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nail clipping is hard

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scozy

Hello, I am having a hard time clipping piggies' nails because they do not sit still. I read older posts related to toe nails and found wrapping piggies tightly with a towel might work; however, it did not work with my piggies. Am I wrapping them in a wrong way? I also found a person used a tennis racket to get easy access to piggies' nails, but I do not have one... I could cut outer four toe nails on back legs while they were distracted but it was impossible to cut the two more nails on back legs and all eight nails on front legs. How do you guys manage it?

Thank you all in advance for paying attention to this question.
 
My guinea wilson is 1 and he has never needed his nails clipped... and i cant seem to wrap him in a towel either lol.
If i need to look at his feet of belly i get him to lie on his back for me and as long as i support him there he stays there... but not for long you could try that...
Hope this helped!
 
Hi, I'm new to this too and my boys hate it when I try and do it. The towel thing didn't work for me, if anything it made them wriggle more. I give them a sprig of parsley to distract, then quickly cut one toe, they shreik and then it's far more difficult to get the next toe as they scrunch their little foot up! I tend to put them back and try again the next day, so over a week I just about manage to do it ;D !
 
Mine (so far) have all been good. I just put them on their back in the crook of my arm, bit like holding a baby, and it still leaves both hands free. One to hold the foot, and one to clip!
 
If I put mine on their back for a second there's hell to pay! They are generally just resistant to being handled, no doubt due to them being ignored for the first year of their lives :(
 
With our boys, nail-clipping is a two-person job! One person to hold the piggie while the other does the clipping. ;)
 
Some of them just plain hate it :P
I've been getting Duke's done whilst he's at the vets he seems to let Traci do it, mind you he's totally disgusted with her and comes to me for a big cuddle afterwards ;)
It will take time for both you and the guinea to get used to each other, lets face it it's a new experience for you both. Keep trying and if it takes a week to complete the process so be it, just keep on the way you all are, always have the bribery treats tho. We found it did help if you could get one to hold and one to cut, mind you they still objected and carried on like you were trying to cut their foot off ::) We tried the towel method also and nope they still weren't impressed ::) Some are more placid :-*
Good luck :smitten:
 
Some of my guys are fine, others turn into screaming (literally) harridans, anyone passing my shed must think I am trying to commit murder! I have been unsuccessful with towel wrapping, as fast as I take hold of the paw I need to nail clip the little blighters whip it back inside the towel ?

Bribery seems to work best for us. My lot love parsley and as it's not something they get too often I use this when I need to clip their nails. I put them on a firm surface and lift them gently so that they are sitting on their bottoms with their front legs draped over my left arm, backs resting firmly but gently against my stomach. I then give them a large helping of parsley, grasp one back foot in my left hand (have to contort your hand a bit!) and snip - done. Front paws can be a bit more tricky, but I usually find it is easier to put them back down on all fours and then just raise one front foot at a time, again having added a bit more parsley. Warning, you will need lots of food!

You might find that if you bath your piggy, nail clipping after bath time is slightly easier, nails are softer and pigs somehow seem resigned to having to be pampered! Good luck.
 
I tried the towel wrapping thing last week and didnt have alot of success...after about 40 minutes of trying i popped over to a woman round the corner who has loads of piggies and asked if she would help, which she did...she picked them up, flipped them on their backs and clip, clip, clip...it was done :)

I think i need to practise!
 
amanda said:
I tried the towel wrapping thing last week and didnt have alot of success...after about 40 minutes of trying i popped over to a woman round the corner who has loads of piggies and asked if she would help, which she did...she picked them up, flipped them on their backs and clip, clip, clip...it was done :)
Click to expand...

Only piggy we all can't do is Uncle Ton - but the above always happens with someone new! ;)
 
Most of mine I just have to firmly clamp to my chest! Bonnie acts like I'm cutting off limbs and then huffs with me until I feed her vegetables!
 
Is there anyone near you who could show you how to do it? I took the pigs to SkinnyLover and she showed me how to do it, and now I'm fine at doing it for them. They sit still for me too though ;)
 
amanda said:
I tried the towel wrapping thing last week and didnt have alot of success...after about 40 minutes of trying i popped over to a woman round the corner who has loads of piggies and asked if she would help, which she did...she picked them up, flipped them on their backs and clip, clip, clip...it was done :)

I think i need to practise!
Click to expand...

thats how i do mine its all to do with practice , you get better each time you do it and as I've been clipping for years I can do the 2 sheds in a day along with baths and grooming, keep the blood stopper ready mine still wiggle now and againa nd catch me out , not too often though
 
When I first took one of my piggies to the vet, the veterinarian clipped her nails on the exam table BUT it was so fast that I do not remember how she did it!

I guess putting them on a pillowtop matress was one of reasons I failed! Next time I will make sure to do it on firm surface.
I will use bribery treats or do nail clipping with another person or clip nails little by little over a course of a week, then(I mean I will try them all)! I also try clipping nails after the bath, too.

Thank you for the tip.
 
Hi, all. I asked my friend to come over to my place to hold my piggies for me clipping their nails! It took us only five minutes to cut all! I then told him to come back in one month to do this again!

Thank you all for suggestions! As long as I can find somebody to assist me, nail clipping is not so hard any more!
 
IT's a two man job in our house! Evil mummy (me) hold the piggis still in a towel while Gil sneaks around a clips the nails.... much wriggling ensues! Kaylee screams as if we are cutting her throat, whihc was very unnerving the first couple of times! Bowie wriggles but is getting gradually used to it. We have only done Padme once just before she had the bubs and she was very calm and still :) It varies! I would recommend finding a helper.

EDITED: should have read your above post first! Well done on finding a helping hand :)
 
I havent done my pigs nails yet because they havent need it but i am starting to play with their feet so they arent so touchy with them lol.. cindy lets me hold her footsies :)
 
Well done on the clipping. Each piggie is different some let you some will put up a fight. My boar lets me do his no problem he hated his bath though. Rusty and Wiggy the boars I fostered where the calmest piggies I have ever clipped nails of. My two sows one is not too bad I manage to do them but Bumble is the most wriggly pain in the bum in the world, I am in a right sweat trying to do her nails so she is a two man job ;) all the other piggies I have ever owned were easy to do. I think that they pick up on how nervous we might be.
 
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