Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/03/22 15:56I think that, for me personally, nail clipping has the potential to be the most difficult part of caring for a hedgehog's physical needs.
I DO have experience clipping the nails of dogs and cats, but I've never cared for the nails of a small animal. My parents clipped my gunea pigs' nails and I was too young at the time to digest that "Yes, my baby is screaming bloody murder, but he's just scared and grumpy, NOT hurting", so I didn't watch.
My question, then, is: How difficult can it get? How do you make the process as stress-free for your hedgie as possible? And, of course, how do you hold onto their little feet when all they want to do is pull them away? The delicacy of their limbs is what makes me nervous, much moreso then the danger of quills and teeth!
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dlee
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/03/22 17:33I often clip my hedgehogs nails after a bath when they are soft and easy to clip. When you pick up your hedgehog have the breeder you are getting him from show you how to do it. Let them know before hand that you want to see how it is done so they don't clip his nails before you get there.
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HamorHollow
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/03/22 17:37Generally, if you buy your hedgehog from a breeder, it will be easier to clip their nails (because they are used to it, and generally more social).
I keep meaning to get an article/ pictorial up on nail clipping, but I have been crazy busy lately. I'll try to focus and get it done.Kelly Sosik-Hamor Hamor Hollow Hedgehogs - a New Hampshire breeder, serving Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and any where else hedgehogs are legal. | Do you want to buy a baby Hedgehog? Please fill out out questionnaire. | Hedgehog World - A Community for African Pygmy Hedgehog Owners and Breeders
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BabyBart
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/03/24 18:31Baby Bart got a footie bath on Wednesday........ SIDE NOTE: do they make sneaker or slippers for these guys to keep his feet clean?? He has poopy toes every morning, little stinker!!! I was able to clip his front feet............but now those back one are a different story!!! What is the trick to getting the little want to be John Travolta to stop doing the wiggle dance????
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Kiwisoo
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/03/24 18:59I haven't clipped Oliver's yet and am seriously thinking we may have to go to the vt for this. If you mess with his feet, he rolls up into a ball. Hard to find the toes, then! LOL!
Linda
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HamorHollow
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/03/24 22:02BabyBart wrote: I was able to clip his front feet............but now those back one are a different story!!! What is the trick to getting the little want to be John Travolta to stop doing the wiggle dance????
If you can do the fronts, you can do the backs. The fronts are usually harder to grab.
Just grab a foot and don't let go. He's wiggle, but they are tough little buggers. Just have him secure on a table or your lap; somewhere where he won't fall. Then grab and clip!
Hi Baby Bart! Hope your enjoying NY! Oh, Bart's mom is breeding with Torro, so he'll have half siblings in 35ish days.Kelly Sosik-Hamor Hamor Hollow Hedgehogs - a New Hampshire breeder, serving Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and any where else hedgehogs are legal. | Do you want to buy a baby Hedgehog? Please fill out out questionnaire. | Hedgehog World - A Community for African Pygmy Hedgehog Owners and Breeders
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nannyogg
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/03/25 22:34Another benefit of trimming after a bath is that hedgies are lots less likely to ball up when they're all wet. If I have one that has a nail that looks dire and I just can't get him or her relax enough to let me get it, we do bath and then trim and I can get it without near the trauma to hedgie or me.
Tig
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aka_meerkat
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/03/26 13:15It does make sense to clip nails and clean poopy FEET (left feet out of the original post, lol) at the same time
Post edited by: aka_meerkat, at: 2006/03/26 20:47
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Heinrich
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/04/20 05:37How exactly am I to go about clipping Heinrich's nails? She's tame enough that we can do it, but what should I use and how far up the nail do we cut? Is she like a cat where you only cut the part that looks long? Thanks in advance for the help.
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dzmeadows
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/04/20 06:21Clean nails are fairly easy (usually) to see the "quick" in the nail.... this is the pinkish area. Don't clip that. Just clip the white part that is extending from the pink, and you should be good. What to use... well.... what do you like best? Human baby nail clippers can be good, I personally love the little scissor style clippers that I think I got in the small bird department. They are little bitty scissors with a hole in between the blades. Becca
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sabrina
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/04/20 22:02Hey everyone I have a question for aka_meerkat, you said that you used to have a guinea pig and that you knew how to clip nails on them could you help me maybe with an e-mail where I can contact you or something because I havent found any good sites on how to get at them to cut the nails. Thanks
PS sorry everyone i know this is not hedgie talk but i have found no other forum like this one its great and i wish someone would make one for guinea pigs.
Bye Sabrina
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LoriL
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/06/21 03:31Well, when I asked Lucy's breeder about nail trimming, she told me that I wouldn't need to do it, but then sold me a cat nail clipper.
Needless to say, I have found that yes indeed I do need to clip Lucy's nails!
I found that the best thing to use are human baby nail trimmers. I tried the cat nail clippers, but they just seemed too big. I can get a good view of the nail with the baby clippers and only clip a bit off.
I end up clipping Lucy's nails every two weeks or so. Maybe it's because I'm afraid I'll take too much off and I don't take enough off so I do it more often? Or is that normal?
