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Broken toe/toenail?

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Jojoba

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Silvio has hurt himself somehow :(.
I thought he had been quiet all evening, so I got him out to check on him and trim his nails (they grow really fast and are all thick and nasty, unlike Pickle's which grow slowly and neatly).
Anyway, he has broken one of them, it was all bent up :(. It's broken at/inside his toe, and is still attached. I trimmed it down to try and stop it catching but I'm guessing he will need to go to the vet and have it removed?
It doesn't seem swollen and I dont think it has bled, but he is obviously in pain as he was squeaking as I touched it and has been noticably quiet and lying down a lot.
Hopefully its just the nail and not the toe, but will it need removing?

Poor guy.


x
 
Pain relief is the most important priority as this can stop him eating.

Prevention of infection is the next

Best take him to a vet to get metacam for pain relief..and see if the vet thinks he needs an antibiitic. Vet will also decide whether to remove it.

HTH

x
 
I agree to try to get him some pain relief if it seems sore. One of my pigs broke one of her nails off where it meets her foot- it got caught in the cage door when she was jumping out. In her case it ripped the quick, bled a lot, and fell off completely within a day or so. It was obviously sore when I was touching it (had to apply some light pressure to help it stop bleeding) but once the bleeding stopped it didn't seem to slow her down at all. I watched it really closely for infection but nothing developed... I thought she had damaged the nailbed and would not have a nail on that toe anymore but after about five months it started to grow back in and now is long enough that we have to clip it with the rest of her nails again.
 
I don't think they will remove it, a lot of vets with a broken toe-nail will just superglue it. They will help out with pain but most just superglue. Well, that's what they do with dogs anyways.
 
Hi

Thanks for the replies, he has an appointment for 9.40 so will see what the vet says :)

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Okay, back from the vet.
Cost £50! For a broken nail!
I use this vet because they are usually pretty pig savvy but today ?/ not so sure...
She gave him a painkiller injection (though she had to ring the company to check it was okay) and also gave me a week's worth of Metacam. However she has prescribed 0.1mg once a day.... is it me or is that a huge under-dose?
Probably means the very expensive injection was an under-dose too....
The nail was too firmly attached for removal and she didn't think it ran the risk of infection. Its all bent up but not broken so can't come off.
Silvio was very unhappy after his injection and is now sulking.

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I am sure our more experienced people will advise, but from what i've had before for dosages it's always around the 0.01 - 0.02 maybe they forgot the other zero ? i'd also call to confirm :)
Please give little Silvio lots of loving and healing wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeks from both the girls and I XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
Eek in that case it's an overdose, lucky I haven't given him any yet.

But when my old pig was ill he was having a huge dose - but that was very hefty pain relief...

x
 
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