In last week’s post (It’s 10 PM, Do You Know Where Your Guinea Pig Is), we came up with a few ideas on how you can develop a weekly “schedule of events” for your guinea pig.

The topics discussed in this post primarily consisted of routine tasks that the typical cavy keeper will need to perform on a daily and weekly basis for their guinea pig.

One of the items we wrote about — cleaning your guinea pig’s ears — got a lot of attention.

Having to clean a guinea pig’s ears will likely not be news to any seasoned guinea pig Human. So the interest generated by this post was surprising, though not entirely unexpected.

It’s unfortunate that Ear Cleaning really doesn’t hang out with the “cool crowd” of cavy health. Ear Cleaning’s favorite haunts these days seem to be on just a few abandoned threads and in a handful of hastily recorded YouTube videos, while his more popular siblings (Nail Trim and Weight Check) enjoy a bevy of attention from countless blogs, videos and photo streams.

Why Clean Ears

Just like humans, guinea pigs have earwax, and sometimes that stuff needs cleaned up. A real-world fact is that an over-accumulation of wax can provide a haven for parasites and harmful bacteria to grow and thrive in your guinea pig’s ears. And the persistence of waxy ears can lead to serious health problems like head tilt (ear infection) and skin conditions around the ears.

Aside from the potential harm that arises from dirty ears, earwax can be uncomfortable, unsightly, and in its nature just very, really, terribly gross.

How Often to Clean Ears

The HappyCavy Humans like to clean our ears once every two weeks. Wax build-up can occur in some cavies very quickly, and we’ve found that long-haired guinea pigs tend to accumulate wax faster than short haired cavies.

By cleaning ears once every two weeks, The Humans are able to bundle this easy task with coat brushing and nail trims, thus saving time and effort by getting several things done in one “wheek”! (Cute, right?) 🙂

Ear Cleaning Supplies: What You Need

• Cotton swabs (Q-Tips)
• Mineral oil (optional)

Some guinea pig care guides suggest that you use a product like Oti-Clens or use a drop of mineral oil in your guinea pig’s ear or on the cotton swab.




But HappyCavy likes to keep the ear cleaning process simple by using just one supply: cotton swabs (Q-Tips). They purchase swabs at the local grocer and they don’t skimp out either. Sure, you can get some cotton swabs at a dollar discount store to save a few cents, but the cotton tips from discount stores tend to be smaller and less fluffy than their brand-name counterparts. No expense is spared when taking care of the HappyCavy Family’s health, so we spring for the slightly more expensive, tremendously more comfortable brand-name cotton swab varieties.

After lightly moistening one tip of the swab, The Humans gently rub the moistened swab over the outer surface of each guinea pig’s ear.

After cleaning each ear, another swab is used to remove any additional wax, grime, or dirt. The Humans use as many swabs as they need, but it usually takes just 1 or 2 per short-haired pig. Feebee, being long-haired, sometimes may use 4 or 5.

How to Clean Your Guinea Pig’s Ears In 1 Minute: Video

Ear cleaning is super-simple, easy as pie, and a great way to get close and bond with your guinea pig. But don’t believe us, let Buttercup guide you through a session of ear cleaning fun!

Can’t see the video? Watch it on Twitter instead!

Do You Use Drops or Mineral Oil?

Using ear drops? Lovin’ the mineral oil technique? Or maybe you have an entire different approach to cleaning guinea pig’s ears?

Go ahead, share your stories with us in the comments section!

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About HappyCavy

HappyCavy is your go-to source for tips and recommendations on guinea pig care and entertainment.