Black Claws

[Plum]

Hi,

I have a 1 year old guinea pig called Bobby and his back claws are jet black, the first time I attempted to cut his claws I caught him on the very last claw and it bled and I was really upset about it and now they are really long again and I'm scared to cut them. They aren't curled they are really straight but really long and sharp. Does anyone have any advice or is there any way that you can identify where the blood vessels start when they have black claws? Or would just cutting the very bare ends be sufficient as along as they are not curling, as I know that when they curl it can do damage to their paws but his claws are very straight. I would take him to the vets but I'd really prefer to do it myself as I dont wana stress him out....He doesn't seem to like strangers. Any advise would be much appreciated as I actually dread doing this and the last thing I want to do is catch him again, I felt absolutely terrible over it last time.

Thanks very much.
Plum

 

[Piggywiggys]

My Guinea pig is the same. i tend to just cut the nip ends off, & file them down a little. i do it about once a month..

 

[Bekki]

Try getting a very bright light like a laser pen/LED underneath his nail , you may be able to get an idea on where the quick is and then you will know how far you can cut i do this on mine with black nails and then clip them in tiny amouts off each time rather than big chunks

 

[neuroticmum]

One of my boys has a black claw, we shine a bright light under it and can just about make out where the nail / toe is. As others have said with black claws its all about taking the smallest amount off the end, 0.5mm is better than nothing!

 

[Caviesgalore (EPGPR)]

I have to admit that I've never really had much luck with the light trick but then I am usually on my own when it's time to cut the piggies nails and trying to hold a squirming pig/light/clippers by yourself just doesn't seem to work!

I tend to snip little and often with black nailed pigs, just taking a tiny bit off each nail. Good luck and well done for wanting to do the job yourself.

 

[Freela]

One of my pigs has very dark nails where it's very hard to see the quick. We tend to just clip small amounts. We have nicked her a couple times but she has recovered. I have tried the light trick, but as she hates getting her nails cut doing anything to prolong the situations is more apt to get her agitated and less likely to co-operate so the odds of nicking her are less just cutting blind!

 

[pig in the city]

I tend to just take the very end of the nail off and do it regularly every couple of weeks. They say the quick goes back if you cut the nails regularly, but I have never been very convinced of this.
If you do make the nail bleed just clean it with damp cotton wool and apply a silver nitrate stick (styptic pencil). Whatever you do dont wash the foot in warm water as it just makes them bleed even more!

 

[gorgeous piggies]

I have a few guinea pigs with black claws. I agree that they are a nightmare to trim, I just take off the very end regularly and so far I have avoided making them bleed.