Midnight's Medical Topic

[AviN4]

As I was cutting Midnight's toenails today, I found that one of his rear toenails was split. Should I be concerned? Is it possible he's in pain? What course of action should I take? Should I bring him to a vet?

I took some photos. I had difficulty getting the nail into focus, but hopefully they are sufficient.

Here is one photo:



And some others:

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipM ... R6UVlmeDRn

Thank you!

[Lynx]

So long as there is no bleeding and are no signs of infection, your guinea pig should be okay. How old is Midnight? Older guinea pigs' nails can get weird. You might want to review his diet if you are concerned.
www.guinealynx.info/diet.html

Note that this can be Midnight's medical topic. Post all questions about him here.

[AviN4]

Thanks so much for the helpful reply, Lynx! If I keep trimming small amounts, should I expect a healthy nail to eventually replace the split one?

I don't know how old Midnight is. I adopted him and his brother Moon from a shelter 6 months ago. They didn't know how old they were, and just documented them as "adults."

I think their diets are good, though I imagine their diets were worse before I adopted them. I typically feed them the following each day. (These are the combined amounts for both piggies.)

* Unlimited Oxbow oat hay. (I'm avoiding timothy and orchard because I have grass allergies.)
* Unlimited water. (Of course.)
* 1/4 cup of KMS timothy pellets.
* 2 cups of green leaf lettuce.
* 1/4 red or green bell pepper. (Just to make sure they get enough Vitamin C.)

[Sef]

If there's any way to file it with an emery board with a fairly fine grit, I'd look for any sharp edges that could get caught on something and make it split more. It *should* gradually grow out, but do keep an eye out, as Lynx stated, or any signs of redness/swelling/infection.

[Kimera]

It might be easier to secure the split nail with glue until it grows back, than to trim it to prevent catching on the bedding.

[Lynx]

Good points! If diet had anything to do with it, it may grow out better. When you clip, try to leave as smooth a nail tip as possible. Filing should help. Glue is an interesting idea!

[AviN4]

Thanks everyone for all your helpful advice! I filed the nail a bit with an emery board today, so hopefully that reduces the risk of problems. I'll be sure to continue doing that after each time I cut his nails.

I don't trust my ability to properly apply glue and I'm concerned I about making things worse, so I'll hold off on that for now.

Would it make sense to cut the nail more often to try to get the split part removed sooner? If so, what's the minimal safe interval between nail cuts to avoid bleeding? I cut just the tip off each time.

[Sef]

I think just cutting a little at a time should be fine. How far up the nail is the split? Does it go all the way up to the toe?

[Lynx]

Some tips on this page:
https://www.guinealynx.info/nails.html

[AviN4]

self1268, It doesn't look like it's split up to the toe but it's hard to tell with his tiny black feet.

[Sef]

It looks like his other nails on that foot are normal and healthy, so maybe he just snagged it on something. Hopefully it will grow out and be okay, but some guinea pig's nails do get more brittle or malformed as they get older. You'll just want to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get infected.

[AviN4]

I trimmed Midnight's nail weekly for a few weeks and then went back to monthly. After a few months, it's looking mostly better. I took him to the vet to confirm and the vet said it looks fine. Thanks everyone for your help. I'll be posting next about an eye problem which prompted the vet visit.