• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Ripped Nail

Bigsize9fot

Bigsize9fot

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Oct 19, 2016
Messages
135
Reaction score
79
Points
245
Location
Lanarkshire
Hi
One of my Guineas seems to have ripped a nail. There was quite a bit of blood on the puppy pad at her eating area and I can see one of her front nails is all bloody.
I don’t want to mess with it too much as it looks sore. Is this something I need to see a vet about? She seems ok in herself.
Thanks.
 
I'm not sure if it needs to see a vet but in the meantime you could use a saline salution to clean the wound,
I'd imagine it's a bit painful for them and I suppose if they had torn it off completely or damaged the blood vessel that might need to be seen by a vet,

I'd say try to get a good look and see if you can see how badly damaged it is then decide if it needs vet treatment :)
 
Hi there , Just bathe it in sailine water 3 times a day and clean out the cage as regularly as possible to it from getting infected, and it should heal quite quickly, without the need for any meds! It should be Ok in a few days!
But if it do's start to look infected (red/swolen ) then see your vet
 
Bigsize9fot said:
Hi
One of my Guineas seems to have ripped a nail. There was quite a bit of blood on the puppy pad at her eating area and I can see one of her front nails is all bloody.
I don’t want to mess with it too much as it looks sore. Is this something I need to see a vet about? She seems ok in herself.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
OUCH! sounds painful. Can't add much to what everyone else has said. As long as it looks clean once you have bathed it and she is still eating, drinking and pooping I think she'll be fine. As @gizzy said if it starts to look swollen see a vet.
 
My Edward has done this twice now. On both occasions I just bathes his foot in a saline solution a few times a day. Just check that the toe doesn't become red, warm to touch and / or swollen as this indicates infection.

Be prepared that it could take months for the toenail to grow back. Edwards first one took 6 months until it started to grow and I am still waiting on the second to start growing x
 
Thanks for your replies. I’ve bathed the foot and it started to bleed again! The nail is in place but I tried to have a good look and it looks like the nail has somehow nicked or split above the blood vessel. Any slight knock and it starts to bleed again. I took her out the cage to look at it and it started to bleed again

She is eating and otherwise normal- pooping etc. I’ve put them in a quiet room for some peace and quiet from our kittens.

My son is beside himself with worry but I think she’ll be ok. Just needs a chance to heal. Is it normal for it to bleed so much?
 
I'm not sure how much your boy is bleeding, but I believe it's normal for there to be more blood than one might expect from such a tiny creature. One of my sows broke her toenail a few months ago, and the entire cage was covered in bloody trails. I nearly fainted when I saw the cage drenched in red, and was so, so relieved when I realized all three are still alive.

Veterinary styptic pens are good at stopping the bleeding and providing a spot-on antibacterial seal on the wound. As Claire W mentioned, it takes months for the nail to re-grow.
 
Thanks for your reassurance. It’s so scary and you feel so helpless. Will keep an eye on it and bathe it a few times a day and see how we go. X
 
Bigsize9fot said:
Thanks for your replies. I’ve bathed the foot and it started to bleed again! The nail is in place but I tried to have a good look and it looks like the nail has somehow nicked or split above the blood vessel. Any slight knock and it starts to bleed again. I took her out the cage to look at it and it started to bleed again

She is eating and otherwise normal- pooping etc. I’ve put them in a quiet room for some peace and quiet from our kittens.

My son is beside himself with worry but I think she’ll be ok. Just needs a chance to heal. Is it normal for it to bleed so much?
Click to expand...

Please have her seen by a vet. The quick should not bleed repeatedly and profusely; that is worrying! You vet may prefer to bandage the foot for a couple of days to allow the wound to close.
 
Wiebke said:
Please have her seen by a vet. The quick should not bleed repeatedly and profusely; that is worrying! You vet may prefer to bandage the foot for a couple of days to allow the wound to close.
Click to expand...
I will definitely do this if there’s no improvement by Monday.
 
Bigsize9fot said:
I will definitely do this if there’s no improvement by Monday.
Click to expand...

By Monday, things should have scabbed over; the risk of ripping the quick open and causing a potentially life-threatening bleed is NOW!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top