Nervous About Cutting Nails

playingdead

playingdead

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello! I've been researching guinea pigs for a few months and finally brought home my first one today. (planning to find him a friend as soon as possible) He was being rehomed on craigslist, his cage was big and he had plenty of food and was obviously loved, but there were some care factors that were obviously neglected. Mainly, his nails. I don't think they've ever been cut before. They are INSANELY long, and his front feet they are curling in different directions. I've never owned a guinea pig before, so can someone please give me some good advice? Will regular nail clippers work or do I need to invest in something else?

I've included some pictures to try and show how long and the state of his nails currently.
Outlined it in red, since the lighting didn't really show the curve of the nail.
x5yN0KC.png


z5dZcQN.png
 
Hello,

welcoem to the forum. Those nails really need attending to and if inexperienced are going to be difficult to do. I would advise getting a vet involved on this case

In your first photo is that a front paw or back. I am pleased he has found such a caring owner as yourself who is going to help him

Clippers like this are the best

But honestly because nail clipping is difficult at best of times i would get a bvet to show you how. Guinea Pigs nails have a quick with a blood supply so you have to take a little off being very careful.
Guinea Lynx :: Nail Clipping
 
Is this a curled under nail?
upload_2017-12-20_9-13-7.webp
 
Some gnarly nails, but beautiful piggy :love: I love grey piggies if you couldn’t tell haha.

I cut my piggies nails with regular human nail clippers, I don’t see a difference in piggy clippers but I guess it’s about preference. One of my piggies has these naturally red nails and it’s nearly impossiable to see his quick. I shine my phone flashlight at an angle so I can see the quick better, and it helps me feel more confident when I clip his nails.

But you might want to see a vet for this first time because it looks like your piggies nails are in bad shape, plus they’d probably give you tips for nail cuttings for the future. Gorgeous pig btw
 
sport_billy said:
Is this a curled under nail?
View attachment 77140
Click to expand...
Pretty sure that's a piece of a pellet that got stuck to his foot before I pulled him out. I'll take him out and double check here shortly.
He came with the generic crappy pellets from the petstore and timothy hay, but i already started providing him with fresh veggies and such, figured it'd be best to wean him off that stuff since it's all he's ever eaten. >_<

edit: just saw that first question! The first picture is a front paw, not the back.
 
playingdead said:
Pretty sure that's a piece of a pellet that got stuck to his foot before I pulled him out. I'll take him out and double check here shortly.
He came with the generic crappy pellets from the petstore and timothy hay, but i already started providing him with fresh veggies and such, figured it'd be best to wean him off that stuff since it's all he's ever eaten. >_<

edit: just saw that first question! The first picture is a front paw, not the back.
Click to expand...
:) Yes, three toes normally on front paw. Pleased that a pellet!

What is your little ones name?
 
sport_billy said:
:) Yes, three toes normally on front paw. Pleased that a pellet!

What is your little ones name?
Click to expand...

Just got him out again and he really didn't want to sit still for pictures. I haven't settled on a name quite yet as I haven't even owned him for 12 hours yet. :x

This is his right front paw, you can see it's pretty gnarly too.
lJx7VOu.png


But this is his left and unfortunately you're right.. it's not a pellet, it's a nail. :(
rNEfRwN.png
 
playingdead said:
Just got him out again and he really didn't want to sit still for pictures. I haven't settled on a name quite yet as I haven't even owned him for 12 hours yet. :x

This is his right front paw, you can see it's pretty gnarly too.
lJx7VOu.png


But this is his left and unfortunately you're right.. it's not a pellet, it's a nail. :(
rNEfRwN.png
Click to expand...

Vets for sure, they will get that sorted. Don't wait too long as you don't want it digging into paw. Are you UK based?
 
Poor lad - he has really fallen on his feet coming to you.
I agree with others and would be tempted to take him to a vet for his first nail clip.
He will probably need fairly regular 'mini' nail clipping for a while to try and help get his nails back on track, which once shown you can probably do at home.
If you call you local vet you might find that you can just see a vet nurse for this, and it never hurts to have your piggie registered somewhere before an emergency pops us.
 
sport_billy said:
Vets for sure, they will get that sorted. Don't wait too long as you don't want it digging into paw. Are you UK based?
Click to expand...
US Based. I live in a pretty populated city with a lot of vets, I'll start calling around tomorrow.

Swissgreys said:
Poor lad - he has really fallen on his feet coming to you.
I agree with others and would be tempted to take him to a vet for his first nail clip.
He will probably need fairly regular 'mini' nail clipping for a while to try and help get his nails back on track, which once shown you can probably do at home.
If you call you local vet you might find that you can just see a vet nurse for this, and it never hurts to have your piggie registered somewhere before an emergency pops us.
Click to expand...
Yeah, figured I'd be able to do it myself after first trip. Thanks for the advice, will get him set up with a vet tomorrow.
 
