# Cut Nails too short, blood



## tut

I was cutting Henry's nails for the first time tonight. I was in the middle of cutting one on his front paw when all of the sudden he moved and his paw started bleeding. I checked his paw, and it is only one nail that has blood coming from it. What should I do? Should I expect him not to run tonight? Should I put anything on the cut to help it heal? HELP.


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## SnufflePuff

Styptic powder (bought at any pet store or vet clinic) or corn starch pressed directly on the nail stops the bleeding.

If you don't have either get some flour (regular old flour) and put it in a dish and put your hedgehogs foot in it.

They usually stop bleeding on their own, but you don't want them to lose too much blood (they are tiny creatures) so put some flour or corn starch or styptic powder on it.

The wheel can be left in that's fine. Unless you really cut the whole nail off, don't worry about it, it will heal.

And just leave the hedgehog alone for a bit too. Stress = higher blood pressure = more bleeding. So the calmer the hedgehog is, the sooner the bleeding stops.


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## tut

Thank you so much for the quick response, it took you only three min. I didn't have anything but flour, so I dunked his foot in it. I will monitor it for the next few days, thanks again!


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## MissC

How's Henry's toe?

The first time I got Snarf's quick was in the bath...holy jeez - looked like an awful lot of blood. Luckily, I keep a teeny container of cornstarch with his clippers.

Are you the same tut who is on Hedgehog World's forum? I just joined there. :mrgreen:


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## tut

MissC said:


> How's Henry's toe?
> 
> The first time I got Snarf's quick was in the bath...holy jeez - looked like an awful lot of blood. Luckily, I keep a teeny container of cornstarch with his clippers.


Ichecked on it today, and yes, it was in the bath, it doesn't look nearly as bad as yesterday though.



MissC said:


> Are you the same tut who is on Hedgehog World's forum? I just joined there. :mrgreen:


Ys Iam, but Ilike this forum better(shh..don't tell). How did u know, I haven't posted anything yet on there?


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## adamtobin

*My hedgehog won't stop bleeding*



tut said:


> Ichecked on it today, and yes, it was in the bath, it doesn't look nearly as bad as yesterday though.
> 
> Ys Iam, but Ilike this forum better(shh..don't tell). How did u know, I haven't posted anything yet on there?


It's been like an hour an it won't stop bleeding , I put her in a bowl a flour an tried holding an i know i'm stressing her out, should i just leave her alone, how often should i check on her? Help!!!!


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## Sochi's Mom

Hello! I'm very new at hedgehog mommyhood and this terrible thing happened to Sochi (my 3.5 month old hedgie) and I about over an hour ago. The bleeding stopped after the cornstarch then started a bit again after she scratched with that foot. I cut pretty deep so I'm very worried. It stopped again now but not sure if it's nothing to
worry about. I really lover this forum btw and am so thankful for it!😁


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## gracefulchaos01

Sochi's Mom said:


> Hello! I'm very new at hedgehog mommyhood and this terrible thing happened to Sochi (my 3.5 month old hedgie) and I about over an hour ago. The bleeding stopped after the cornstarch then started a bit again after she scratched with that foot. I cut pretty deep so I'm very worried. It stopped again now but not sure if it's nothing to
> worry about. I really lover this forum btw and am so thankful for it!&#128513;


Cutting the quick of the nail while giving your hedgie a pedicure is just something that is going to happen. It feels worse for us as caregivers than it does for the hedgie, though your hedgie may look at you funny for a couple of days. I always have a bowl of cornstarch on hand when it is time to start the nail cutting and all to the good if it doesn't need to get used that day. 
When you trim, just look for the sweet spot mid nail and aim for that if you can. I know our little ones don't make it easy on us though, so keep the cornstarch ready, just in case


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## Sochi's Mom

Thank you for the info and reassurance gracefulchaos01! I really hope I didn't do any permanent damage since it's cut deeper than I've ever gone. Good news though is that it hasn't bled out or anything for almost 17 hours but Sochi seems like she' s not eating as much. She's eaten 3 superworms and about half a teaspoon of kitten kibble today but she's capable of more. I guess ill keep a vigilant watch on her to make sure there aren't anymore adverse effects or an infection .


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## lydi

Would baby powder work also?


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## Shyhedgie

I was cutting my hedgies nails today when I went to clip a back one and she freaked out so I stopped before I cut the whole nail because I thought I saw blood. It doesn't seem to be activity bleeding and she seems find now... What do I do??


