leaving some clean bedding is worthwhile.

With deep bedding, usually only wet and dirty spots and the toilet corner are removed, and the rest is topped up. The whole layer is changed less often, every few weeks, so the animal’s burrows are not destroyed.

Put a few centimetres of warm water in a sink or basin, wet the rat while avoiding its head, gently work in a shampoo made for small pets and rinse thoroughly. Towel dry well and keep it somewhere warm until the coat is dry.

Nocturnal small pets are best groomed in the evening, when they wake up and become active by themselves. They should not be woken during the day, as a startled sleeping hamster may bite and gets stressed.

A trimmed coat mats less and stays clean more easily in summer for long-haired rabbits, which lowers the risk of flystrike. Trim carefully, do not leave the skin completely bare and keep the rabbit out of the sun.

Male chinchillas sometimes develop a ring of fur around the penis that can cause pain and interfere with urination. If you notice swelling, frequent licking or difficulty urinating, see a vet.

Some dominant mice or rats trim the whiskers and fur of others, known as barbering, which is often linked to hierarchy or boredom. More space and enrichment can help, and if wounds or skin changes appear, talk to a vet.

Good-quality tools last a long time, but nail clippers need replacing when the blades go blunt and start crushing the nail. Replace brushes when the bristles bend, break off or the brush can no longer be cleaned.

No, zoogidas.lt sells nothing; it only compares prices from Lithuanian online pet shops. Once you find the sand, brush or cleaning product you want, you order it on the chosen shop’s website.

Prices on zoogidas.lt are collected about daily, each product shows when its price was last checked, and the product page shows its price history. Check the final price on the shop’s website before buying.

Gently wipe the sticky spot with a cloth or cotton wool moistened with lukewarm water, without soaking the whole animal, and pat it dry. If the dirt will not come off, the matted hair can be trimmed carefully with blunt-tipped scissors, but do not pull the fur out.