Grooming is another very important part of keeping your guinea pig happy and healthy. Regular grooming of your guinea pig removes loose hairs and dirt, takes out tangles, and brings the coat out lovely after bathing. Most guinea pigs also enjoy the attention when being groomed!

Why is grooming important? | Comb Types | Guinea Pig Coat Types

Guinea pigs, like most other hairy creatures, moult just before the hottest time of the year and grooming them during this time will help them to shed unwanted hair and keep them cool. Guinea pigs also lose a small amount of hair all year round and so weekly grooming helps to keep the coat fresh and free of old hairs.

Grooming also plays an important part of health care in boars. Boars have a grease gland on their bottoms, if the grease isn't regularly cleaned away it can start to cake on into a greasy scab which will then need to be painstakingly removed with a degreaser (such as a mild washing up liquid or Swarfega) and a flea comb.

When grooming watch out for:

• Scabs on the skin
  Have a rummage through the fur with your fingers before grooming to see if there are any scabs. Groom around them gently to avoid damaging the scab.

• Knots in the hair
  Your first go with the comb should be slow and gentle just in case you find any knots. Untangle them gently with a de-matting comb.

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It may come as a surpise to learn that there are actually a few different types of comb you can use to groom your guinea pigs with. You can choose the best combs for your guinea pig depending primarily on coat length, as guinea pigs with longer coats benefit from having a de-matting comb handy for example.

The flea comb
This comb has very fine teeth to get deep into the fur and comb out debris such as skin flakes, lice and their eggs and general dirt. The flea comb is also useful for very gently combing away caked on grease around the grease gland on boars.

The Slicka comb
This comb has wide rubber teeth for grooming out water after bathing. It can also be used to gently massage guinea pigs around the back, neck and shoulders.

The de-matting comb
This comb has curved serrated teeth to help you gently tease out knots in longer hair.

The teasle comb
This comb has very long and flexible teeth that are wide apart. It is good for general grooming and removing loose hair.

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When grooming your guinea pig you should comb the fur in the direction of the growth pattern. Different breeds have different hair growth patterns so establishing the breed of your pet can sometimes be helpful, even if you have a cross breed.

Below are some typical growth patterns in guinea pigs.

A long coat pattern typical of a Peruvian guinea pig

A long coat pattern typical of a Texel guinea pig

A long coat pattern typical of a Sheltie guinea pig