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Vet Tech Ripped My Guinea Pig Nail Off

BobaTheGuineaPiglet

BobaTheGuineaPiglet

Junior Guinea Pig
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the vet tech got too close to the nerve in the nail and my Guinea pig pulled his hand back to avoid the pain while the nail cutter was still wrapped around the nail. The whole nail shell came off. They gave him pain killers and antibiotics. This happened 7 days ago. His meds were to be given only for 7 days. Now that he’s off his meds, idk if he’s in pain or what. His nail also looks a bit swollen and red…. I’m so beyond upset they weren’t careful enough with my baby. When he walks, I feel like his limping only a teeny tiny bit. Idk if that’s just my imagination though. I can’t tell 100%. Since the shell of the nail came off, the part that was under the shell is now exposed.

Is there anything else I can do for my piggie? His follow up is coming up in a few days.
 
I am sorry this happened to you.

If he still seems to be struggling with it, I would be looking at getting him more painkiller to keep him comfortable.
My only other thought would be keeping his cage very clean for a while and perhaps you could clean the area with some sort of saline solution, I would recommend you contact a vet or ask them about it at his check up before doing anything else.

Is it still an open wound, or is his nail starting to regrow? I wonder if you would be able to get a clear enough picture, then maybe you could send it to the vets before the check up and see what they think.
How many days is it till his check up?

I have had a piggy rip a nail off and he was left with the tiniest nail which was still open a bit so he needed painkillers, but this started to heal on its own after a few days. I changed his fleece every 3 days in that time to try and keep things as clean as possible.

All the best, I hope your boy starts to feel better soon x
 
When she was a baby my Jemimah managed to rip one of her nails.
I used an antiseptic wipe soaked in water to clean it and then just kept an eye on her.
I think I was more stressed than she was. The vet told me it would probably grow back and it did.
Hope your piggy’s paw is ok and please be assured of our support.
 
So sorry for you and your piggie. I hope the nail grows back soon and she is fully recovered very soon. Do ask for more painkillers if you think he needs it. I know things happen and nail cutting is not always the easiest of things to do but perhaps you might be better doing them yourself
 
piggl said:
I am sorry this happened to you.

If he still seems to be struggling with it, I would be looking at getting him more painkiller to keep him comfortable.
My only other thought would be keeping his cage very clean for a while and perhaps you could clean the area with some sort of saline solution, I would recommend you contact a vet or ask them about it at his check up before doing anything else.

Is it still an open wound, or is his nail starting to regrow? I wonder if you would be able to get a clear enough picture, then maybe you could send it to the vets before the check up and see what they think.
How many days is it till his check up?

I have had a piggy rip a nail off and he was left with the tiniest nail which was still open a bit so he needed painkillers, but this started to heal on its own after a few days. I changed his fleece every 3 days in that time to try and keep things as clean as possible.

All the best, I hope your boy starts to feel better soon x
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Thank you for your reply! I have been applying silver sulfadiazine prescribed by the vet twice a day. His nail is still red looking, and the ripped portion isn’t growing at the moment. His checkup is on Thursday, in two days. His vet is only in on Thursdays-Saturdays, unfortunately.

He seems to be doing fine now, but I hope his finger recovers well. I change all my piggies fleece every day so he’s good to go there.
 
HELP! The remainder of his QUICK FELL OFF. It’s not bleeding, but what can I do!? I gave him his pain meds and antibiotics
 

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Oh dear, poor little piggy.
Does the toe look swollen or feel hot at all (compared with the others?). If there's any appearance of an open wound or raw flesh I would bathe it in saline solution and probably see a vet for more antibiotics. You don't want an infection to get into any wound.
Best of luck x
 
So sorry this has happened, I would call the vets and tell them what has now happened and ask for an appointment. This was an unfortunate accident caused by the vet tech and you should be seen promptly and free of charge. Hope your little piggie will heal well x
 
I agree with all the above, and remember to keep the cage as clean as possible to try and prevent a possible infection.
So sorry this happened- I used to go to the vets to get my piggies' nails clipped, but they made them bleed once (nothing compared to this) so I learnt how to do it myself and nothing ever went wrong- even though one of my pigs had 14 black nails.
When you do it yourself you can go at your own slow pace (i.e. cutting one nail a day for an entire fortnight) and use a ridiculous amount of vegetable bribes if necessary. I found my pigs were more relaxed around someone they knew wrapped in their own stinky towels anyway.
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
Oh dear, poor little piggy.
Does the toe look swollen or feel hot at all (compared with the others?). If there's any appearance of an open wound or raw flesh I would bathe it in saline solution and probably see a vet for more antibiotics. You don't want an infection to get into any wound.
Best of luck x
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Hello! It seems better today, he honestly doesn’t seem too bothered by it. He’s going on about his day as per usual. I am giving him his pain medication and antibiotics so that’s probably helping a ton. His finger doesn’t seem AS pink. but he has his checkup this Saturday so I’ll know more from the vet then.

Thank you for taking the time to respond:)
 
ScrufflesRules said:
I agree with all the above, and remember to keep the cage as clean as possible to try and prevent a possible infection.
So sorry this happened- I used to go to the vets to get my piggies' nails clipped, but they made them bleed once (nothing compared to this) so I learnt how to do it myself and nothing ever went wrong- even though one of my pigs had 14 black nails.
When you do it yourself you can go at your own slow pace (i.e. cutting one nail a day for an entire fortnight) and use a ridiculous amount of vegetable bribes if necessary. I found my pigs were more relaxed around someone they knew wrapped in their own stinky towels anyway.
Click to expand...
Keeping his cage as clean as possible! I change their fleece daily anyway so not too worried about that. He’s on antibiotics and pain meds as well. He has a checkup this Saturday so will know more then.

I think at this point I’ll cut their nails myself. The only reason why i took them to the vet for their nail clipping was because they move around too much when I am doing it, I don’t have a second person who can hold my squirmy Guinea pigs.


Thank you for replying!
 
Poor guy! For what it's worth, one of my pigs did this to themself (got her nail caught in a wire ramp and ripped the whole thing off where it met her foot.) It bled like crazy and freaked me out, but it healed up fine. I rinsed it with sterile saline and put betadine on it for the first few days, but it did heal up fine and the nail grew back a little thicker, but reasonably normal. Hope it feels better soon!
 
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