need help to trim nails!

[headlesshorseman]

Anyone got any tips on how to trim the furries nails?

HeBun sits nicely and lets me do it, SheBun gets hysterical and this week I have only managed her fronts. They are both now sat on the top of the sofa giving me bunny evils

Whereas ShePig tolerates it with serious coercion but HePig bites

We have had them for over a year and it is getting worse not better, we have tried bribery, towels and the softly softly approach.

They are all otherwise very laid back but the nails are causing so much trouble, and as they are all indoors they dont wear them down much

Shall I just give up and take them to the vet? Anyone know how much it would be?

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Some of them just don't tolerate it and the fact you've got two that sit nicely means it's not your cutting technique, it's them.

If you can cut rabbit nails then your clippers must be good too.

I've never tried those 'guillotene' style ones or the abrasive 'buffing' ones but I know they're available (the whirring buffing ones would take for ever to work though.

Our boars tend to grab their legs back and give judgey looks especially GP2. I always worry about breaking his fragile little legs

I find their front leg innermost claw tends to curl under if it gets too long so DD and I do the towel wrapping, she holds (i still get bitten though) and I cut two paws worth at a time if they're being arsey.
We just get on and do it , and put up with the black looks after (I'm not going to drive 30 minutes to our guinea-vet, I'm an NHS Podiatrist. Imagine the shame: "You can treat vunerable people but not two stroppy hogs" )

If their nails are long, cutting them little and often is best because the quick tends to extend quite far.Clipping the nails makes it shrink back but it needs done in stages (or they bleed)

Vet will give you some tips , but I found they could lob a tablet down my cat's throat with no trouble whereas I lost layers of skin (maybe they hypnotised her)

[headlesshorseman]

Thats what I thought 70, its definately them
And DH likes to remind me "you can look after a ventilated patient you cant be struggling with small furry things"

We have baby nail clippers but they do the job really well, tried the naice clippers but they freaked everyone out including me

I forgot their quicks grow too, might try doing a foot every other day and see how we get on.

Really doesnt help that HeBun and ShePig have black nails!

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Between two boars, GP1 has one honey coloured nail, the rest are black.
My little boy GP2 is jet black -with black paws and claws.


DD chose the pigs.
I blame her.

[headlesshorseman]

3 out of the 4 were dumped on my door step so no blame there.

unfortunately I chose HeBun damn furry black thing with the big brown eyes

[janji]

I wrap mine in a sft blanket and 'expose' each leg as needed whilst keeping the other 3 safely tucked in?!

[headlesshorseman]

but janji their legs are sooo tiny I worry about breaking them!

[janji]

So was I but the less firm I was the more they struggled and more likely I was to cause them harm. They're honestly tougher than you think and usually only struggle if they feel frightened or threatened. If they're held carefully but firmly they feel less panicked. My only worry now is cutting too far up the claws! Sorted one worry for another!

[janji]

Both of my piggies were rescued. My dds rabbit was bought, along with my 2 chinchillas and 2 dogs and 1 cat! Same method (luckily) does seem to work for them all (so far)!

[FernieB]

IME it's always the ones with dark claws that struggle. Smoothpig sits politely and waits for me finish his claws (he's white). Scruffypig and Current Bun (both black) struggle like mad.

With Scruffy, I persevere and get bitten. Current Bun is just so big and strong that I find it hard to hold him for any length of time when he's fighting me, so I do one or two feet at a time over a couple of days. I tend to cut little and often with all of them - it's just easier that way.

Previous ginger bun (bad-tempered female who hated everyone except me and DD's) was a dream. She sat on my lap patiently and would sometimes even hold out her paws for me. Wish she was still around to keep Current Bun in line.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

And again Fernie this information about black clawed critters being blighters to nail-cut wasn't shared before I let DD pick two chaps with 27/28 black claws.


Come to think of it, I had a Himi sow (chocolate brown feet) her piglet (mixed pink/brown) and a jet black Peruvian and they were evil to nail-cut.
But none as bad as Evil Edna who was ginger with weird purple (grey/pink ) feet.
But she was just odd

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

That's 27 out of 28 claws.
I don't lose count and think "Oh maybe 27 not sure "

[FernieB]

70 does the 1 out of 28 which isn't a black claw get clipped extra short just because you can?

I end up shining a torch on my boys feet as even with black claws it makes it possible to see the quick, but only if they keep still.

[KRITIQ]

For the first time EVER, only 3 of the 28 nails I have to deal with are not white! Hooray!

[headlesshorseman]

KRITIQ