I cut my guinea pig!?

Question

I was cutting my pigs nails for the first time and I did her back nails no problem. When I got to her front nails she squirmed just as I was cutting her nail and I caught the pink bit and it started to bleed. I feel really bad! It was only a tiny bit but still... Has anyone else made this mistake? Any tips to help avoid this problem? Thank you!

Answer 1

i was cutting my dogs nails and she pulled away and it bled a little bit. we just made sure to keep the dog calm because she was nervous. and just make sure to be very careful!  

Answer 2

hmmm....well i have seen this happen many times before...it really hurts the poor thing actually because the nerves in the toe go into almost the tip of the nail...and if you cut that it isn't very pleasant...I have seen on TV a sort of sanding device that just sands of the tip and leaves the gentle membrane in tact...but only for cats and dogs...check online for safer methods of nail clipping...i'm sure you'll find whatcha need! ^_^

oh and to treat the pain dont use styptic powder...please use hydrogen perocside! Its a really painless way to stop bleeding and heal wounds...the styptic powder stings REALLY bad...i have had to use it myself...i keep a bottle of hyrdo in my cabinet just in case ^_^

Answer 3

i have done it to my rats that i have had what i found that seemed to work was a nail file they work pretty well make sure it is a strong one otherwise it will break hope this helps you

have a great day!

Answer 4

Well, not to an animal..but I did it to my little sister =/ Yeah, I felt horrible about it. Bodies are made to heal so don't worry too much.

The only tip would have to be taking your time and making sure it's calm while your doing it. Maybe while it's tired? Also, try not to cut to close (just so that it's a manageable length for everyone involved).

Hope that helps!

Answer 5

its ok its happened to me 2, u can have someone else hold her so u can cut the nail without cutting the vein, and petstores sell a powder called kwik stop so that if it happens u apply this powder putting little pressure and it stops it here the website  http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.js...

Answer 6

You have to cut them little by little. When you see the pink, stop just before. If they bleed a little, put some cornstarch on them. That will coagulate the blood and it will stop bleeding.

Answer 7

My dad accidentely did that to my dog.

Don't worry about it though.

It will heal quickly, and just

keep her calm cause she

might be nervous and in shock

from that. good luck:)

Answer 8

That "pink" thing in their nail is called their quick. It's a blood vessel in their nail. I would definitely recommend that you keep styptic powder, which will stop the bleeding right away.

Do not feel bad, it's a mistake that most guinea pig owners make once or twice. If your guinea pig's nails are white, you will be able to see very clearly where the quick is. It's where the dark part of the nail is, and then you will just see the rest is white. If the guinea pig's nails are darker, then it's nearly impossible to see it. I always shine a flashlight behind the nails, and I can then clearly see where the quick is.

You should just cut the very tip of the nail, don't try and cut any more than that, or you're risking cutting into the quick. Also, the more often that you cut your guinea pig's nails, the higher up the quick will get, so that's an advantage. Try and cut your pig's nails every month.

If you let them be for a very long time, then the quick can even come down to the bottom of the nail, to make it virtually impossible for you to cut the guinea pig's nails without making her bleed.

Good luck.