# Help me with toe nail clipping



## sparkmanr (Aug 29, 2012)

Okay so here it is. I've had for Milo for exactly one week. He's quilling and has had some really dry skin. I decided to give him a bath and then oil him down with something my breeder suggested to me. He also needs his nails clipped. Some of them are pretty long. Bath went ok, No huffing or hissing or anything. Then I wrap him up and dry him off. I try to turn him on his back to clip those nails. Well he hates being on his back so it was fight and he got so mad he was hissing and clicking and making every angry noise possible. Then when I put the nail clippers near him he attached it biting it and doing everything he can to attack it. I put him in his snuggle sack and he was hissing, clicking, digging and really mad. Then he tried to bite my finger. I finally put him in his cage because he got comfy enough to crawl out of the sack and not try and bite me at all. So my questions is, how the heck do I cut his nails? He's still adjusting and he's quilling to boot. I have no clue how to get him to let me cut his nails and I would be patient and just wait but he has decided the nail clippers are out to get him and attacks them. Help me please, I don't know what to do. I have to figure it out because he's got a few nails that need cutting pretty bad. 

Thanks ahead of time for your help. :?


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## ktdid (Aug 7, 2012)

The easiest thing I have found (and I'm not saying it is particularly easy) is to get Fitz when he is calm and comfy. I like to do it after a bath when he has been all cuddled in a towel to get warm for awhile. Then I hold him with his belly flat in the palm of my hand with his feet dangling down between my fingers. I will pull him pretty close to my chest to give him a dark spot to stick his nose between my hand and my body. While he is distracted with hiding his face from the light I just clip the nails on the feet hanging down. I usually have to turn him around once or twice to get the other side. And he sometimes does pull his feet up or move them. The calmer and sleepier he is, the better. If he is sleepy but it is during the day when he doesn't want to be up it is impossible. 

I know some people do it when they are in the bath, but it didn't go that well the one time I tried it. He is a cuddler in general so this is what I have found works. For a more adventurous hedgie who is always moving I dunno if they would sit still long enough.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

I had to do it in the bath. My hedgehog was almost always in a ball when he wasn't on the move so it was pretty much impossible to get his feet unless he was in the bath already. I did it in a small bath bin or the bathroom sink that way there was just enough room for him to stand and he couldn't really get away. (except all the times he tried to climb up my arm or out of the sink/bin) Basically I just fed him some meal worms and then when he was eating I tried to hold a foot and clip. I actually found it easiest to start with his back feet. I'd stand behind him and grab a back foot and pull it up towards me so the foot was stretched out upside down and away from him then I would get the nails as carefully as I could usually he would try to get away and I would have to hold the foot pretty firmly to get the nails. I would do one or two nails before he got to squirmy and then give him another meal worm. 

It took two people to get the front paws I had to pick him up out of the tub, scruff him and my Fiance would clip the front feet. I was never able to scruff him and clip the nails myself and I always had to scruff him while he was in the bath, otherwise he would just ball up and be too spiky for me to get a good grip. 

The other thing we did was get the vet to clip them when Quigley had a checkup, since he was under anesthetic for the check up the vet just clipped them then, or I could clip them right after while he was still groggy.


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## AngelaH (Jul 24, 2012)

I can only get one or two nails in a sitting. Thistle is mostly a cuddler, so when she is laying on me calm and sleepy I steal a nail or two quick. Any more than that is impossible because she catches on to me. Trimming her nails is a week-long process for me. :roll:


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

Mine doesn't like nailclipping either but I scruff him so he can't ball up and that way I find it really easy to clip his nails, it's over within five minutes. I made a video of it once
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_jcYzV7 ... ature=plcp


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## ktdid (Aug 7, 2012)

I tried scruffing Fitz like that after I saw your video. It wasn't horrible, but he would still kick his feet around. I think it might work as he get's older though. He is still is really young.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

Mine did that in the beginning as well, but he figured out soon enough that if he lays still it's way easier for the both of us  he still kicks his legs sometimes.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

ktdid said:


> I tried scruffing Fitz like that after I saw your video. It wasn't horrible, but he would still kick his feet around. I think it might work as he get's older though. He is still is really young.


That is why it took two of us to do Quigley's nails. One to scruff him, and the other to hold his foot still and clip his nails. Sometimes he'd still manage to ball up a little and hide his legs. It was very tricky.


