Nail Care for a Fussy Hedgie?

[Janise103]

I recently adopted a 1 1/2 year old female Hedgie, Mwiba. She won't let me NEAR her teeny tiny feet and I from what I can see, they look like they need a good trimming. I firgured untill she becomes more friendly and lets me clip them, I'll have to put things in her cage that she can wear them down on. I've put two bricks in her cage, and set her water and food on them so she has no choice but to climb on them. Is there any dangers in doing this? Or is it even going to work? Also, is there any other things that may work better?

 

[LexieHeg]

You may want to make sure they are wide enough for her, and low enough to get onto them. If there are cracks or holes that her feet can get stuck in then take them out....its very easy to break their little legs. You also don't want anything so high that she may jump off, again her legs can break. If you can get a slab of ceramic tile or cement, a small one, that will do too or a flat rock. They are lower and less likely to catch their feet on them.

 

[smhufflepuff]

The way hedgie nails grow, she might not benefit from things like bricks. And LexieHog makes a good point about safety concerns.

Here's what I'd do: each night you have her out, work on very calmly (think zen-like state) holding her and gently brushing your fingers up along her feet. At first, don't worry about holding/grasping her feet... just touching is all. Later - maybe days or weeks - try grasping them - don't hold tight. Just finger on one side, thumb on the other - just barely holding a foot and let it go. I'm guessing you can figure out the next steps... eventually, you'll want to just hold her feet like a happy little game even when it's not nail clipping night so she's used to you messing with her feet.

Take it slow and steady - with one caveat: if her nails get to a point where they're curling around, they can hurt her. They'll curl into her soft little feet and puncture her. If you're at that point, or nearing that point, you'll need to intervene more quickly. Let us know if that's what's up and we'll help you out following a different path.

 

[LexieHeg]

Just another note...many vets will nail clip for a low rate. Mine does it for 15.00 and we get a quick check up at the same time. That might help to remove any overgrowing/painful nails while you are teaching her to let you touch her feet too. Just an idea!

 

[charlie]

Bath time is also a good opportunity. Since she is new to you, you'll want to give her some time to adjust but you may have some luck if you put her in an inch of warm wAter. This also helps to soften the nails and makes Them easier to cut. (sorry for any typos, I'm on an iPod with a very slow connection).