Broken Nail At Cuticle

[BlueBird]

Hi there,

One of my pigs, Bonnie has managed to break a nail on one of her back toes. Unfortunately this is right at the cuticle and has been bleeding. The nail is not completely broken and I'd like to know the procedure on how to deal with this. I don't particularly want to cut it off myself because I don't want to hurt her; it being right at the cuticle I know I'd be cutting flesh. She's not particularly wriggly when it comes to nail trims but I don't have a lot of leeway before I hit even more toe. I'm taking her to the vet ASAP but is this over egging it? She's completely happy otherwise and gulped down her breakfast veggies and I don't think she's broken her toe luckily. Just wondered what the first aid is for guineas with this injury.


[Just in case everyone is interested. Because it's cold, I've put one of those hamster sized guinea pig cages our original pig came in when we adopted her into my C&C cage piled high with hay. (They love it! I should do it more often). Bonnie isn't particularly agile being on the heavier side (she's just big boned - hahah) so we've made a bendy logs bridge to help her get in and out. I guess she must have caught one of her back claws in the gaps and the nail in question broke. Poor girl! It looks really sore.]

 

[Wiebke]

I would recommend to have it seen by a vet, who can remove as much of the nail as safely as possible to prevent further injury. Whether the nail will ever grow back, is a matter of wait and see when the rip goes right down to the quick.

 

[BlueBird]

Ah yes. Did I miss label this? (Sorry I'm a bit frazzled with work right now). She's broken it right where pink nail meets white nail. I don't know whether that makes it a lot less scary than I wrote above.

 

[Wiebke]

Ah yes. Did I miss label this? (Sorry I'm a bit frazzled with work right now). She's broken it right where pink nail meets white nail. I don't know whether that makes it a lot less scary than I wrote above.

Can you see the quick sticking out? If not, please disinfect the nail and see vet only in case there are problems with the toe (heat and swelling etc). You can sterile saline salution from the pharmacy or make it yourself by stirring one teaspoon of salt into 250 ml / half a pint of boiled, cooled water.

 

[Tiamolly123]

I always use a styptic pen on a bleedly claw. I find it stops the bleedly fairly soon but you need to clean as per Wiebke instructions. There is no harm in letting a vet nurse see it though, just to in case it does need cutting. Trouble is guinea pigs walk through all there poo it can't be very hygienic. Lol

 

[BlueBird]

Can you see the quick sticking out? If not, please disinfect the nail and see vet only in case there are problems with the toe (heat and swelling etc). You can sterile saline salution from the pharmacy or make it yourself by stirring one teaspoon of salt into 250 ml / half a pint of boiled, cooled water.

It was a bit hard to tell as the nail has split awkwardly. I don't think so but I wouldn't want to put money on it. I'll get some saline solution. Thank Weibke!

I always use a styptic pen on a bleedly claw. I find it stops the bleedly fairly soon but you need to clean as per Wiebke instructions. There is no harm in letting a vet nurse see it though, just to in case it does need cutting. Trouble is guinea pigs walk through all there poo it can't be very hygienic. Lol

Indeed. I'm amazed that they don't get infections. They must be quite good at cleaning their feet!

 

[Freela]

If the quick is still intact, it might make sense to get the vet to remove the nail, or else bandage it to give it a chance to grow out a bit. Otherwise she is bound to catch it on something and finish the job herself. Once the nail itself is gone, you can keep it clean and it will likely heal up fine on it's own. One of my past pigs, Linnie, once ripped a nail off right where it met her foot- bled like crazy but never caused any problems once the bleeding was stopped.