couple questions about guinea pigs

I got one for my birthday in March. Ive had alot of experience with hamsters and rabbits but only had one guinea pig in my life beside this one. How do you know if it is a male or a female? I was thinking he was a male but now Im not so sure because he is getting older and doesnt have the male parts. In my experience with hamsters and rabbits it was harder to tell when they were babies but as they got older it was a little more obvious.

Second thing is should I trim his nails? They seem to be getting kinda long but he is sooo squirmy as it is when I brush his fur and does not like being groomed at all so Im not to sure how he would take to having his nails clipped.

Last thing is I brush him several times a week because he has long fur should I also be bathing him? I never bathed the rabbits but had a powder I used for them and we had ferrets which had to be bathed at least once a week. Is this the same for guinea pigs?

I've had many guinea pigs in my day! Here's the answers to your questions:

How do you know if it is a male or a female?
If you push lightly towards the bootie, his penis will pop out.

Second thing is should I trim his nails?
Yes, you need to trim the nails and teeth. If they get too long, it can be crippling for them. I trimmed mine with regular fingernail clippers. You also need to trim their teeth. If their teeth start to curl, it can cause them problems.

Last thing is I brush him several times a week because he has long fur should I also be bathing him?
I always bathed mine. I usually did it when I changed out the bedding which was once a week. They need to have a bath because living in that bedding makes them stink.

I dont use wood bedding...I use that recycled paper type bedding. Ive used that for all my small animals because Ive read that it is better for their respiratory system. I honestly do not notice any bad smells when I hold him though. I figured he would need to be bathed but when I read about it online alot of places say it will cause skin problems so I wasnt sure what to do. I also figured hed need his nails clipped too....I have to clip my kitties nails so that shouldnt be much harder LOL. They defenitely do not enjoy getting their nails clipped although they are a little more cooperative with the brushing!!

that is what I did with my bunnies to check but I noticed tonight that he had small little nipples developing and though maybe he was actually a she and I had made a mistake in determining his sex him when I got him

Paula said:

I've had many guinea pigs in my day! Here's the answers to your questions:

How do you know if it is a male or a female?
If you push lightly towards the bootie, his penis will pop out.

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I always used the recycled paper bedding too! It's much healthier for them. You may not notice the smell. I should have told you that I had four GPs living in one pen and I think that's why they smelled.

If you use a shampoo that doesn't have perfume, their skin won't get irritated. Mine never did. Also, male GPs can have nipples too just an FYI. =)

How do you know if it is a male or a female?
If you push lightly towards the bootie, his penis will pop out.

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Paula, I know you are serious, but when i read this...i literally spewed coffee everywhere, i am crying tears over here lmbooo

Santa brought my sister and I guinea pigs for xmas one year and mom & dad said they were 2 females...a few months later one of those guinea pigs had 3 little babies...so good luck with all that :thumbup:

I love guinea pigs! They're soooo cute!!!! I've had a bunch of them in my lifetime, and every single one of them would "weet weeet" everytime we'd open the frig. door, thinking they were about to get some lettuce or a carrot! They're so cute and funny!

We didn't clip our's nails ourselves, but we'd bring them to the vet because he'd do it for us. We didn't ever need to cut their teeth, because they'd chew on the metal wires of their cage which would keep them short. Luckily! But Paula's right, if their teeth grow too long, they can die (their teeth will literally grow straight thru their bottom jaw!)

I never gave mine a bath, though. But I only had 1 or 2 at any given time and they'd clean themselves much like a cat does. They were so funny to watch! Their huge heads twisting around real fast to wash themselves. So cute!

Now I want a guinea pig! lol!

OK thanks everyone!! I determined that he is defenitely a male. When you push his thing does "pop out" so no need to worry there I guess LOL.

Im going to attempt the nail clipping today. I figure Ive done my bunnies and my cats and the ferretts when we had them so a guinea pig should not be much different. He is pretty easy going just yells/squeals alot when Im brushing him. I suppose that could actually be taken both ways. He might be squealing because he is happy or because he doesnt like being brushed.

One more question for those who had guinea pigs did you have their fur trimmed ever? I know for some guineas that might not be an issue but mine is a breed who has long fur. I believe he is a Texel guinea pig.

We have pigs and their nails definitely need to be trimmed. Our nip when we try to do it, so we take 'em to the vet -- it's only $15/pig. If you do it yourself, it helps if you can have light sort of shine through their nails so you can see how far down to trim them. We haven't had to trim their teeth -- I've heard that if you keep them well stocked in Timothy Hay, you won't need to do that. oh, and we don't bathe them, we just keep the cage clean and they are fine.