Piggy Update And A Question About Holding

Status
Not open for further replies.
Chukkin

Chukkin

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
Messages
89
Reaction score
32
Points
155
Location
West Yorkshire
Hi everyone,

So, I have had my two girls for 5 weeks now! Cleaned their cage out today and both have put on 75g since this time last week which makes them 625g each and they are 17 weeks old. Whilst they were out of the cage, I intended to trim their nails so I was holding them (one at a time obviously!) with their back against me with my hand around their tummy, allowing legs to stick out. Is it ok to hold them like that? Ebony (the black one) never made a squeak, and didn't pull away or even squirm when I was cutting her nails, but Ivory (the white one) let out a little squeak (not a "you're hurting me" squeak) on every nail. I didn't cut the quick at all and both seemed fine when they were back in their cage.
 
Mine are proper drama queens when cutting their nails.They squeal before the clippers get anywhere near their feet
 
Some piggies are proper drama queens! You should hear my big bully husboar - he is screaming as if he was being murdered every single time, and that despite the fact that I have never clipped him once in over 3 years! :mal:
 
Ah fab! Thanks for sorting that out for me! I took them to the Groom Room (at selected P@H stores) who trim piggies nails, but they said that they were fine and didn't need done. Frankly, I disagreed since with Ivory, there was about 3-4mm of nail at the end of the quick and just looked too long - even for a first time owner! So, even though I was shaking more than the piggies, I am glad I did it without any problems, which means that I will be more confident in doing it again! I got a bit of a fright when Ivory squeaked the at the first nail, but once I had checked that I hadn't cut the quick and she wasn't bleeding, I figured she was just being a coward! As for Ebony, who won't eat out of my hand yet, she stayed completely still and didn't squeak once!
 
I guess I'm more comfortable paying a small fee to have others do the "mean" work, so I can get them more hand friendly. They both come for treats when called, and know the different words between carrot, apple, and yum yums, the hay bits that have the head on them as those are favorites. When I start messing with the hay, they both appear, expecting me to find them the tasty bits. Spoiled piggies. They get their salad mix in the morning and apple or other fruit as nighttime treat lap time.
 
Mine squeaks every time I trim their nails. Makes me so nervous. I've been meaning to trim them when I out it havnt got round to it as it is a 2 person job. Might see how much it will cost o have someone else be the bad guy
 
Yes, it's on the list of things to do. We have a vet friend, so I'm hoping it will be cheap.
 
I have two who scream bloody murder, another two who just go all floppy and another who wriggles and slap me…
Rambo, Patch and Maple are the far worse and it usually its a two man job. One to restrain and one to cut.
I tend to hold them standing up on their back legs there back against my body it's just a battle of wills until I give up or get bitten. Maple is a drama queen but squeaks if I'm about to cut the nail to short
 
I do the monthly nail clipping at Bunny Burrows & that's the way I hold them. Some of the more fidgety ones need a towel wrapping round them but generally most are OK now I've been doing this for over 6 months. I also give them a check over for any obvious problems such as skin complaints, lumps & mucky feet & bums.
 
Thanks again to all who replied - I am confident enough to try trimming their nails again when they need it! It is a scary thing to do for the first time, but it does get easier!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top