Bad Piggies Html
Germaine Greenweig
Guinea pig toenails grow constantly. Some grow straighter while others have a tendency to curl and lie to one side. Very young guinea pig's nails are short and sharp. Early clippings help blunt their sharp nails. As a guinea pig ages, their nails become more brittle and grow more irregularly. Guinea pigs kept as pets generally require nail clipping, as their nails do not receive enough wear to keep them at the proper length. Some people put a stone or brick in their pet's cage in the hope that it will wear down the nails so trimming is unnecessary. However, this is generally not effective and all guinea pigs seem to require regular trims. A very few pigs will chew on their hind nails.
For added safety, the author prefers using a human nail clipper (photo above, left). It does not open as wide as the adjacent guillotine style clipper, though some pet owners prefer them. Clipping on a monthly basis will help prevent the quick from advancing too far.
With dark nails, some people claim shining a bright light from underneath will help you locate where the quick is so you can avoid clipping too short. And according to Deborah's vet, cutting top to bottom (like we cut our own nails) is less likely to pinch.
Trimming your piggies nails should start when they are about two months old. Their small size usually dictates the need for a second person - one to hold firmly and one to trim. Little piggie teeth are very sharp so be prepared and perform the procedure in a location where you can put the piggie down quickly to tend to a wound or two!
I recommend a set of baby sized nail clippers to begin (in proportion to tiny little nails) and trim a little bit off each nail in the beginning. Some piggies have clear nails and you will be able to easily see the blood line, others it may not be visible and you will have to guess. As your piggie gets older, you can switch to adult nail clippers or get a set of the scissors nail trimmers available in your local pet store.
If there's a golden rule to piggie nail trimming, it's probably frequency. If the nails are left for extended periods of time without attention, the bloodline advances closer to the tip. However, by trimming the nails more frequently, the bloodline miraculously recedes. Every 30 days seems to be a good average.
In the event you do trim the nail too short and cut through the bloodline, take a deep breath. You haven't mortally wounded your little friend! It's always a good idea to have a "styptic pencil" handy (available in the men's shaving area of your local drug store) or aluminum sulfate power (also from the drug store). Touch the end of the bleeding nail with the pencil or the powder and the bleeding will stop immediately (yes there is a little discomfort to your piggie so be strong).
As your piggie gets older you may stick to the two person format, but many owners have been successful using a nice big piece of carrot or another favorite food to distract piggie while getting the job done. Some even find it best to complete the task over a couple of days.
As a footnote, there are some owners who puts rocks and bricks etc. in their piggies cages to wear down their nails . . . maybe it works, maybe it doesn't, but I don't think anything beats a good nail trimming routine!
Heather, an experienced nail clipper, uses the following holds to clip the nails on her pigs' feet. She places her pointer finger between the front legs and under the chin to prevent the pig from biting.
"Me holding Gus getting ready to trim nails on left hind foot. Gus is about 3 months old and has had this done twice (I think). He's not real comfortable being handled yet, but is a pretty calm pig. His body is up against my stomach and he really can't go anywhere. He would probably be even happier if he had a towel to stand on, because the counter is a little slippery. He is nice and calm here."
"Right front foot. It isn't real obvious from the pictures, but he is well restrained. His body is against my stomach. He can't go backwards because my arm and hand are there and my other hand is in front of him."
"This is Gizmo, my bitey pig. He is high strung and does not take well to handling (but is only 3 months old, so I have hope!). He does not tolerate hands in front of him (he races forward to push me out of the way) or hands over his back or shoulders (he will fling and push until he is out from under my hand). I probably should wear a long sleeve shirt since I have bare skin right by his face if he should become unhappy with me... So far he has handled trims really well. I just have to be a bit more patient about him wiggling!"
Quiet Wren mentions she uses a pretty relaxed hold and uses a human nail clippers. "I've found that the tighter I hold, the more they fight me! So I hold the paw gently and move with them until they relax - then snip! Then repeat. It mostly takes patience."
LS in AK writes, "I've found that a few carefully selected treats shoved in piggy mouths at strategic times (ie when chisel teeth need something more useful to do than aim for my fingers) helps make nail clipping easier, especially when you have a nippy pig.
