General Chat > Other Pets

Can guinea pigs take dust baths?

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mojito:
A friend of mine at work has a daughter who owns 2 guinea pigs. I showed her a video of the chins taking a dust bath and her daughter said she did some research and found that her guinea pigs could take one as well. When I looked around I found the opposite answer, so I'm wondering which is the right answer!

GrayRodent:
I don't think dust bathing a guinea pig will do much good. I suspect that would only work for animals that have fur that is dense enough to stand up. I think they take water baths though.

Snickerdoodlesmom:
At Petco they sell baths for guinea pigs and hamsters. This might be a question for a vet.

GrayRodent:
Hamsters I could see the benefit for, since some breeds have dense coats. Guinea pigs I'm still not sure. I think their hair is closer to that of a dog, in which case, it would probably just make a big mess but the animal may still like to roll around in it. Considering dust is an eye irritating substance my thoughts are it would be best not to unless it is somehow necessary.

GrayRodent:
I have a friend who is a DVM and asked this question at church this evening. She advises to not put guinea pigs in chinchilla dust saying there is no benefit and it could be irritating to the guinea pig's lungs which can cause serious problems.

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