Guide to Cutting Guinea Pig Nails

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After reading your advice i have ordered some clippers of ebay just so i will have a god when they come and let you know how i get on with my girls :)
 
We are taking our 2 to the vets tomorrow to get their nails cut. We have tried to do it ourselves, with the piggie clippers and normal human ones. We only manage like 1 foot maybe cos they are just too wriggly. Its frustrating because they sit in our laps and cuddle up so happily and dont mind being picked up or anything but as soon as you try and hold them in a position to do their nails they just wriggle!

Hopefully the vet will be able to help :)
 
i normally find that cutting piggy nails is definitely a two man job - one to hold and one to cut. my partner will normally hold them to his chest and lean back a bit so its almost like the are lying down on their backs, this seems to get them a bit more chilled than just holding them up in mid air. i tend to hold the foot that i am cutting between my fingers so if they do try to wriggle i am prepared for it.

i normally take the back feet nails just down to the quick its normally easy to identify on black nails as where the nail goes a bit thicker at the back. fortunately Gizmo who is black is very well behaved and will sit still through it all. He learned quickly that it is nothing to be scared of. Nigel is a very wriggly pig and always wants to wander off and explore. he has 3 feet with clear nails and one with dark. i usually judge how far to cut his dark foot by the length of his clear nails. as he is not as patient i give him little breaks between if he starts getting to fidgety then we just let him have a little wander for a couple of minutes before starting again.

I always make sure that they have a big treat after having their nails clipped so they can learn that with good behavior comes rewards.
 
I always find nail clipping problematic - and definitely a two-person job. Recently I've foudn simply giving my piggies a long length of parsley to eat keeps their minds occupied. :))

China is quite easy to do in that he's white and is easy to see the pink within the nail. Harvey is more difficult as, not only are his nails dark brown/black but they grow very curled, almost sickle shaped right from the finger of this paws. Recently I did - for the first time - misjudge it, and drew blood. :...

Thankfully, the bleeding stopped quickly and no real harm done.
 
squeakypigs said:
Guinea pigs nails grow they need to be kept under supervision so they can go about their day to day business... Here is a quick guide on what to do...
[*]
Is it easy to do?[/*]
Yes it is easy, it is something that will come more natural to you each time you cut their nails. When cutting a guinea pigs nails the main thing you have to worry about is the blood vessel. This runs through the nail but not right upto the ends.
[*]
How do I know how far to cut?[/*]
With clear nailed guinea pigs it can be seen fairly easily so avoiding it isnt too much of a challenge, however if your guinea pig has darker non translucent nails then a light can be shined underneath which will distinguish the cuttable nail from the blood vessel. It will show up darker. Another way to know where to cut is to look for an indented line in the dead bit of nail, this should be easy to spot as it will be dryer and lighter than the rest of the nails surface.
[*]
What happens if I cut the vessel?[/*]
The guinea pig will feel discomfort and will bleed from whats left of the nail. This will not cause too much of a problem and will stop bleeding shortly after, but will still be uncomfortable for them. Same as with a human if you cut your nails too short. Which is why it is important to cut the guinea pigs nails correctly first time. If this bleeding does not stop you will need to contact youir vet.

[*]What if the nails are too sharp rather than too long?[/*]
In this case cutting will not be neccessary, an ordinary nail file can be used. Though the same rules apply as with cutting, do not file down too far and always be weary of where the blood vessel is...
[*]
What can I do to wear thier nails down naturally?[/*]
Allowing them to use hard surfaces will help reduce their nail size naturally. Such as putting thier run onto paving type material rather than just grass.

Overall if you do not feel confident in doing this procedure then your vet should be more than happy to help...

If you have any questions or anything to add please feel free to email me at [email protected]
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thank you so much my piggies' nails can actually cut through my jeans and make a tiny prick on my skin because they are sooooooo sharp!:))
 
one of my guineas has 2 translucent claws and 2 darker claws :/

so i take them to the vet to do it.
 
Wriggly piggies & nail cutting

:{I can just about do Melton's nails. Three out of four paws are black so I only cut a bit off the end so as not to go too far. Kind of got the hang of how far is alright. I have to do it in a couple of attempts because she starts to wriggle after a couple of paws. Mowbray on the other hand is near impossible to do. She screams her head off and wriggles so much I'm afraid I'll hurt her. Last time I took her to the vet to do it and she screamed even more at him. But was easier for me. He assurred me he wasn't hurting her and it was just her way of complaining. Maybe next time I'll try to do it myself.
 
REX - nail clipping and neutering, and finding him a wife

Rex needs his nails clipping but there is no way on earth I'm going to attempt doing it myself. Hell would have to freeze over first. He is a very strong minded boar and has no problem whatsoever letting me know when he's in a strop at the best of times, so I'm not risking it.
He also needs neutering ... but I keep putting it off as I feel really bad/guilty about it. However, I want to get him a mate but can't find a rescue girl piggy who has already been done, so there seems little alternative :(
If anyone has a girl pig who fits that particular bill, great, please let me know asap! If not, then he's off for the chop - but at least soon after he'll have a girlfriend.
 
pic of rex

By the way, this is Rex in his house, surrounded by carrots and parsley.
He is six months old now:<>
 

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A very good and informative informations are covered here. Guinea pigs nails are very helpful for me. Guinea pigs nails are very much transparent and very difficult to cut.
 
