Urgent Help Needed! Eating Nails! :(

[Gizi]

Hi everyone! I have something very horrible! I can back from tennis and the pet store and I went to the window to see the pigs and Honey kept lifting up her front paw with her mouth, it looked red and then my brother said she was eating her nails but he said it as a joke. Well Honey WAS actually eating her nail. Her mouth had blood on it her nail was covered in blood and so was her chest!

I put her down in a patch of grass, and got the hose and washed her mouth, chest and nail. The nail kept bleeding and there were bits of flesh on it. It was very gross but I still did it. I put honey on top of their hutch and waited for the nail to stop bleeding. After around 10 minutes is has stopped bleeding and I applied Beta-din like I did last time I cute the quick when trimming her nails. (P.S when I cut her nails there was barely a drop of blood)

@helen105281 and @Wiebke what is this?

 

[Julesie]

I'm no expert but I recall once when Gilbert hurt his paw and twisted his nail it was bleeding and he sat there sort of licking and chewing on the nail trying to fix it.

I witnessed the accident happen so I knew what he was doing and rushed him to the vet (after crying in panic as I was home alone and I can't drive...) and he'd just basically torn his nail when running up the ramp.

I'm not sure what happened to your piggie but maybe there's a chance she hurt her paw too and was trying to lick her wound or fix the pain.

 

[katanamoon]

I would agree - as prey animals, piggies do the best they can to clean up any blood to avoid attracting predators. Is there anything in the cage that Honey could have caught her nail on?

 

[Gizi]

I would agree - as prey animals, piggies do the best they can to clean up any blood to avoid attracting predators. Is there anything in the cage that Honey could have caught her nail on?

I don't think, maybe the cage bars but nothing else than that

 

[Wiebke]

It sounds like she's torn her nail at the quick, which can happen. The nail may grow back a bit thicker and misshapen after a while. it won't impede your piggy.
Please disinfect it with saline solution, which you can make from 1 teaspoon of salt mixed into 1 pint (500ml) of boiled, cooled water.

 

[Freela]

My guess would be that she somehow tore her nail, including the quick (the blood supply to the nail.) Animals will typically lick or chew a wound in an attempt to help it or to clean it up. Linney ripped a nail off once and was much the same- blood all over her face, chest, etc. I was relieved to find it was only her nail that was bleeding, she was so covered with blood that I was afraid it was something worse! You should clean the nail with saline or a mild disinfectant. You can dip the tip in flour or use a styptic pencil if the bleeding continues. Keep an eye on it for infection, but it should be okay. The nail might take a long time to grow back (it took Linney months to have a nail again- she ripped it off right where it met her foot), but this won't bother the piggie.