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Thursday, June 25, 2026
Grease Gland
So it turns out this is why Grizzly had been rinsing his rear. A bunch of sticky goo from his "grease" gland had gotten stuck in his fur, and then trapped a bunch of hay and dirt and made crusty little spikes that were bothering him. Apparently all guinea pigs have grease glands, which are a musk producing gland on the lower back, and most males produce enough that it has to be cleaned occasionally. And somehow, through all five of our other male guinea pigs, we never had to do this for them. But then again, Grizzly has that long, scraggly "rex" fur, so it's not surprising that it would be more likely to stick to it.
It actually means Grizzly is a smart and neat pig, though. Instead of scratching himself until it hurt, or letting the grease build up until it was infected, he was actually bathing himself in his only source of water, which is not a natural guinea pig instinct but pretty clever.
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