# Nail clipping success!



## Free2Dream (Aug 10, 2009)

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share that I had nail clipping success with Annabelle. She's always resisted having me clip her nails, so I used to have the vet do it with (very) mild sedative whenever we had to go in for antibiotics. But now that she is more comfortable with me (and feeling a lot better), I was able to snip her back nails tonight. She struggled and huffed a bit, but she's going to feel so much better running on her wheel tonight.  Now the new girl, Lily, is a whole 'nother story... I won't be able to do her nails for quite a while yet. (She's such a quill ball, lol.) 

That's all, I just wanted to share. We are very pleased with ourselves.


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## Amy1024 (Mar 18, 2010)

That's good to hear! I actually just helped my Hershi take a shower and clipped her nails with success as well!


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

Congrats 

If you can get Lily to let you clip her nails too, that's fantastic. If not and if she really needs them done, you can always scruff her.

Technicians at my vet taught me how to do it, because that's how they examine my hedgies when they are being difficult (rather than risking using anaesthetic).

I use one hand to scruff, and one hand to clip the nails. You just have to make sure they are supported by your knee, or the ground, so that they aren't just hanging by their scruff (cause that can hurt!).

I use these gloves to scruff (the same ones my vet uses), they're fantastic for grip and the quills don't poke through. The grip itself isn't too abrasive either so you know it's not going to hurt your hedgie, but I only use gloves for scruffing, never for handling. 









http://www.atlasgloveconsumerproducts.com/indexhome.html

If you can get someone to help you, you can also scruff with two hands to completely expose all 4 legs. You just take your two hands under the belly and "peel" the quills back, kind of like "peeling an orange" is what the technicianss told me. I haven't succeeded in doing the 2 hand scruff as of yet, as my girls are very strong and I feel like I'm hurting them even though my vet and the techs keep telling me it doesn't actually hurt them.

The one hand scruff works well for clipping front nails. And the back ones you can usually clip when they are in the bath.  Good luck!


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## Free2Dream (Aug 10, 2009)

Thanks for the advice! How exactly do you scruff a hedgehog? I've always heard of it, but never had the technique really explained to me.  

After working with Annabelle last night, I actually did attempt to trim Lily's nails. She tolerated it surprisingly well, lol. I do have a question though; I encountered something weird, but it's hard to explain. You know how when you have an ear of corn with the husk around it, and as you peel the husk away it's flexible and soft? That's exactly what happened when I tried to clip Lily's nails. The end of the nail was soft and giving and almost filmy. I wasn't actually able to cut it. It was so weird, haha. I was like, "what the heck??" Could poor nutrition account for this? I am currently switching her from the junky commercial hedgie diet to cat food, I'm just doing it slowly because I don't want to upset her tummy.


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

Free2Dream said:


> Thanks for the advice! How exactly do you scruff a hedgehog? I've always heard of it, but never had the technique really explained to me.
> 
> After working with Annabelle last night, I actually did attempt to trim Lily's nails. She tolerated it surprisingly well, lol. I do have a question though; I encountered something weird, but it's hard to explain. You know how when you have an ear of corn with the husk around it, and as you peel the husk away it's flexible and soft? That's exactly what happened when I tried to clip Lily's nails. The end of the nail was soft and giving and almost filmy. I wasn't actually able to cut it. It was so weird, haha. I was like, "what the heck??" Could poor nutrition account for this? I am currently switching her from the junky commercial hedgie diet to cat food, I'm just doing it slowly because I don't want to upset her tummy.


Well it's kinda like scruffing a dog or a cat. You basically just grab the skin on the neck and hold onto it. For me it's just second nature now, because I've had to do it so much when I've been syringe feeding and medicating. But I've heard it's easier if you just let your instincts take over and grab on, rather than thinking too much about it.

The nail thing is very strange. It sounds like maybe she just has very soft nails? Poor nutrition could be a cause if she wasn't getting enough vitamins? I'm not 100% sure on this one. I know that sometimes when I cut my cat's nails with human toe nail clippers, the nails split and peel off like that. Were you using human toe nail clippers? You could try pick up a pair of those small animal nail scissors. They don't split the nail when they cut. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753364

Otherwise, I'm not sure if you can get rid of the soft nails. Feeding her the proper diet now should help prevent anymore damage, but I don't know if nail strength is something your body can repair. I know I used to always have very hard, strong nails and then I got fake acrylic nails 4 years ago and when I got them removed my nails were extremely soft and flimsy. It's been fours years and they are still not returned to their natural hardness, so I'm not sure if animals are the same way.


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