does anyone else hate nail clipping?

[kalrik]

I HATE clipping their nails. I have four so it takes me awhile, and the whole time I am worried and scared that I am going to cut the kwik and one of my babies will bleed. I dont know why it's so scary for me, I haven't had a bad experience. I think it's because I know how much they hate it.

 

[Christys GPS]

I am to scared to attemp that, I take mine to my vet and get them done really cheap. But I am in school to be a vet tech, so I am guesing I am going to have to learn someday.

 

[pennick]

Yes I hate it. Especially with one of my piggies who wont let me do it. I keep checking her nails praying that they haven't curled yet. I'm waiting for my daughter to come over to help me.

 

[Emily F.]

I still can't do it. My poor pigs nails are curling under pretty bad..*sigh* Time to make an apointment for the vets.

 

[Plummie]

Really? I don't find nail clipping hard at all. My girls don't squirm, they just sit in my lap and it takes 30 seconds for each pig. You just have to be really comfortable and confident when you do it.

When I got Lulu from the humane society, her nails were curled because her previous owner never cut them. I try and cut them every 2 weeks and they are finally starting to straighten out. Poor gal.

 

[Slap Maxwell]

I enjoy the nail trimming. I feel better afterword knowing my cavies have freshly trimmed nails.

 

[kalrik]

I get bit and they squirm and squeel and twist. It makes me a nervous wreck. I need to do it more frequently, and each time I do it I cut off about a half a millimeter. Probably doing no good whatsoever.

 

[BigChiefHoho]

I don't mind it too much, although I did have a bad experience once. My one piggie, Gus, was pretty fidgety, and she yanked her foot just as I squeezed the handle... Made for a bit of a scare - bled more than I'd thought it would. It all turned out well though, but now I make sure I have a partner when I clip!

 

[Cavy Tamer]

Yes, I despise it. They act like I am going to murder them. I still have not been able to do it very successfully.

 

[guineagurl]

I did mine last night and it's really hard as they have dark nails and it's REALLY hard to see where the blood vein is. One of mine kinda yelped as I put pressure on one nail so I think I was nearly about to cut into the quick I think it's called, I stopped though and left it because the clipper indent was in the nail and I couldn't seem to cut closer to the edge without it wanting to slip back to the previous mark...Grrr.. poor baby,, I felt so bad I hurt him.

 

[zakfoxmom]

I absolutely refuse to cut their nails myself. I take them to the vet for it. I do two of our three cats and the third gets his done at the vet as well. I actually was hoping to find someplace that would groom them for me too. I called around here and everyone I talked to pretty much thought I was insane.

 

[Baubler]

I, too, find this task unpleasant.

However, I have found a few things to make it a bit easier.

1.) I started making sure I handled my gp's feet frequently to make the process a little less scary.

2.) I start the process my getting my gp nice and relaxed while sitting in my lap.

3.) I keep him distracted by giving him treats.

4.) I use a manicuring tool (it's like a dremmel drill, but with an emory board surface bit.) This seems to be a bit less daunting for the pig.


Hope this helps!

 

[pookczek]

One of my girls used to detest having her nails clips - I used to hold her in "Heather's Handy Pig Hold", as pictured in https://www.guinealynx.com/nails.html.

Then, someone on this forum suggested putting the pig on a tennis racket and cutting their nails from underneath. Success - finally! I loaded up the racket with lettuce, and my dominant girl barely even noticed that I was cutting her nails... she only moved a bit when I accidentally nicked the quick. This technique is a life-saver for us.