Worried about the piggies [sad]

[PiggiesRuleOK]

We have two Peruvians so ridiculously extravagantly long hair so we had the regular bodily inspection, nail clipping, haircut, and quick dunk in the sink as the wee tends to go all around their bums, filthy pair.

One what should be the first image (it's hard to know), on one of the pigs there is something like an additional piece of toenail/horn growing to the side - can you see? What is it, do we leave it, what's the cause?? You'll see their nails curl round a lot - when we got them from RSPCA they'd already been in two homes and their nails were pretty much like this - is that a cause for concern - it makes them difficult to clip as I'm so scared to catch the quick.

Second pic just noticed following a fringe trim and bathing, bit of white discharge around the eye of one of them - what should I do for this, does it need bathing and if so what with? What's the likely cause in case there's anything we need to change?

Then on just one of the two piggies two of her feet are v slightly crusty - again, what's the cause, what do we need to do about it?

We love them dearly but I think also due to their difficult start in life neither one particularly enjoys being handled although obviously they are because they have to be checked etc but we also don't overdo it - the white one just tends to sit there whilst the darker one is VERY sensitive to any touch, not helped I feel by the fact that the white one has a pop at her and pulls out her fur. We keep a close eye on this and it's not all the time and she's not being prevented from eating or drinking, no blood is drawn, and she does fight back with a my head can thrust higher than yours-off quite regularly! They are lovely and we need to know what to do for their current ills.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Aw little lambs !

OK - first : the eye . It doesn't look cloudy but the white milky secretions are 'cleansing tears' so your pig may have something irritating (maybe hay piece or might have caught themselves )
Boil up some water , add salt , let it cool to tepid (blood heat) . Use something non fluffy to bathe . Gauze if you have it or a muslin cloth. Not cotton wool . Soak , hold over the eye and wipe n one direction. (Piggie will close its eye but you can gently pull the lid up/down)

the claws do need cut , they an end up with fractures in the feet if they;'re long , they walk awkward.
Trim a bit at a time , use proper clippers so you don;t crush the claw. If they have long quicks (the 'live' bit) you need to keep trimming little and often to shrink it. The opaque bit is the bit you cut -if you do cut a quick they will protest but dip in cornflour to stem it . (I have done this once -GP4- my goodness it spurts !)
It does look like a thick claw on the first picture (usually inner claw curls round , nightmare to cut)

Long hair can be lovely but it can be an utter pain. If your pigs are indoors in the warm, I'd be tempted to trim as much s possible , shampoo , remove manky fur then let it grow back.


If you cannot trim them many Rescues will do this much cheaper than a Vet . Phone your nearest and explain that your pigs are not happy due to their background , they will have dealt with many stroppy little hogs.

They are tricky to win round if they are shy or scared but with patience , routine and regular calm handling you'll get there with them.

[PiggiesRuleOK]

Thank you 70. Phew, I was worried they might need the vet. Yes, on the previous nail clipping the dark one's quick got snipped and it's really made me worried of doing it again.

I may have to take them to the vet I don't think I can bear to snip their quicks.... oooohh.

Can I carefully cut that claw thingy then? Will it have a quick?

So what's causing the crusty soles of the feet?? They're on shavings.

Don't get me wrong, they are happy piggies, call out when I/DD come in and they want hay and the dark one comes to the front of the cage and sniffs and eats out our hands, white one (this is after a year btw!) is still really timid, but by and large I'd say they're generally really happy, active, love their grub etc. You only have to touch the dark one and she twitches like you've applied electrodes, cow kicks, squeaks and carries on! But she's the most interactive in the cage - fickle, that's what it is.