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

Nail Clipping - still feared after 24 years!

Now I must be mad,but I like trimming guinea pigs nails.i do 21 piggies nails once a month on the same day!I am quite quick,its all done before they have time to think about it !
You want to come do mine?! Ive got 56 toes, 75% of which are black! 1/2 of the piggies behave themselves. The other half 🙄
 
Me, too. Well done @Seeshell - you must teach me your piggy hypnosis trick!
I took some tips from good old YouTube! I used the wrapping up technique. Wrapped them in one of their little blankets and sat them up against me then did each little tootsie by popping out the blanket. No wriggling or squealing and was over in less than 10 minutes tops for both.
 
My piggie teacake used to be a dream with nail trims despite having all black nails I’d just put a piece of fruit in front of her and she’d happily munch away while I clipped, her sister Bonnie on the other hand makes her feelings heard loud and clear and is the reason I’ve got bite marks on my clippers and often ones on my hands aswell ! 😆
 
I must admit it still gives me some apprehension with the newer piggies! Thistles are a nightmare with her poor deformed toes, getting them at an angle I can actually get them in the clippers is a bit of a challenge! And Tillys wobbly head gets in the way half the time on top of black nails, then there is Hazel who likes to turn into a bar of soap..again, on top of having black nails.
The only time I question why I have 14 piggies is when I have to sit and trim 196 nails 😂
 
I must admit it still gives me some apprehension with the newer piggies! Thistles are a nightmare with her poor deformed toes, getting them at an angle I can actually get them in the clippers is a bit of a challenge! And Tillys wobbly head gets in the way half the time on top of black nails, then there is Hazel who likes to turn into a bar of soap..again, on top of having black nails.
The only time I question why I have 14 piggies is when I have to sit and trim 196 nails 😂
Hazel sounds like my Elvis. He's a slippery seal when he needs to be 🤣
 
We are getting better at it..... still jump when they flinch tho! Daisy has a weird toenail which does freak me out 🙈🙈 will post a pic one day...
 
What is the electric shock thing about? Jenny is a particular diva for that with her hands. She has quite curly nails so getting the clippers in can be a challenge so she will sit and then just as I’m ready to snip she will flinch like shes had 10000 volts up her bum! So I have to start again.
 
I struggled for years with wrigglers, squealers, pulling their feet out of the way, then Beatrice arrived. She is so nosy she is far too bothered trying to watch what I am doing to care if I hurt her and will just sit there while I do all her nails, almost sticking her feet out for me. I have never known a pig like her. A few weeks ago I couldn't get the clippers to work and she just sat watching while I worked out the problem. I'm sure if she could she'd have helped me fix them! 20200629_011002.jpg
 
I struggled for years with wrigglers, squealers, pulling their feet out of the way, then Beatrice arrived. She is so nosy she is far too bothered trying to watch what I am doing to care if I hurt her and will just sit there while I do all her nails, almost sticking her feet out for me. I have never known a pig like her. A few weeks ago I couldn't get the clippers to work and she just sat watching while I worked out the problem. I'm sure if she could she'd have helped me fix them! View attachment 146807
I love her little white nose it looks like a heart 😍😍
 
I struggled for years with wrigglers, squealers, pulling their feet out of the way, then Beatrice arrived. She is so nosy she is far too bothered trying to watch what I am doing to care if I hurt her and will just sit there while I do all her nails, almost sticking her feet out for me. I have never known a pig like her. A few weeks ago I couldn't get the clippers to work and she just sat watching while I worked out the problem. I'm sure if she could she'd have helped me fix them! View attachment 146807

what a little star she is
 
I hate doing the nails too. I get all shaky and start to sweat, lol. Peanut’s nails are a dream to cut, they’re light coloured, thin, straight, and he doesn’t mind it. Little is a nightmare. All his nails are black, but his back nails are also really thick and round. So when I’m cutting them, it’s not a quick job as the nails are sort of arched so it’s hard to get the clippers in. When the nails grow back, the ends don’t grow back thinner like most piggies, they stay just as thick as the rest of his nail. He absolutely detests nail cutting too, he jumps, bites his front claws and kicks his feet about.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to cut claws though without being anxious!
 
I did my lot yesterday, they all have a mixture of colours, thicknesses and temperaments, I'm sure they pick up on my nervousness and play up. I've been watching Saskia at LA Guinea Pig Rescue on YouTube and she makes it look so easy. Yesterday I set up a work station with everything I needed at a good height. Full of confidence I started clipping - no more wrestling matches with OH holding a wriggling piggy, this is going to be done the Saskia way. Sweet Peanut was a dream, his scary black nails were clipped in no time. Forget it with the rest of them back to the two man wrestle. I shall keep trying though these little balls of flying fluff and big teeth will not defeat me and my clippers. :))
hahaha I recognize the whole tread, but THIS. Saskia makes everything look easy, but forget it in real life. Does indeed not help as well that all of my guineas have black nails. Somehow not reassuring at all that this fear will never pass.
 
We did half our piggies nails yesterday. It was as traumatic as ever. Hazel screaming like she was being murdered, Ginger trying to bite my arm and the others just wriggling around. Poor Ginger ended up with me cutting the quick of one nail (if he didn't wriggle and bite this wouldn't happen), so I was in big trouble. Even this morning he looked at me as though I had tried to amputate his leg.

I will need a few days to recover before I try doing the others.☹️
 
Out of the three monsters, my little old Jess is the worst! You’d think at nearly 7 and a half she’d have got used to it by now, nope! And with her horrible, curly, brittle ones these days I despise chopping them! :doh:
The bonkers younger ones that rarely sit still are angels in comparison! But Luigi’s big black back ones do worry me when he’s not in the best mood, he’s such a diva at times! Reggie’s were all black but he was such a lovely gentleman, never kicked up a fuss like naughty Gigi!
 
Back
Top