Nail Trimming

[beckyxxx]

hi I was just wondering when would I know if it’s time to cut my guinea pigs nails?

I’ve never cut them and always took them to the vets to have it done as I was a little scared of doing it but feel my experience with handling them has become better and that i would be able to do it myself.

They seem like they are in need of a cut as they are rather long. My only problem is one of my guinea pigs has black nails and I’m scared of cutting too far

 

[sport_billy]

I would suggest going to a vet to show you how to do it. Do you have someone who holds while you trim?

We use clippers like these

With black claws you will need to shine a light to see where the 'quick' is as you do not want to make them bleed

 

[G&C]

I am also scared at first when I cut my boys nails. The trick is to firstly get them calm (they are always excited when I first pick them up) and comfortably sat on your knee or have someone hold them. Make sure the room is well lit, daylight is best. Have lots of treats that they like, fresh herbs basil coriander parsley to give them some inbetween cutting and just start at the very tip, like literally a millimetre or less at a time. The cutters mentioned above are the best I’ve ever used, I’ve tried small human nail clippers but they blunt quickly and are fiddly to use. I guess you should cut their nails when they become sharp enough that it is uncomfortable for you to hold them. I do it about once a month. Sometimes they can jump and squeak their disapproval so it can be easier if someone can help you/hold them and I think the distraction of fresh treats works well when this happens. Just take your time. Also instead of a vet showing you (as they may charge you for this) some decent pet shops can help.

 

[Maddykins]

I can't cut mine due to disability, my husband has to do it, but even he doesn't feel confident to do it holding them, he gets me to hold them. They both hate it and have never really gotten any more used to it even though we've had them years! We use little nail scissors like the above too. I agree with G&C that I tend to notice they need them cutting when I handle them and they are uncomfortable and dig into me! After awhile you just get a feel for when they need doing. You can see by looking at them too that they have grown too long and like the front ones curl around really far. My husband shines a little torch under the black nails so he can see better. He has cut the odd nail too short on the odd occasion and always feels awful, but stem the bleeding quickly and they are ok, it happens, they will be ok. Not trying to say you will but just that if it does happen it's not the end of the world.