Guinea pig nails

Question
I am a classroom teacher who just inherited a guinea pig.  It's nails are over an inch long and curly.  Should we cut them?  If so, how?
Thanks for the help.

Answer
Hello Evan,

Congratulations on your new piggy. Yes, they need to be cut. Dog or cat nail clippers work best. I use dog nail clippers myself because I also have 2 dogs and I am most comfortable using them. Hold your piggy in your lap. I flip mine over on their backs, but most piggies, unless taught, won't typically stand for this. This is the easiest way in my opinion and it's not too hard to teach them. Just once or twice a day flip him onto his back and hold him there until he stops struggling, then immediately let him up and give him a treat. Gradually increase the time he has to stay flipped over and mess with his paws and check his teeth. It usually doesn't take long for them to not mind being on their backs and being still enough to clip all their nails. Just don't forget the treat. After all he deserves a reward for being so good. Until you get him to lie still on his back, or if you'd rather not take the trouble to teach him, he can be propped up against your stomach with his feet pointing away. Hold each foot still and securely while you clip. If you need someone to help you by holding him while one of you clips, that's fine too. If his nails are light, you should be able to see the little pink quick inside them. Clip down close to it but be careful not to cut it. If his nails are dark, just snip the tips off once a week until they are a good length. The quick will naturally draw back a bit from the tips (as it will also grow longer if the nails get long) so if you just snip the tips off every week, you should be able to avoid blood loss. Just to be safe, have some quick stop or corn starch nearby to stop the bleeding if a quick does get clipped. Sometimes a too short nail will bleed alot and other times it will barely bleed at all so you should make sure to have something ready to stop it nearby. They usually forgive very quickly and it will likely bother you more than him. Accidents happen and it's not a total disaster if you do clip one too short, it happens to everybody. You can also take him to a piggy friendly vet and ask for a nail clipping demonstration if you like. Good luck!

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs