nail trimming

Question
QUESTION: Hi, my guinea pig is VERY squirmy and she needs her nails cut very badly. I have the proper tool but I'm worried about cutting too deep. I can barely pick her up without her viciously wiggling. My mom is convinced that she can do it but I doubt it because my guinea trusts me the most and she still won't let me. I went to the vet to have them do it but they told me to come back later or to do it myself. I just want to know what would be better for me/my guinea, my attempting it or taking her somewhere? And also as a sidenote how should I do it if I decide to do it myself? Thanks :)

ANSWER: I find the easiest way to handle them is to hold the pig on her back with her head tucked between your arm and your body. Then you can stabilize the back feet and clip the nails. You could also try wrapping her in a towel with her back legs loose enough that you can hold tight while one of you clips the nails.

If you cut it to the quick and it bleeds, don't panic. That's a vein not an artery. Dip the nail in some cornstarch and that will help stop the bleeding. If the nails are white you can see the red vein, but if they're black you're going to just guess. Whichever it is don't worry that you're going to cause her irreparable harm.  You will not. The difficult part is having someone hold her still enough to do the job.

For the front feet sometimes it's easier if you just hold her with her front feet sticking out or hanging down, then nip each nail. I had a friend who told me she used to put her pig on a tennis racket. The toenails are then hanging down between the strings and she'd clip them that way.

It takes a little practice, but the big thing is to overcome the fear that you're going to hurt her. You won't.  So just gather up your courage and give it a try.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: That really helped, I'll be trying out those techniques later. I do however have another question. I've had her since April and I be never clipped her nails so the front ones are a little curvy and the back ones are very sharp/long. Is that only caused from lack of nail trimming or something else? And how often should I clip them?

Answer
That's normal for the fronts to be curvy like that.  In the wild guinea pigs are rock dwellers. They live in little holes in rocky areas, so they naturally keep their nails worn down by running over the stone.

You should clip them whenever you see them getting a bit long, which is about every four to six weeks. Sooner if you feel they need it.  I also have a few of my older sows that have the curvy nails and it's probably because they are on soft shavings and hay so there isn't anything to help them keep the nails worn.