# Nail Trimming: Concerning the Quick



## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

A couple of days ago when I was trimming Petunia's nails, I noticed that on a couple of longer nails, the quick was also quite long, and so I couldn't trim very far. I've heard that the quick will grow to keep up with a long nail, and frequent nail trimming should shrink it back. I even found this diagram:










That's talking about dog nails, but I'm assuming it's generally the same for most mammals.

I'm just curious if anyone has noticed long quicks on their hedgies, and how long does it take to get it to recede? I feel bad that I haven't been keeping her nails shorter.

Also, has anyone ever tried filing their hedgie's nails?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I generally kept Lily's nails a tad on the long side, since it didn't seem to bother her. It also meant I never once clipped the quick on any of her toes (which both of us were glad of!). So don't feel too bad if they're a little on the long side, as long as it's not causing any issues with moving for them, it's not a horrible thing.  As far as I know, that method of moving the quick back is the same for hedgies. I don't think filing would work very well for them though. Their nails are on the soft side, so filing wouldn't be very effective, and I think it's a very rare hedgehog that would sit still for nail filing, especially with needing to hold their paw. Even with the risk of catching the quick, nail clipping would probably still work the best.


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## moxieberry (Nov 30, 2011)

That info about the quick growing longer/shorter according to the nail length itself is really interesting. I had noticed that some of Archimedes' nails seem a little long even when they've been trimmed as close as they can go, whereas some of them are tiny little things that just need the very tip trimmed off. Since hedgehogs walk on the pads of their paws, which is the reason the nails won't wear down very well on their own, the most important thing is that they're kept from curling; if they're a little long, as far as I can tell, it's not really a problem.

For Archimedes, the longer ones are fairly straight; they seem to be the ones that grow fastest, which are the innermost nails (equivalent to human index fingers, in terms of location), so the fact that they grow faster could very easily be related to the quick seeming to be longer. The rest of them are shorter, with the 'middle finger' ones being sort of medium in length and the other two being very small - those are the ones that pretty much start to curl (looking a lot like hooked cat claws) as soon as they grow out, so it's pretty much a matter of snipping off the tip with those.

The only trouble I can think of with longer (straight, not curled) nails is that they would be easier to get caught on things. For Archimedes, those seem to be the ones that will catch a little piece of lint or get a clump of poop underneath them, haha.


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

Thanks for the input. I haven't had any nails curl on me yet, so I guess we're doing okay!


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## katylin1 (Jan 15, 2012)

My daughter and I gave her hedgie, Kohari, her first bath tonight. We let her get tired out from the swimming. I'm not sure if she liked ut or not since there was really nothing to indicate otherwise. 

Anyway, we tried clipping her nails and although daughter was kind of nervous, I was even more so!! Lol...

If one should cut accidentally to the quick, what will the hedgie do or sound like? Dogs nails I'm a pro at... But I know when I cut my dog's quick ... Ouch! I Feel sooo bad!


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## Quinn (Apr 24, 2011)

I've cut Quinn's quick once and I felt terrible. She didnt make a sound and she didnt really do anything. I used flour to clot it and held it between my fingers and she didnt move while I held it. She stayed still until it was done bleeding. She was pretty calm but she wouldnt let me finish the job after that...and I idnt blame her lol.


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## Sar-uh (Sep 6, 2011)

I've nipped the quick a couple of times, and like Quinn said, there was basically no reaction from Petunia. Just get the bleeding to stop and be sure to check on the foot and keep it clean the next few days to make sure it doesn't get infected.


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## katylin1 (Jan 15, 2012)

*Thanks for response!*

Thanks for re-assuring us. I'll let daughter know cuz we were getting really squeamish about hurting her. We once heard on YouTube a hedgie screaming (don't know why) but it was kinda scary.


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## packrat (Oct 23, 2010)

Luckily I never clipped Quilliam's quick. I cut his nails once every 2 or 3 months. I only get one or two paws in before I need a mental break for a day. He stays pretty still sometimes but it's still scary trying so hard not to cut the quick. His front nails don't seem to grow, but his back nails grow for sure.


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## alyssinreality (Jan 18, 2012)

Anyone ever bruised the quick? I've never clipped it but twice now I've gotten to close and started to realize it was on it(or Diggory definitely noticed and squirmed even more!) and then I stop. When I look at it afterwards it has a little red line there(like it's bleeding inside? :/ or just really irritated) and then later it is a little black line that grows out into his nail. 

I feel absolutely terrible when I do it. And I did it tonight. So he got and extra mealie and is now hiding in his denim tunnel which is his favorite, because I feel really bad haha.


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