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## Mommatobe (Apr 5, 2012)

Emma first attacked her nail clippers too but only to annoint all over herself immediately after a bath! :| So we have come up with our perfect way which is almost that same as "ktdid's"...I wait till she has cuddled with me for about 20 to 30 minutes after her footbath then she lays flat in my hand with her head buried into my shirt. She also hates being on her back, at first I thought it was cause she was quilling but now that she is older and not quilling she just hates being in that position. Just take it slow, one foot or nail at a time and with time and patience you will get it! Emma would only allow me to clip a nail or two at a time and we have successfully worked up to getting 2 feet done in one night and then the other 2 the night after. Striving for 3 or all 4 but not expecting a miracle. Goodluck and hope everyone's posts help. Remember you have only had him a week so he is still learning to trust you too so the less stressful and more enjoyable you make things the more he will trust you and will eventually associate you with good things. You can also try offering a certain treat he really enjoys after clipping a couple nails so he can associate that treat with having his nails done! Goodluck!


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## Erizo (Jul 25, 2012)

I break the ' horrible big job' down to 'easy small jobs'. My girl gets three foot and belly baths each week. She was resistant at first, didn't like the water, but as part of her regular routine got better and better with it. Mostly she just needs to soak her feet a few minutes and the actual cleaning mostly takes care of itself. She likes getting her quills brushed (I use a toothbrush.), and that occupies her while her feet soak. (I found that more water in the sink, rather than less water, was helpful. She couldn't walk out of it, so didn't try nearly as hard to do so.)

To make sure that her feet are clean, I pick her up and kind of stand her up against my chest and look at her feet. She used to be resistant to having her feet handled, but now tolerates it quite well. She would try to twist and turn and pull her foot away. While inspecting her feet I also inspect her nails. I identify the ones most in need of clipping, and just take a couple of clips. It adds up fast. She only has 14 toes, and 4 of those are small and very slow growing nails. In a couple of weeks or so, all of her nails get clipped. Continuing to take a clip or two after every foot bath means that the nails will never get out of hand again. More importantly, a clip or two after every foot bath makes it a regular part of her routine which takes, literally, only a few seconds. The occasional 'big production' of HAVING to clip nails is unnecessarily difficult and stressful for everybody.


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## sparkmanr (Aug 29, 2012)

Today is the first day I have had a chance to read all the responses. I had a busy crazy weekend. Thanks everybody for your suggestions. I will only doing a couple a night. For now he's still really ticked at me. He huffs and hisses. I did notice a lot of quills in his cage liner and snuggle sack though so I think it's just hurting extra right now. I did attempt to snuggle with him last night for a bit in his snuggle sack on my lap. He hissed at me and kept biting the inside of the sack. Then he was sniffing at me and attached my wedding band, biting at the diamonds sticking up. My 17 year old was insistant I put him back down but I told her that's not what all the experts say. He finally calmed down and started to doze off and thats when I put him back in his cage. He had been in my lap for over an hour at that point. Maybe I can get my daughter to hold him and dangle his legs down while I snip and maybe she can distract him. I'll have to go get him some Meal worms and see if he even likes those. I tried cooked chicken but all he did was sniff it and turn away. So anyway, just wanted to say thanks for the advice and hopefully I can figure out what works best for me and Milo.


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## SnowdropHedgie (Sep 21, 2012)

Hi, here's one last suggestion. What I do with my hedgie is fill the bottom of the sink with warm water (not like a full bath, the water should only cover their feet). That makes my hedgie try to run out of the sink which allows me to grab each little foot and clip the nails. It's a bit hard to clip their nails while they're trying to run but at least they don't ball up which makes it a lot easier. Eventually she gets tired of trying to run and kind of sits in one spot to take a rest and I take advantage of that opportunity to finish clipping the nails. This is the only method that has worked for me. Hopefully it will help. Clipping nails is always a stressful situation for hedgies and owners. lol


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## EnaEna (Aug 23, 2012)

I got Toby used to me touching his feet. I put him on his back when he's in a ball, first. Then when he would stick out his legs to uncurl, I would gently poke them. I eventually got to where I could tug at them gently, like tickling his feet. Now he doesn't care if I lightly grab onto them and quickly cut a few nails. 
I took the little scissor-clippers and wrapped them in a tshirt I wore the night before. When it had a good dose of my sent on it, I stuck a piece of tape around it so he couldn't open it and cut himself. Then I left it in his cage, as if it was a toy. He isn't nervous by it at all anymore~

Sometimes it just takes patience and tactics. lol


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## SukisMom (Jan 31, 2017)

hedgielover said:


> It took two people to get the front paws I had to pick him up out of the tub, scruff him and my Fiance would clip the front feet. I was never able to scruff him and clip the nails myself and I always had to scruff him while he was in the bath, otherwise he would just ball up and be too spiky for me to get a good grip.


How for the love of God do you scruff a hedgie???:shock:


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