"I use human nail clippers, too, the larger ones as my piggies have developed thickened back nails as they've aged. The smaller ones are great for babies and young pigs. The opening is narrow enough that it is harder to take off too much at once."
One of the things I've always loved about the English language is its flexibility; its capacity to be moulded and adapted by the people who use it. Of course, it's used in an infinite variety of ways across the globe, but also at a more personal level, everyone has their own idiolect; their own unique range of vocabulary and style of speaking.
Last weekend, we spent a few days away with my parents and in the car on the way back, my boyfriend was commenting on the language we use together as a family; our familiolect, if you like. Every family has their own collection of in-jokes and phrases, picked up over the years. Some come from identifiable sources - my family grew up with Monty Python and various words and phrases (any reference to varieties of cheese or dead parrots, for example) trigger automatic responses. Others have become lost in the mists of time.
We also have our own vocabulary. Within my family, when we're together, we refer to feet as "pigs" or "piggies". It's a usage I'm sure is familiar to many people from the children's rhyme -"This little piggy went to market"- played, of course, using a child's toes and so, by extension, used to mean toes or feet. But we've also always referred to hands as "puds" or "puddies" (to rhyme with 'buddy') going back through my grandmother. For years, I'd presumed it was made up, until I finally came across it in the Oxford English Dictionary:
pud (noun)
a child's word for: the hand or the forefoot of an animal; a little hand or paw. Now rare.
One thing's for sure though - I know exactly where my inability to speak without using my puddies comes from - like mother, like daughter ...Labels: family, idiolect, language
I have been searching for years for others whose family use 'puds' or puddies for children's hands. My grandmother and mother used these terms when I was little (we live in Brisbane, Australia - mostly UK ancestry).
Thanks for posting!
Hi, I'm an utter novice to crochet, but I really love your piggies and want to make a few of them for a gift/project. I think I'm following along pretty well until Round 3. Am I supposed to 2sc,1sc 3 times from the 6 stitches in Round 2? How do I get back down there from the end of the 9 stitches I just made? Thanks!
Hi! This is one of the basics of making amigurumi - increasing. You do 2 stitches in one stitch to increase the number of stitches in the round. So, to go from a round of 6 stitches to one of 9 stitches you need to do 3 increases. Doing 2 sc in one stitch, then 1 sc in the next, do that 3 times and you've increased from 6 to 9 stitches.
I hope that helped, if you're still a bit unsure try searching 'how to make amigurumi' and you'll come across lots of useful tutorials and tips.
I love your little bazaar critters. Do you have any for Christmas? A fast snowman or angel?.. I have made the turtle and rabbit. I love both of those. I am going to start the pig as soon as I finish this comment. I recently purchased your star wars patterns and have made Yoda. You are amazing. Thank you......Thank you!
Thanks, I'm glad you're having fun with the patterns!
A few years ago I did make some tiny snowmen. There's a post here on Craftster with a link to the pattern at the end: =213278.0
I also made some 'cork and crochet' Santas like the knights and gnomes patterns here, but I haven't written up the pattern for that. I can do that if you want me to though.
If you cut and paste the link in my previous coment into your browser it will take you to my thread on Craftster. If you scroll down to the end og the first post, there's a link to the page of the thread with the patterns on, just click on that.
I hope that helps.
Dear Lucy,
I like your crochets very much, especially the litte lucky pig.
I translated your pattern into German and changed it a little bit. Here you can see, how my pigs look like now: -glucksschweinchen.html.
Now I'd like to post my German pattern as a freebie on my blog. Is this all right for you? I would link your blog to my pattern.
I'd be happy if you would agree.
Yours Biggi
This is an adorable pig. I really love the pop stich for the feet. I'm thinking this could very easily be made into a dog. I'd really like to see a dachshund pattern with the popcorn feet...and something different for the ears, but I don't know what. Thanks for sharing your pattern!
I am new to amigurumi and totally love these tiny critters! I've made two other small pigs and have been disappointed with the seperate, fiddly little feet. Your popcorn stitch solution is brilliant in my book! Thank you!