[Gpdd] CARE: susanne's question about cutting piggy toenails

[Helen Stanford]

hi susanne

Yes you do need to trim your piggie's toenails.  You don't really need a 
special nail cutter, a human one is fine(if you can bear sharing them :)

just cut a little off the end being very careful not to cut into the 
"quick", which would be like cutting into a finger for us.  The quick is the 
pink part in guinea pigs with white nails.  Jus like in humans, the pink 
part shows how far the flesh of the toe extends, and the white part has no 
nerves.  If your guinea pig has dark nails, you may need to use a brighter 
light source to see the quick, which should be slightly darker than the end 
of the nail.  If you still can't see where the quick is, just cut the nails 
often and a little bit at a time and you should be fine.

you will tell if you have cut the quick because they will squeal in pain but 
try hard not to do it as i cna imagine it's very painful! If you have some 
fruit/veggies on hand to try and distract them too, as they will probably 
get a bit fidgety.

If you're not confident about doing it it's worthwhile getting your vet to 
show you how to do it for the first time just to make sure you do it right.

good luck!

Helen, Flossie, Hamlet, and Miffy & Nutkin (over the bridge)

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