Tips for cutting opaque black nails please!

[Boarworld]

Hello!

Can anyone help me with trimming my girls nails? I have finally got her to the point where she will happily be held for nail trims and haircuts.

I’ve posted about how very naughty she is before. She’s a Sheba mini-yak so needs regular haircuts and has been an absolute terror for them. Kicking me, teeth chattering/screaming and generally behaving like a total reprobate since we’ve had her. Her litter sister and the other little girl we’ve had for the same time are much more compliant.

We’ve had her from six weeks old. Shes now 15 months and after tons of patience and love she will now very happily be picked up, sit on laps and eat (so she’s not frozen/fearful). She even snuggles into us/sleeps laps. She doesn’t love a haircut, but she tolerates it (with the odd kick when I get around her bum) and accepts a treat when we’re done. So I think we’ve cracked taming her and making her feel safe. She finally seems happy and content with her human servants!

Which is why I really, really do not want to nip her and hurt her whilst trimming her nails! Obviously I don’t want to hurt her anyway but I also don’t want to undo months of building her trust.

I’m perfectly fine cutting the other girls nails as they’re clear with pink quicks. My problem is this piggy’s nails are jet black and completely opaque. I can’t even see the quick when I hold them up to the light. I’ve been cutting the very ends off with the proper shaped scissors, but I can see by eye they’re too long still. I don’t want them to cause her discomfort.

Is there a trick I’m missing? I’d rather avoid taking her to the vet nurse because going in the carrier and the car is so distressing for her. That’s a last resort.

Any words of wisdom appreciated!

 

[CTWC]

Hi I do feel for you I have had a few guineas with black nails I find little and often is definitely the best way forward because as you say you literally cannot see where is ok to cut. I read once that you can ever so slightly feel a change in the ends of the nails that can be cut on one of mine I kind of learnt how they felt over many months , also does she have any white nails at all? As if so you can gauge it by how much her white one has grown. In addition to this if you snip a bit off and there is no reaction as such I sometimes think I'll just snip a mm more but squeeze slowly as someone said once that even if you are about to cut too far back the pressure is sensed by them before the nail actually gets cut and you can stop and my only other one is unless they have very curly nails too you can sometimes judge where the nail curls over at the end but as I say I do hate it too it makes me very apprehensive.
I'm sure there will be an expert on soon to offer some more experience sorry if I've just rambled about my random suggestions
Good luck

 

[ScrufflesRules]

I also agree that little and often is best- I always left my black piggy's nails as if they were nearly ready for a trim. Essentially I always made sure his foot was able to lie flat when he was standing, instead of his toes pointing up at a slight angle due to overly long nails. His back nails were still almost always touching the floor though. One or two front nails developed a hook or point, which I could just snip off to keep them at an appropriate length.

I found feeding leafy greens during a nail trim really useful- it can work to distract them, and means you're less likely to get bitten. Wrapping them up in a fleece/blanket/cozy tunnel can have a calming effect on some pigs too- but the opposite on others!

There's no need to do all 14 nails in one go- spacing it out over a few days is fine.

Don't bother with the vets for nail trims unless you really have to- they're the only people who ever made my pigs' nails bleed. You have so much more time and comfort in your own home, plus you save yourself a small fortune.