• PLEASE NOTE - the TEAS facebook page has been hacked, take extreme care when visiting the page, for further information visit here

Frequency Of Nail Clipping

Status
Not open for further replies.

HannahPiggie

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
Messages
46
Reaction score
44
Points
175
Location
Northampton, United Kingdom
This summer I have started to tame my very wriggly pig who would never even let me pick him up before. I have taken him to the vet every few months for nail clipping, but the last time was fairly stressful as the nurse cut the quick. His nails are pretty long and they tend to grow curled over, so I want to cut them more often to stop them getting like that. So last week on Wednesday a friend came over and she held him while I cut the tips off. However, I have a pre-arranged vets appointment for tomorrow for him to have them clipped. This will be 6 days since I cut the tips off myself. Is this enough time for the quick to shrink back so they can be cut again? I just don't want to put him through another stressful vet visit where he is likely to bleed if this would be too soon. Can anyone advise? Is once a week too often to clip them?
 
I am able to cut a small amount off mine each week so you might be able to still? Though I'm no expert!
 
:D I would think that once a week is too often. Though it depends on how quickly the nails grow and what sort of surface they live on.
Indoor piggies living on fleece may need clipping more often than those on a hard surface. My girls are all on fleece and I clip my girls nails' about once a month.
 
Thanks for your replies :) I ended up going but telling the nurse that I'd done it a week ago, and she took him out the back anyway. When she came back she said she clipped them all fine - no blood and he was much better than previous time at not wriggling and staying calm. Yay! And the nails are much better now. They were looking pretty long. It's so hard to do it alone though - I really need someone to hold him while I clip. And up until recently he's been almost impossible to handle let alone clip nails. Think I just need to ask a friend round every few weeks who isn't scared of holding him for me! That would save me money too :)
 
I have 4 boys and their nails get done once a month. I think once a week is too much unless you are clipping only short, short bits. But once every few months seems like way too long as their nails do grow fairly quickly. Having your friend over to hold him is a great idea. Many members have someone hold their piggies while they do the clipping. Another good idea is to feed a piece of veg while clipping a nail & just keep giving small pieces of veg every time another nail needs a trim & veg is done. My Hazelnut was a wriggly one & I cut his quick twice. Finally I'd give him a stalk of flat leaf parsley & managed to cut 3 nails for every piece. That solved the problem.
 
I thought the frequency was about every 3 weeks or so? I may be wrong, but that's just what I've heard.
 
There is no regular amount of time to cut nails, it all depends on how quick they grow. If they are sometimes on a hard surface such a concrete patio then this does help wear them x
 
I keep a piggy diary, a record of weight, nail clipping dates, washing, vet visits, treatments, xeno treatment - all suggested by a forum member and frankly, it's the best way for me to keep a track of all the goings on with 8. It's easy to lose track of when. Their diary goes in their medicine box along with the weigh scales and so it's all easy to hand.

I have some wriggly pigs when it comes to nail clipping, but I use different methods on different pigs dependant upon their wriggling. Some will just stand whilst I lift each foot and clip. Fronts first then backs.

Good luck
 
I try to clip my lot about once a fortnight, this just allows the vein to recede a bit, allowing to get a shorter claw. my first lot were rescues and claws were long.
@HannahPiggie your piggie in picture is exactly like my girl Roxy :)20150424_071015.jpg
 
I just get them cut as and when they need them cutting, they get checked weekly and if I feel they are long enough the ones with the light claws are trimmed by my son and the others are taken to the local vet to have them clipped.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top