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## twobytwopets

There are a couple things you can do when your hedgie get a nail cut a bit too short. 
This is pulled from this website. http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/resourcesgeneral/a/nailtrim.htm

No matter how careful you are, you will likely accidentally hit a nail quick and cause some bleeding at some point. Don't panic. Here are some things that will stop the bleeding:

a commercial product such as Kwik-Stop (a powder) or any styptic powder. These sting but are highly effective. Take a pinch of powder and press onto the tip of the affected nail after wiping away the blood.
cornstarch or flour can also be used in a similar manner
you can press the affected nail into a bar of mild soap
for minor problems, simply applying pressure to the tip of the nail may be effective
No matter which method you use, make sure the bleeding has stopped before placing the animal back in its cage, or leaving the animal unattended.
While nail trims sometimes seem very daunting, especially on a nervous and jumpy pet, doing nail trims is really not difficult and will become much easier if they are done regularly as part of your pets' maintenance.
for minor problems, simply applying pressure to the tip of the nail may be effective
No matter which method you use, make sure the bleeding has stopped before placing the animal back in its cage, or leaving the animal unattended.
While nail trims sometimes seem very daunting, especially on a nervous and jumpy pet, doing nail trims is really not difficult and will become much easier if they are done regularly as part of your pets' maintenance.​
Syptic powder works great. So does corn starch. Soap, I wouldn't do that unless I had no other choice. With my larger birds that was a great method but for smaller ones it didn't alway work because their nails were so thin and there wasn't much to their feet. Hedgehog nails and feet are much smaller than any parrot nails I was trimming.


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## Kalandra

Personally, I'd go with cornstarch or flour if you think you need it. Otherwise a little pressure applied to the nail often stops the bleeding. I knew a hedgehog who became a biter because their owner used kwik-stop on their nail, even years later she would bite if you touched her feet.


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## twobytwopets

We always used corn starch. It's something we always have on hand, it has many properties and I try and be frugal. 
I noticed the article mentioned that it could burn some, that in itself makes me feel better about corn starch or a bit of pressure.


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## Kalandra

twobytwopets said:


> I noticed the article mentioned that it could burn some, that in itself makes me feel better about corn starch or a bit of pressure.


Stypic does burn. To be honest, I find it just hurts. With as much as many of our quilled ones hate having their feet touched, its just not worth the risk of having them associate that additional pain with nail clipping or for that matter you, as you did it to them, when there is a pretty darn good substitute in many kitchens already.


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## Just.penny

I was cutting Penny's nails just now and she moved and sure enough it cut her I immediately filled the sink with cold water (soap free) to flush it out I left her in the water for about 1 to 2 minutes then I got a container and stuck her foot in old flour penny immediately stopped bleeding after I flushed it with water but,I used the flour too just to be safe I have been watching it for about 30 minutes now and she stopped bleeding maybe next time stick your hedgehog in water first it helped for penny


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## Snoopy's Dad

*Cut my hedgie's nail too deep*

I accidentally cut the hedgie's nail to deep and it start bleeding but after I gave a little pressure it stopped. But I think that the nail is kindda swell right now. Should I give him something?


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## Marco

So this happened to us last night. Thanks to this thread we treated the bleeding with corn starch and removed his wheel. The bleeding stopped we went to bed and he stayed in his house most of the night. 

In the morning I found bloody foot prints all around the cage and a small blood soaked stain in his bed... so it started again.

I replaced his bedding and he seems to be his usual crabby self when I wake up. Other than trying to keep the wound clean with daily foot baths, I guess that’s all we can do. I want 24 hrs before I put his wheel back. All we need is him running for hours through his own bowl movements.


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## SquirtleSquirt

Please check the date of the thread before posting!


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## Marco

Why create a new thread? I’m not replying to anyone above I’m saying their posts were helpful.


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## Snuffle

Marco said:


> Why create a new thread? I'm not replying to anyone above I'm saying their posts were helpful.


I really don't understand that rule on Internet forums either. Why have a thousand topics on the same thing? What's the reasoning behind it? (Serious question, not trying to be smart or anything.)


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## nikki

This thread was started in 2011 and no one has posted on it since 2014. Please don't post on old threads and if you have a question the you need to start your own thread.


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## Camille H

*hedgehog bleeding*

my hedgehog started bleeding after i cut his nails but I cant apply any powder or anything because he curled up into a ball. what should I do? please help.


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## Camille H

*hedgehog bleeding*

my hedgehog started bleeding today after i cut his nails, he wont allow me to apply any cornstarch because he's all curled up into a ball. what should I do? Please help.


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## Spiky_Floof<3

I put my hedgehog on a plate that has cornstarch on it. They are on a flat surface so they will eventually uncurl and walk around


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