# How to calm her down to trim nails?



## Jozep (Jan 19, 2019)

Hello guys, i got a 6 month hedgehog and had no big problems with her personality, the bonding process is ok i guess, but it is time to trim her nails and i have a problem. For the last week i figured i can let her run around in the room where i keep her since she stoped pooping on everything a while ago, she is wery curious and likes to sniff around, but now when i pull her out of the cage i cant get her calm enough to try to trim the nails for the first time.
She is like "i got to get out of here and go sniff stuff and there is nothing that can stop me"!
She is just too freakin active, before i had a minute after getting her out when i tried to grab her leg to get her used to it and it was ok, but now shes like NOPE, i got to go, have no time for your s...t . 

Any tips on getting her calm enough to have few seconds to trim a nail?


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## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

Dont let her wake up😂
No okay joking aside
What are your using to cut her nails ?? I found that nail clippers work best.

Second is she food orientated ?? You could bribe her with food to get her nails clipped !!

Shallow 1-2 inch foot baths this gets the nails wet making them softer so easier to cut, also means they dont move as much - this doesnt work with all hogs as a lot hate water so if yours hate water dont try it.

As shes so active I cant see her as being much of a cuddly hog, so you could try hold her to your chest but its possible it wont work.

You could get a sieve this lets the nails poke out making it easy to cut. Or letting their legs dangle through fingers.

If you only get 1 nail or one foot done a day thats good. Its not common to get more.


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## Emc (Nov 18, 2018)

I always cut Coco's nails after I wake her from her nap; if I let her wake up by herself, she's impossible to restrain because she just wants to run everywhere. Whereas if she's super sleepy, she's more tired (and probably confused about why I woke her up) and is far more likely to let me trim her nails.

I also often just let her go ham on a small plate of insects (within reason, of course). She's too fixated on eating that she doesn't care when I pick up her feet to trim her nails, so it makes my life a heck ton easier haha. I use a small animal nail clippers, and I've found theyre easier for me to work vs something like a clippers intended for humans.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Practice. Pick her up daily and practice nail trimming. Hold her like you would to trim nails. Hold her feet. Rub her nails. Don't actually trim them, but rub each foot around her nails. Get her used to the idea. It also helps you get used to how to handle a very wiggly hedgehog if you are new to such a creature. You'll learn to feel her movements, and how to counteract them. 

Keep in mind she's young and she's new to you. She is uncertain of what is going on and her response is to wiggle wiggle wiggle to get away. Some are always very wiggly, but many will learn to trust and will get less wiggly, you'll also get faster at nail trimming as well. The other benefit is, many hate having their nails done, if you do this routinely they will learn that being held that way doesn't always end with the dreaded nail clippers and be less afraid.


It doesn't always go quickly, but I've had plenty of wigglers and quill balls that learned to have their nails trimmed with a massive reduction in fight from them by simply taking a couple of minutes to hold them each night and rubbing their toes.


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## Jozep (Jan 19, 2019)

OMG i got 3 worst nail, i guess...

She is not so cuddly, she sleeps on my belly when i have her with me and im reading a book but when im trying to handle her she goes full hedgehoghero mode, when i had her before fresh out of the cage i tried to learn her to get used to grabbing her leg and doing the move like trimming nails and for about 10 seconds i had it. The problem was the last week when i started to let her move around the room, she wants to go exploring and no nail trimming.
BTW: food does not help

This is going to be a long process, but at least something was achieved today....


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## Brooke Lancelot (Jan 30, 2019)

Lmao if I try holding my boy's feet, he bites me or goes to bite me.


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## Ria (Aug 30, 2018)

A lot of people do their nails over a week.
Food changes nothing with Holly too. So I tend to let her lay on me like normal then when she sticks out one foot I gently play with it. And then I clip the worst nail first.
Thing with Holly is she loves her feet being played with. But if she sees the clippers its game over


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Brooke Lancelot said:


> Lmao if I try holding my boy's feet, he bites me or goes to bite me.


 I have dealt with many biters over the years. I have one now that when she gets upset or mad she tries to bite. She hates being held to have her nails done. She came to me in late October. We have worked on eliminating that behavior. She gets her feet rubbed routinely, I don't bother with daily anymore as she has gone from having a biting episode every time I touched her feet to its a rare occasion.


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## Askeptosaurus (Nov 10, 2015)

Try having a partner help. Me and the gf have a system where I hold the critter and let them wander around my hands while we wait for a good dangled foot and then she swoops in to snip it. I use a Kaytee Pro Nail trimmer for small animals while doing this by the way, it's easier to get at the nails from multiple angles as opposed to a regular human nail clipper.


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## PopplePopcorn (Jan 12, 2019)

I use regular baby finger nail cutters for the front as I can usually have my hedgehog Popple in my hand (holding him similar to holding a glass or water bottle) with his front claws griping on my fingers. While he is munching on a worm, I can clip from underneath my hand. He is not a big fan of seeing giant clippers coming head on so coming from beneath works for me. For the back, I use a good quality cuticle cutter. I can angle them more and because of the longer reach, I can cut back nails quickly when they stick though my fingers!


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