Winter is Gone

With Summer fast approaching we decided it was time to give our thick coated pet texel boy Zavier a hair-cut. With my newborn bub not wanting to leave the snug security of her baby sling and my husband and I assuming it would be quite tricky for me to play hairdresser with a baby strapped to my chest, hubby kindly offered to do the honors.   

Here are the obligatory 'before' photos...

Zavier

  To my surprise, Zavier sat quite still and was not bothered at all by the sound of the clippers. We tried using a number four guide but soon found it was getting tangled in his coat and making things tricker. So we ditched it and just used the blades without a guide attached.

I must admit it was quite sad watching his beautiful thick curls being cut off. At the midway point in proceedings I had to start reminding myself of the reasons why we were doing it. 

Like all things cavy related, breeders have their own differing opinions on the buzz cutting of non-show cavies coats in the heat and I have seen several debates online about it. Opinions range from it being unnecessary, the crutch of those too lazy or poor to keep their cavies cooler in other ways, right through to the belief that it is absolutely best for the animals and good management.

 

 So why did I decide to do it? For one, my cavies eat a lot of fresh grass. They have opportunities to go into yard hutches and play pens to graze and are also picked large fresh bunches of grass that get put into their hutches. In this area we have a problem with ticks, a very tiny pest that hides in grass and can be deadly. Can you imagine trying to check for ticks on a cavy like Zavier when his coat is long? I am terrified of losing any of my cavies to a tick bite, particularly after almost losing my cat to one this Winter, in spite of vet intervention.

The second reason is of course the heat. In summer here the temperatures soar above 40 degrees celsius. I do many things to keep my cavies cool and comfortable and there is no doubt removing long hair will contribute to this.

 Above is the end result. Zavier undoubtedly looks a little less handsome but as my husband said after he had finished "I bet you feel like someone took your blankets off, don't ya mate?"