Is it ok for a pig with black nails to have them longer than her friends?

Claire W

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Ella's nails are black and difficult to cut. I take my piggies to the vets to have their nails cut as I'm a wimp. The vet used to do the nail cutting but now it's the nurses who do it. I take them for nail trims every 6-8 weeks which works for us as their nails don't grow particularly long in that time. For the last two times we have been, the nurse has only taken the tip off Ella's nails after she caught her quick and made her bleed a few months ago. I've noticed that Ella's nails are therefore a little longer than that of her friends. They're not mega long but as I can't see the quick, I'm not sure what's nail and what's quick. Is it ok that her nails are slightly longer than her friends?
 
Boris has longer nails than the girls - with 4 feet of black nails I am wary of hitting the quick. He’s got no mobility issues.
 
Several of my pigs have/have had black nails which are longer than their white nailed friends. I'm a black nail nibbler and just take a bit off when I think they need it rather than a proper cut. I do check them at the weekly weigh in to make sure none are getting too long. We've never had any issues with this.
Peanut was my best black nailed piggy because he had a couple of pale ones I could see through as well so I could gauge/guess where his quick would be on the black nails!
 
Several of my pigs have/have had black nails which are longer than their white nailed friends. I'm a black nail nibbler and just take a bit off when I think they need it rather than a proper cut. I do check them at the weekly weigh in to make sure none are getting too long. We've never had any issues with this.
Peanut was my best black nailed piggy because he had a couple of pale ones I could see through as well so I could gauge/guess where his quick would be on the black nails!
Thank you. At least I know the vet nurse is doing the correct thing by just taking off the tips. I was mortified when she caught her quick :(
 
Sometimes it's hard not to catch a quick ... especially if the piggy is helping. I've caught the quick before ... The nails were pale enough to see, but clipping one with a bit less margin and a little piggy squiggle, and we were getting out the cornstarch (works like styptic powder). I'm sure she felt terribly, as well.
I think most vet offices have a tech/nurse do the clips when the piggy is just there for nail trim. The vet might do the trim if it's being done during an appointment.
 
Sometimes it's hard not to catch a quick ... especially if the piggy is helping. I've caught the quick before ... The nails were pale enough to see, but clipping one with a bit less margin and a little piggy squiggle, and we were getting out the cornstarch (works like styptic powder). I'm sure she felt terribly, as well.
I think most vet offices have a tech/nurse do the clips when the piggy is just there for nail trim. The vet might do the trim if it's being done during an appointment.
Yes, it used to be the vet who cut their nails but now it's the vet nurse. I guess that's what they're paid for and the vet can be getting on with other things
 
George's are not quite a source of shame but often make me sigh a little. In many ways a vet nurse will be better than a vet because you basically want someone who gets the most practice at nail cutting rather than has most qualifications and the nurses should be scything claws down all day long!
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George's are not quite a source of shame but often make me sigh a little. In many ways a vet nurse will be better than a vet because you basically want someone who gets the most practice at nail cutting rather than has most qualifications and the nurses should be scything claws down all day long!
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Thank you and yes, that’s true :) You would think a vet nurse would know what they’re doing
 
I used to get the vet nurse to do piggy nails but during lockdown when they were only doing medical things we started doing them ourselves, and actually we found the piggies were much more relaxed at home and got a better trim because at home you can go back a few days later if things dont get finished!
We previously had a vet nurse who returned Clover with 2 paws untrimmed because she was too difficult (that was annoying but also hilarious as the previous nail trim patient who went in was a german shepherd dog!) And Ollie the black nail king returned with 2 bleeding toes but not noticeably shorter nails.
Ollie's black toes have a very long quick especially as his back legs are a bit disabled and he doesnt walk on his back feet properly- but I'm ok with him having longer nails as long as they grow straight not curled and don't catch on things.
The curve of a nail is a major factor for me in how often/how short we cut it- a very curved nail gets a bit taken off every month in case it curves into the foot pad too much, but a straight nail is ok to have longer as long as it isnt so long it might catch on things and get torn.
Clover tore 2 nails off once and she now has a toe that grows a short fat hoof nail, and one which curls upwards, which makes for interesting nail trims- but she's very good at home, much more relaxed than at the vets, especially with parsley bribes :)
 
When I had a pig with a black foot I used to use an emery board to file his nails down as I was terrified of making him bleed.
 
I used to get the vet nurse to do piggy nails but during lockdown when they were only doing medical things we started doing them ourselves, and actually we found the piggies were much more relaxed at home and got a better trim because at home you can go back a few days later if things dont get finished!
We previously had a vet nurse who returned Clover with 2 paws untrimmed because she was too difficult (that was annoying but also hilarious as the previous nail trim patient who went in was a german shepherd dog!) And Ollie the black nail king returned with 2 bleeding toes but not noticeably shorter nails.
Ollie's black toes have a very long quick especially as his back legs are a bit disabled and he doesnt walk on his back feet properly- but I'm ok with him having longer nails as long as they grow straight not curled and don't catch on things.
The curve of a nail is a major factor for me in how often/how short we cut it- a very curved nail gets a bit taken off every month in case it curves into the foot pad too much, but a straight nail is ok to have longer as long as it isnt so long it might catch on things and get torn.
Clover tore 2 nails off once and she now has a toe that grows a short fat hoof nail, and one which curls upwards, which makes for interesting nail trims- but she's very good at home, much more relaxed than at the vets, especially with parsley bribes :)
We had to cut their nail’s ourselves during lockdown and it was horrendous as hub butchered their nails 😞 although I can see why it’s more relaxing doing it at home. Edward ripped one of his nails out once and his nail now grows fat and thick too
 
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