Are your hamster's nails too long? - Page 4

HamstersAreHardcore · 07-01-2010, 02:18 PM

Love the walnut idea

Francescamice · 12-05-2010, 05:27 AM

Hi
Holly my syrian girlhas quite long nails and i have tried to distract her with food to keep her still so i can clip her nails, but to no avail, i have read about sand baths , can anyone advise how i set one up and do Pets at Home sell the sand that i need for her, and does a sand bath keep the nails trim?? is sand okay for syrian respitory system? sorry to ask so many questions , just wanna be sure , iam doing the right thing. Can a sand paper sheet be placed under her cage bedding ??please advise
thanks
fran

KatiePillow · 12-05-2010, 07:17 AM

You can use normal sand pit sand for a sand bath, it keeps them trim by sanding them down while they dig..
You'd need to thoroughly dry the sand in the oven first, even if it somes 'dry' it's probably wet.
p@h only sell chinchilla DUST, as far as I am aware, chinchilla sand is recommended because it can pass between the hairs of the hamster, but syrians don't tend to use it that way (it's more a dwarf thing)

The sand won't hurt their respiratory system, but chinchilla dust would.. as far as I know sand for a sand pit is fine

tiny soty · 01-20-2011, 07:00 AM

I am glad to know I'm not the only one who is nervous clipping claws! I am taking Frosty to the vets to get his done, its both our first time at a vets so I am nervous especially as Frosty is prone to biteing! :-.

KatiePillow · 01-22-2011, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiny soty

I am glad to know I'm not the only one who is nervous clipping claws! I am taking Frosty to the vets to get his done, its both our first time at a vets so I am nervous especially as Frosty is prone to biteing! :-.

I took my alfie to the vet, and the vet scruffed him, which meant that he couldn't bite her.. it didn't cause him any pain, and it made him stay still

I'm sure it'll be fine.
I took alfies whole cage, to keep him calmer, I don't know what cage you have though.

Good luck ^.^

Becca27 · 01-22-2011, 04:49 PM

i took Harley to the vets but they said that even though his nails were long-ish they werent long enough for them to clip incase they hurt him

ive tried the walnut idea but he gets bored of it really quickly... What about a big rock for him to sit on? Would climbing on it wear his nails down?

debs · 01-31-2011, 05:44 PM

is that the same with dwarfs?

cande8008 · 02-22-2011, 06:33 PM

My little Bo's nails have gotten very long... so I did have to cut them myself. I found that using the special ones from the pet store help because they are curved in a way to help not cut too much off. After a while he got used to me doing it...even if he would only let me do a couple day as part of a routine!

Goliath · 02-23-2011, 10:02 AM

Okay.... you have to know my sweet Goliath to know why i can't cut his nails. He would never ever let me near his paws. Would it cost money to get a vet to do it??? His nails are really long and he has no patience for things to scratch at. Are there any other ways to get their nails trip once they're this long. I'm not at all worried about his teeth because he chews everything.

souffle · 02-23-2011, 10:56 AM

If they are very long they will curl over and dig into his pads and hurt him. They can also damage eyes and ears when they wash.
What we do is get a bit of wire mesh and sit the hammy on it. Put a glass over the hamster so it cannot run about. The nails normally drop through the mesh and if someone hold the hamster up the other pesron can clip the nails protruding through

I would expect a vet to charge yes. Some will give a very short gas anesthetic to get it done if the nails are very bad and disabling the animal.