Thanks for this advice. Cutting piggie nails is definately a two person job! I hold them and my husband cuts them. Vince has black nails so it is difficult to cut them but after persevering we now have a good method which includes cucumber as a reward! Howard has pink paws so it easier to see the blood vessels but he is a wimp. I hold him to my chest with paws facing outwards and he knows what is going to happen. Anyway before the clippers are even near his paw his squeaks in discomfort not that it even hurts! He also gets rewards but he is a wimp!
 
Is there anyway you can stop them wriggling. Everytime I take hold of his paw and position the clippers i'm just about to cut and he moves his paw back and starts squeaking.
 
I have been looking for a thread about cutting piggies nails :)
Thanks so much for the very helpful information. x
 
No need to buy any other equipment to cut Guinea pigs nails, and nail clippers are usually the best at all, it is important to keep you cool and a good understanding of the guinea pig may be more easy to start and also you understand when it's comfortable for your pig.
 
Flour is very effective for stopping a nail from bleeding too much, either kind, plain of self-raising will do. Have a tablespoon-full in a saucer close by with you when you clip their claws, and if you clip too far back, hold them over the saucer and dip the whole paw into the flour to get it covered in it.

I have 2 boys who are brothers and earlier this year I had to separate them because they had been fighting for a while but no blood drawn so I didn't worry at first, until I found that Oliver had bitten Todd's nail off, and not just a little nip off the end, no! The whole nail! I thought he'd taken the toe as well but thankfully not! It didn't bleed at all that much, and stopped within a few minutes with just a little pressure on the end of the toe, nearer the paw (pinching it with my thumb and index finger) whilst being dipped into flour. So if you do clip too far back, don't panic, its not nice for them but it will heal pretty fast and they are none-the-wiser.
 
Living on my own I generally try to cut my piggies nails myself it usually ends with a grumpy piggy with only half his nails cut....
 
hilly19 said:
Is there anyway you can stop them wriggling. Everytime I take hold of his paw and position the clippers i'm just about to cut and he moves his paw back and starts squeaking.
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I suggest you have someone else holding them, whilst you clip. Holding them still is difficult for many owners to conquer first, before clipping successfully. Having them in a "sitting up-right" position on my lap has always worked for me, holding them up with part of my hand and part of my wrist so I can use my thumb, index finger and middle finger to sort out their front paws. But you have to read their body language. If they are not comfortable on your lap, they won't sit still. Being in that position isn't comfortable after a while if they keep fidgeting, but they don't know what you're trying to do, so just practice with them at first, holding them like that. Their bodies should be soft, if they tense their bodies, they are likely about to wriggle and you should stop what you're doing with them. Also, their fur needs to be flat the way the grain grows, if its pulling in the wrong direction against your body, that can obviously cause discomfort too.

So, main things are to remember, hold them as though they're sitting up on your lap with their backs against your chest, their bodies need to be relaxed, keep their fur flat so it doesn't pull, and then hold their paws between your fingers and thumb away from their mouths. Hope this helps you a bit!
 
First time

Douglas and I are going to be cutting the girls nails tonight for the first time.
We went to the vet in December - but we think it's time we learn to do it ourselves.

WISH US LUCK! LOL!
 
I have guinea- pig about a year and I never haven't tried cut his nails...I'm afraid cut to blood vessel...
 
Did one piggy for the first time last night - took 3 of us lol! He is 6 months old so was certainly time for a snip - they look much better now. Thanks for this very helpful thread!

xx
 
Just to let all fellow guinea pig owners know that In Morrisons they now stock septic sticks for only £1 rolleyes worth getting one, just encase you have a snip accident.

Esther x
 
Hey I need a help...I wanna cut Frik ( guinea pig ) nails , but I don't know how do it , because he is very ghastly...
 
How often do you have to cut their nails? I would rather the vet did it. (Even my children don't like me cutting their nails as I usually cut too short!) But the vet told me it wasn't necessary!?!
 
tanith said:
I get someone to hold them with their back against the person holdings body, this seems to work as i could never do it on my own. I have just brought a pair of gullitine clippers though and they make it a realy quick job compared to using nail scissors as i used to.
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I do this too - my oh holds them to his chest facing outwards with his fingers spread to seperate their legs and hold their head up - works fairly well and stops bites and scratches! they still dont like it but its either have them cut or they'd be much worse off with nasty long sharp nails!
 
Frik said:
I have guinea- pig about a year and I never haven't tried cut his nails...I'm afraid cut to blood vessel...
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I bet he'd feel better after a nail trim - like the feeling you get when you've just cut your toenails! :)
 
I did mine the other week as I was fed up being scratched so much by their back claws, they were not long, just sharp.

I think I have a nack for foot trimming as I held each one on my chest while with the same hand holding them I put one finger under the toes of the foot I wanted to trim and clipped each claw in turn. Waiting each time for the piggie to be comfortable in the chosen position - and note none of my piggies had been trimmed before or are easy to hold.

Believe me I have done far wiggily animals than these (and my pepper used to try to bite me when I did her claws as she also wasnt used to having her claws done. There is no time limit to trimming, no rush so just take your time and take off little as you can always take a bit more off - saves you hitting the quick.
 
i would rather the vet to do it. Do you have to pay if so how much? rolleyes
 
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