Nails/Nail Trimming Need help/tips !!!

[southernfury]

Hello All,
I haven't been able to get on here much due to health issues, but i am back !!
OK...I need help with trimming my Piggies nails....Mainly my little Girl Reeses !!
She HATES being picked up. She use to BITE really hard. She still bites the cozy that we use to transfer her to her play time.
But she is gettin better about not biting us as hard. If she even thinks you are going to do something to her, she will haul butt or nip.
Honestly she is too smart for her own good. She is a very curious girl, she has to know everything that you are doing around her. She is always the first one to come and check everything out, but don't dare pick her up. Now she has gotten to the point to where i can pet her while she is eating or while she is busy. But thats about it.

How do i trim a very active and smart piggies nails???
What are the best trimmers out there?
Has anyone ever used those Pet-e-paws trimmers?? ( the ones that look like a small nail sander...they are mainly used for dogs/cats)
How would i keep my girl still so i can trim?

I have 2 other piggies that will let me trim their nails...they don't like it, but they will stay still so i can trim. I have been using toe nail clippers with them. But i'm afraid with Reeses that she might jerk away and cause me to cut to much or not be able to cut at all. I thought about talking to a Vet to see if there is anything i can give her to calm her down while i cut...Just something to make her a little sleepy for a bit. I don't know what else to do....She is a very sweet girl, but just to hard to handle right now. Anything she does has to be on her own free will. Like when i clean their cage or feed...she will climb on my lap or whatever i'm holding to see what i'm doing.

I would LOVE any tips ya can help with...Thank Ya so much !!

 

[RodentCuddles]

The biting could be because of mites, I don't really know of any other reasons piggys usually bite for.

 

[jacqueline]

Have you tried wrapping her very tightly in a blanker/towel - the same idea as behind the "thunder shirt" for dogs - sometimes when animals/babies are wrapped snuggly they feel safe and secure and don' fuss as much. it sounds like this is at least a 2 person job for now. do you have someone whom can hold your piggies while you cut her nails? I wouldn't use the sander thing - the noise and vibration would probably freak her out. cat nail trimmers work best for me.

 

[southernfury]

All My piggies have been treated for mites. Also i treat once to twice a year just to be on the safe side. Reeses has always been a biter..! I took all my piggies to the vet for a check up, x-rays and ultra sounds, just to make sure there wasn't no issue that we couldn't see. They all came up clean and healthy. I do know that Reese was abused when she was a baby..She was in poor health ! The people that had her left her in a cage with 9 other piggies...no water and barely any food. the piggies had to fight for food and water. I made the people go get water and give them more food when i was there to get Reeses. I so wanted to take all the piggies, but the people wouldn't give them up.. Luckly i got to save Reeses !! I have found out that our local animal protection group seized the other piggies and they are now in a good home.
Reeses has warmed up to us a lot and she has made great progress on trusting us...but she still doesn't like to b held..!! ;(

 

[southernfury]

Have you tried wrapping her very tightly in a blanker/towel - the same idea as behind the "thunder shirt" for dogs - sometimes when animals/babies are wrapped snuggly they feel safe and secure and don' fuss as much. it sounds like this is at least a 2 person job for now. do you have someone whom can hold your piggies while you cut her nails? I wouldn't use the sander thing - the noise and vibration would probably freak her out. cat nail trimmers work best for me.

I have tried to wrap her, but she will twist and bite at the blanket/towel. Also i'm afraid i might get it to tight...but i think i'm goin to have to tighten it up a bit...cause she is a wiggler. Yes, i have my son to help...even though he is a little scared of being bitten again. We are goin to try tonight again on clipping her nails...maybe if we give her something to munch on...she would be more worried about her carrot than what i am doing. *fingers crossed* I will pick up some cat nail clippers this weekand and give them a try. I would just take them to the Vet to get their nails done....but our Vet lives so far away.
Thanks for the advise...i will give a up date on how things go tonight..!!

Are cat nail clippers really sharp? I don't have cats...so i never bought any before. I just need something that would cut clean and fast..!!

Also do ya have any suggestions on piggies with dark colored nails....Our Mocha has brown nails and it's hard to see the quik ! We tried using a flash light to help, it seemed to work ok, but it makes it a 2 person job too.

 

[NarwhalsRock]

Yes, cat clippers are quite sharp! I loveeee them for my cat AND the pigs! The human nail clippers are more annoying for me personally, because they tend to squish the nail, and the pigs didn't like it at all. The cat clippers seem to distribute the pressure all around the nail, while the human clippers focus on the 2 sides that meet together.

 

[Cocoacavy]

The biting could be because of mites, I don't really know of any other reasons piggys usually bite for.

