Skinny Pig Care

One year with Nellie Snork Maiden

It has been just over 1 year since we rescued Nellie. She will soon be celebrating Nellies 2nd Birthday! Last year we had only had her for 1 month when she turned 1 so she was still very timid and we were just learning how to care for her. A year on we are not Skinny Pig experts but have certainly learnt a few things along the way which my help anyone who is thinking about owning a Skinny Pig or if you're just curious to how they differ from piggies with hair.

The obvious

Of course the first thing you notice about Nellie is she doesn't have much hair! She is actually a werewolf skinny pig which means that she has some hair, and to my knowledge this means much like a werewolf that hair can get thicker or thinner. The hair she does have is mainly on her face although she has some on her feet and neck. Nellies skin feels warm to touch almost like a hot peach! At first we thought she always felt too hot but this is just because she has no hair. 

Caring for her skin

In terms of her skin its important that she's kept clean and that her skin doesn't get dry. We tend to clean Nellie only when her skin appears to look a little dry (this is often a build up of dust on her skin it isn't actually dry skin . The way we clean her is by rubbing a tiny amount of coconut oil into her skin. This seems to loosen the dirt better than using a wipe/ water and means that the dirt is more easily removed. We just use a cotton wool pad to wipe all the excessive oil away so that she is clean and not oily. It is also important to ensure that skinny pigs nails are kept short so that they don't hurt their skin when itching.

Climate

Skinny pigs must be kept indoors , they need to be kept warm above 20c so can't be kept anywhere where its cool or in a draft. This is something to consider when getting a skinny pig. Nellies cage is indoors, We also use the microwavable heat pads you can get for putting in outdoor hutches in her cage. These pads come in a fleece cover but we always make sure that the heat pad is below the fleece liner in her cage so that she never has direct contact with it as it does get very warm. Another thing we do to keep Nellie warm is provide her with plenty of cosy beds that she can get inside. Our favourites are fleece tents and piggie sacks as they keep her covered over. Nellie also rarely goes out on the grass as it is mostly not warm enough here although like all pigs she enjoys floor time with some freshly picked grass.   

Habitat 

In my opinion skinny pigs should be kept on fleece as it is much softer of their skin. Nellie was actually kept on wood pellets before we got her which would be very uncomfortable on her skin. Fleece is also much warmer and has less chance of hay/shavings scratching her. We use a kitten litter tray with shavings and hay in for her to sit in. She also has hay boxes and a hay rack so that she's not in the hay all the time. 

Other Notes

We have heard that skinny pigs have a faster metabolism then other guinea pigs and in so eat more and poop more! As Nellie is the only skinny pig we have had we can't comment on that but Nellie does tend to have a bigger appetite than our hairy pigs and also poops a lot more. When handling Nellie we always make sure our hands are warm enough as cold hands on her skin isn't very nice for her. Other than the few points she is just like a regular guinea pig she just requires a little more care to ensure she is warm enough. If you are thinking of getting a Skinny Pig and do not have any experience with  keeping guinea pigs it is important to know that they are still social animals. Skinny pigs should still have a friend (hairless or hairy it doesn't matter) I hope you found this interesting and if anyone has any questions please find us @pansyted.pigs on Instagram.

*disclaimer* I am not a skinny pig expert these are just a few things/ tips I have learnt.