Horribly Overgrown Nails :(

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CheeseMommy

CheeseMommy

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My pig's nails are really overgrown. His last owner did not have time to take care of him. I feel awful, they're curly. However, she said every time she trimmed them he would bleed everywhere. He barely let's me hold him right now and I don't want to traumatize him. Will he be okay if I wait for a week for the vet to trim his nails?
 
Oh dear! Can the vet not see him sooner? i bet his nails are black in colour too?! Nightmare! What about wrapping him in a wee blanket and enlisting the help of a second person.

Try one foot at a time and just take a tiny bit off at each session. the quick will recede back in time if you keep on top of it once they are a good length.

have some cornflour handy in case there is a bleed. From your story it sounds like your poor piggy has already previously had a traumatic time with the nails
Shine a torch on black nails to help see the bloodline.

I understand what you're saying about stress but if you can't get the vet to see him before next week, i think you might have to bite the bullet. You'll likely be able to spend more time and maybe cause less stress than the vet anyway as your pig can then stay in his home environment
good luck!
 
tabelmabel said:
Oh dear! Can the vet not see him sooner? i bet his nails are black in colour too?! Nightmare! What about wrapping him in a wee blanket and enlisting the help of a second person.

Try one foot at a time and just take a tiny bit off at each session. the quick will recede back in time if you keep on top of it once they are a good length.

have some cornflour handy in case there is a bleed. From your story it sounds like your poor piggy has already previously had a traumatic time with the nails
Shine a torch on black nails to help see the bloodline.

I understand what you're saying about stress but if you can't get the vet to see him before next week, i think you might have to bite the bullet. You'll likely be able to spend more time and maybe cause less stress than the vet anyway as your pig can then stay in his home environment
good luck!
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Thanks for the advice. Yes the front nails are very curly and the back nails are black (I didn't know the colour was bad). I feel so bad for him because I worry it hurts him when I pick him up. I've only held him two or three times, so I worry he will associate me with the pain or worse bite hard (he's only bitten very gently).
 
Yes i just meant black nails are really difficult to trim sometimes as even with someone shining a torch it's hard to see. In a clear nail, it's a doddle! You can see clearly a line of blood so you can safely snip beyond that.

As far as i know, blood shouldn't be in the parts that have curled so they should be ok.

Remember it's not the end of the world if you make a mistake. Yes, it's painful but only for a short while and it's easy to stop the bleeding. Dip the bleeding nail in cornflour. Or you can get a special pen (stypic) from p@h.

i think if you go at it with a degree of confidence it will be the best option. but see what others think. I can't claim to be one of the more knowlegable on the forum! I have cut a lot of piggy nails though. And i have drawn blood two or three times. And I've dealt with black nails. But i haven't done overgrown ones so I'm just going on what i would do.
 
I'm SO happy to report that we took y'alls advice and decided to cut his nails. We did a lot of research and watched some videos, turns out it wasn't that bad! In fact, Queso didn't bleed at all and the spoiled pig got bribed with carrots. He grunted a little, but not much much teeth chattering or anger. There was some biting, but his bites are so gentle that I barely notice them. Now he's settling for the night with a BIG pile of veggies for dinner. Thank you all for the support. I feel horrified his previous owner did this to him and claimed he bled too much when his nails were cut so she never cut them. >:[
 
well done... it is scary and i have to the same job later today ! hoping over time, i will get better at it !
 
curling nails aren't a sign of bad care. as a pig grows older the nails do curl however this means they need to be trimmed more often as they can grow into the skin if left to long, can you post a photo of the nails? I am happy to guide you to how to cut them if needed
 
my4piggies said:
curling nails aren't a sign of bad care. as a pig grows older the nails do curl however this means they need to be trimmed more often as they can grow into the skin if left to long, can you post a photo of the nails? I am happy to guide you to how to cut them if needed
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We already cut them. :) His nails were in really bad shape. I already know the previous owner sort of just left him in the corner with a big bowl of food and water, saying they hoped he'd just die. :(
 
CheeseMommy said:
We already cut them. :) His nails were in really bad shape. I already know the previous owner sort of just left him in the corner with a big bowl of food and water, saying they hoped he'd just die. :(
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Oh how sad. Thank goodness he is safely in your care now. perhaps even sadder that his previous owner has missed out on learning to love and respect animals
 
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