Lucky you, you don't have biting guinea pig.

I ALWAYS encounter biting guinea pigs. My first personal guinea pig didn't bite, but he was from Petco (Ughh) and he lasted for two weeks. He was the bestthing that happened to me at that time.

My current guinea pig Cocoa, BITES. My old school's guinea pig. BIT. And then I look up on the internet that It's rare to find biting guinea pigs?

Do I just have bad luck?

Anyways, Cocoa has gotten WAY better. It's really hard to pick her up though. She runs to the back of the cage under the second floor and hides from me so I can't pick her up. She'll run away from me. I put both hands out as if I was grabbing her, and she tries BITING ME! She strikes out as if she would. But eventually she gets trapped on her upstairs loft, and I pick her up.


Theres this episode from My Cat From Hell, and the cat bit the person because they put their hands in a way that the cat was afraid of when the person was trying to grab/pick up the cat.
Is this like Cocoa?
Cocoa hasn't gotten to the point where she's actually bitten me. I pull my hand back before she gets to bite me. She strikes though, so fast that I jump back.


Cocoa let me cut her nails the other day when they were long. She didn't bite me, thank goodness.
I think she's getting better than before.

 

[southernfury]

Yes, cat clippers are quite sharp! I loveeee them for my cat AND the pigs! The human nail clippers are more annoying for me personally, because they tend to squish the nail, and the pigs didn't like it at all. The cat clippers seem to distribute the pressure all around the nail, while the human clippers focus on the 2 sides that meet together.

Awesome..I will have to give them a try. I have had issues with the nail clippers not cutting smoothly, but it's the only thing i have. I plan to get the Cat clippers on pay day. So i might wait until i get them to do Reeses's nails. Cause i know what ever i use will have to be done fast. Thanks for the comment NarwhalsRock..!!

 

[MrWhistles]

My only advise to hold her firmly, if necessary you can drape part of the towel or blanket on her face and trim a little bit at a time.

 

[NarwhalsRock]

Awesome! I got mine for around $8 at WalMart in the cat stuff. They're GREAT! I've found that some nummies work wonders!

 

[southernfury]

Lucky you, you don't have biting guinea pig.

I ALWAYS encounter biting guinea pigs. My first personal guinea pig didn't bite, but he was from Petco (Ughh) and he lasted for two weeks. He was the bestthing that happened to me at that time.

My current guinea pig Cocoa, BITES. My old school's guinea pig. BIT. And then I look up on the internet that It's rare to find biting guinea pigs?

Do I just have bad luck?

Anyways, Cocoa has gotten WAY better. It's really hard to pick her up though. She runs to the back of the cage under the second floor and hides from me so I can't pick her up. She'll run away from me. I put both hands out as if I was grabbing her, and she tries BITING ME! She strikes out as if she would. But eventually she gets trapped on her upstairs loft, and I pick her up.


Theres this episode from My Cat From Hell, and the cat bit the person because they put their hands in a way that the cat was afraid of when the person was trying to grab/pick up the cat.
Is this like Cocoa?
Cocoa hasn't gotten to the point where she's actually bitten me. I pull my hand back before she gets to bite me. She strikes though, so fast that I jump back.


Cocoa let me cut her nails the other day when they were long. She didn't bite me, thank goodness.
I think she's getting better than before.

I do...Reeses is a biter. She use to be really bad when she was a baby and she is slowly getting better. There has been many times that she has drawn blood. I would wrap her in my shirt or a blanket when i would try to pet her, but she would twist, claw, and bite at everything. I eventually made her a cozy to be picked up in...at first she would bite at it. She would do anything she could to get down and out. But Reeses has learned that the cozy takes her to her Floor/Playtime and where her fresh grass is. So now all i have to do is lay the cozy in front of her and she will go in on her own. Now granted she doesn't like to be in there long before she starts biting the cozy, but it helps keep my fingers safe. Our other 2 girls are harder to catch, but they don't bite...they just don't like being picked up.

Maybe you can try a cozy to pick up Cocoa. Let Cocoa go into the cozy and then pick her up inside the cozy.
When i want to work with Reeses..i will pick her up in the cozy, then sit on the floor with her still in the cozy and let her come out on her own. She has gotten better about biting when i do that...she will actually let me pet her. But with the nail issue, she just doesn't sit still for very long. She is a very hyper girl. And she does still try to bite when she feels she is trapped..!!

I'm glad to hear that Cocoa is doing better about biting. Hopefully she will get to the point where she doesn't try to bite at all.

 

[southernfury]

THe White little piggie is Coconut....The brown and white is Mocha....And the little girl with the black is lil Reeses!!