Great medical based website called Guinea Lynx. We are UK based so can offer recommendations on UK vet GL has lots of lists of US based vets, we often link to each others vet list.
Guinea Lynx is the best medical Resource on the planet for Guinea Pigs, make sure you book markmark the site Guinea Lynx :: A Medical and Care Guide for Your Guinea Pig
 
Always google symptoms that you find on guinealynx as a few of their photos are not typically representative of the condition described. They could do with an overhaul of their health pages.
 
So just a small update, I called my usual vet today and they don't treat guinea pigs, but ironically they recommended me to the same vet posted in guniealynx. So I arranged an appointment with them in 2 hours and they'll be looking him over and hopefully they won't need to do anything else beyond a nail clip.
 
playingdead said:
So just a small update, I called my usual vet today and they don't treat guinea pigs, but ironically they recommended me to the same vet posted in guniealynx. So I arranged an appointment with them in 2 hours and they'll be looking him over and hopefully they won't need to do anything else beyond a nail clip.
Click to expand...

Great news :) I am pleased you have found a cavy savy vet. Hoping all will be well and as you say getting first nail trim out of the way will be good. You can also see how the vet does it (they make it look easy lol)

Sounds like this little guy is going to have a really caring home with you. So nice to have another US member
 
PerpLexxity said:
Some gnarly nails, but beautiful piggy :love: I love grey piggies if you couldn’t tell haha.

I cut my piggies nails with regular human nail clippers, I don’t see a difference in piggy clippers but I guess it’s about preference. One of my piggies has these naturally red nails and it’s nearly impossiable to see his quick. I shine my phone flashlight at an angle so I can see the quick better, and it helps me feel more confident when I clip his nails.

But you might want to see a vet for this first time because it looks like your piggies nails are in bad shape, plus they’d probably give you tips for nail cuttings for the future. Gorgeous pig btw
Click to expand...

Yeah it is preference to be honest with you. We noticed that with human nail clippers it exerts a little pressure before the cut sometimes resulting in our pig pulling foot away fast, with the pet nail cutters they act more as scissors. But certainly personal choice and I urge everyone to use the ones they feel best and suit them. .

Great tip on flashlight on phone to find the quick, thanks for sharing that - very helpful.
 
Those nails are horrendous , get to the vet as soon as possible, hope none have grown into his pad. He's a lucky boy to have you as a mum. Maybe if you get him to the vet for the first 3 or 4 times you will be able to cope afterwards. It's simple to cut them, says me. I only hold them hubby clips them. :roll:
If you want advice, ask, lots of info on the forum.

Welcome to our friendly forum.
So you now have a piggy, so you are an official piggy slave.:yahoo:
 
We have a lovely nurse in my favourite vet practice and so she always does my girls when they need a manicure.
I’m too afraid of hurting them, especially Merab who is a champion wriggler
 
Good luck with the nail trim! I bet he will feel much better after that, poor lad. The hard thing on his foot pad is called a spur, this is a build up of dried skin and can usually be trimmed like a nail. Youll have to keep a close eye on it as it can catch and tear, allowing bacteria into the foot pad leading to bumblefoot. About 4 of mine over the years have had them, not too difficult to manage once you get the hang of it. The vet will probably show you how to trim it as well as the nails :)
 
I think I shall start taking Tia to the vet to have her claws done .She's as good as gold but she has black nails & the torch doesn't work, hubby clips the quick everytime, no matter how careful he is.
 
Your piggie has landed on is (poorly pedicured) feet with you! A quick vet visit for a nail trim and he'll soon feel much better. Let us know how he gets on! He's a very lovely boy and I think he looks like a Marvin!
 
Final update for now. I decided to name him Dexter.

Took Dexter to the vet, and they did a quick job of trimming his nails. They were going to take him to the back to do it, but I stopped them and asked if they'd teach me and they agreed. So the vet took me to a little side room and had met hold him and cliped his back nails and right paw, then took Dexter from me and turned him around and told me to trim the remaining claw so I got the experience.

The paw they asked me to trim was the most gnarled one, and it was very intimidating and I had a difficult time getting the one that had curled under so far and he started squirming and it caught me off guard and I flinched and the vet reprimanded me making me feel a little silly. Nontheless, I trimmed all his nails and I'll be able to do it myself in the future and it should be easier since they won't be all twisted.

As for the little square nail looking thing on the side of his foot that one of the member suggested was skin, the vet said if I left it alone it would fall off on it's own, so I'll just keep an eye on it.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Glad I went to the vet in the long run to make sure everything went smoothly.
 
Just wondering is it a foot spur? You’ve done well. I hated nail cutting, I got used to trimming little bit often to keep them ok.
 
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