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Randashea
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/06/21 05:12I've only had my little one for almost 2 weeks & I am dreading the first nail clipping. All he wants to do is run & he's a hard one to hold on to. Thankfully my baby is a pretty clean hedgehog. He hasn't gotten the "poopy feet" yet so I have had no reason to give him a bath. His nails are starting to look a little long so wish me luck when I try to trim them this weekend.
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dzmeadows
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/06/21 16:21Lets see... Nail Clippers Anonymous? Maybe we should set up a call list so that anyone who is thinking about clipping their hedgehogs nails can have a support person to call to help them evaluate their nail clipping phobias..... *grin* The first couple of times that you do it, it can be rather scary. Once you get the hang of it, it is no big deal. You could always come here for a visit, help me clip hedgehog nails, and go home with lots of experience and more confidence. Becca
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4hedgies
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/06/21 17:20The support person is something I always take advantage of. I have one of my kids help with nail clippings. We use regular people nail clippers. I always bathe them first and then when they are mostly dry I hold them and my kids will clip. Sometimes I can kind of trap a foot between two fingers and sometimes it is up to my kids to take hold of a foot and clip the nails. We don't always get a whole hedgehog finished before we have to take a break because they do get wiggly. I once had a hedgehog that saw the clippers and balled up. She knew what was coming. Even after a dip in the water she would not open up for clippings. It got so bad I had to take her to the vet and he couldn't do it either even with my help. The meant he had to put her out just to clip nails. It was not real great for her to be put out all the time so we managed from that point on the best we could. It is not easy to do nails on some hedgehogs but it is a skill that a person will have to just suck up and learn. Have patients and it will come! I have found over the years that two people make things go much easier. Nancy
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Ellie
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/07/21 17:51What is the best way to hold a Hedgie when clipping her nails? I've had Ellie for 2 weeks now and I'm scared to clip her nails because I don't want her to get grumpy and hate me. Her nails are kinda weird too...the front ones a still short but her back ones go from really shot...to realllly long. It's crazy lol. I've been trying to just touch and hold her feet as practise but everytime I come close she just pulls her foot inside her quills. Do I just have to go for it and make sure her foot stays out? Any advise would help.
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CThogs
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/07/21 18:46Don't feel you have to do it all at once. If you only get a nail or two the first time, just try again later.
Having 2 people is definitely easiest. Also, picking a time when your hedgehog is better able to deal with it can help. Usually when they first wake up in the evening is better than in the morning when they have been up all night.
Getting the foot between 2 fingers is usually easiest with one person. Worst case I have cut nails while they are taking a bath because they will usually not roll up so you can get at the foot
And I've noticed the ones that run on the wheel the most need less nail clipping particularly in the front.
You'll get the hang of it. You could give a mealworm or two afterwards if you think she's mad.Ann Connecticut Hedgehogs
Just yesterday I tried to clip Sonic's nails. Didn't happen. He's soooooo wiggly! I'm going to hire one of my friends to help me this afternoon. *sigh* The things we do for our prickly friends.
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LoriL
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/07/21 20:26I rarely have to clip Lucy's front nails. I always look them over, but they seem to stay pretty short. It's those back ones that grow, and get the poop on them, and just get yucky!
I do manage to clip them every couple of weeks, but it's a pain. She did bite me once too! Naughty-naughty!
I give her a mealworm after I clip her nails-except for the time she bit me. She hasn't bitten me since, so maybe she has made the connection that she will only get the mealworm if she tolerates the nail trimming and doesn't bite.
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Kiwisoo
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/07/21 21:35I managed to do Oliver's front feet but the back feet keep getting tucked under. If anyone has any idea how to get those buggers out for clipping, please let me know. I will only go to the vet as a LAST LAST LAST resort....... Linda
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herbiesmom
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/07/22 00:00Snowball does not let me touch his feet unless he is in the bath water. He has footie baths every few days because his feet get really poopy. Herbie lets me clean his feet daily with unscented baby wipes and although he does not seem to like it, he allows it. Snowball rolls up into a tight ball and draws his feet in. Silly baby, it can't feel good to have poopy feet. LOL. I have not had to trim Herbie's nails yet, they stay pretty short but Snowball (of course it's the hedgie that hates his feet touched) is getting long nails that feel scratchy when he walks on you. I guess I will have to attempt to cut his nails with the next footie bath. Wish me luck.Cyn and Hedgie Boys
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kjandy
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/12/12 23:23I clipped my hedgies back toenails yesterday and it was hard, but definitely do-able. I held him in one hand, with the to-be-trimmed foot out. Used my fingers on that same hand to hold onto his foot, and then quickly trimmed the toes one at a time. I do the same thing with my cats, except I towel the cats and put them between my knees to prevent escape and undue clawing.
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Julie Pierce
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/12/13 01:50Cutting nails is real tough unless you have a cooperative hedgie. I have tried a few different ways, cutting them while they are in water is pretty successful as they cant really stay balled up under water. Another way is to hold them so their legs kind of dangle (or better yet have someone hold him like that) and then casually clip them. Good luck.Julie Pierce Pierce's Pogs http://www.piercespogs.com
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TCSKelly
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Re:Nail clipping: how bad can it get? - 2006/12/13 17:28The only toes that seem to always need cut are those 2 on each back foot. Anyone else share this idea? I just don't really see the point in cutting the rest.
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