Robo Nail Trim: Suffocating or Sleeping?

dumplingthedwarf · 02-13-2018, 10:33 PM

Hi, everyone!

Today was the first day that I trimmed my Robo's - Dumpling - nails on my own. None of the natural methods worked for her and the vet has gotten really expensive (I pay $21 every visit monthly), so I resolved to do it myself. I squeezed her the same way that the hamster below is shown. At first, she kind of squirmed a bit, so I left her alone as to not stress her out. After a few minutes, I tried again and was successful in immobilizing her in that way.
She was breathing fine throughout the whole process and I managed to clip all her nails in one go. However, once I was done, I noticed that her eyes started to close (she was still breathing normally like before). I wasn't squeezing her firmly either, just enough so she wouldn't jump off. I'm really scared because it was so weird. I put her down on my palm and she was just still for a few seconds until I put her back in her bin cage. She, of course, went into her nest and came out after a few minutes, so I offered her a treat to which she gladly accepted. Now I'm worried about doing it again because I don't know if I suffocated her or she was just genuinely starting to fall asleep. Has this happened to anyone else? Am I doing anything wrong? Please let me know. I don't wanna hurt her at all. I almost cried after too

PS: I added another picture of Dumpling at the vet when the doctor did the same squeezing method that I did.

racinghamster · 02-15-2018, 07:59 AM

Hi dumplingthedwarf. Well done on getting the claws clipped and I can imagine how stressed you were attempting this as it can be a hairy experience with a robo as they are such fast little creatures! Might be worth just doing a few claws at a time next time? Rather than holding Dumpling for too long? Look for the longest claws and only clip those rather than trying to do all of them at the one time?

Is Dumpling an older robo, hence the longer nails due to inactivity? Scruffing them is fine, but it may be that holding them in such a way for a lengthy time is not the best idea, so my approach would be little and when required and only when I noticed a claw or two needing attention.

Pebbles82 · 02-15-2018, 08:06 AM

RH has said it all really

You probably know about being careful not to cut the quick of the nails - there are a number of diagrams on the internet about the angle of cut and how little to take off to avoid this. I'm sure it was a bit stressful for her. Or she may have fallen asleep - or faked being dead lol in the hope you'd let go. Agree with maybe just doing one or two nails for a short period next time

dumplingthedwarf · 02-15-2018, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racinghamster

Hi dumplingthedwarf. Well done on getting the claws clipped and I can imagine how stressed you were attempting this as it can be a hairy experience with a robo as they are such fast little creatures! Might be worth just doing a few claws at a time next time? Rather than holding Dumpling for too long? Look for the longest claws and only clip those rather than trying to do all of them at the one time?

Is Dumpling an older robo, hence the longer nails due to inactivity? Scruffing them is fine, but it may be that holding them in such a way for a lengthy time is not the best idea, so my approach would be little and when required and only when I noticed a claw or two needing attention.

Yeah, I think I should've done it little by little. I just didn't want to keep putting her through all the stress of squeezing multiple times, so I just clipped all of them at once

She's only around 5 months old, so she's still very young, but it seems she can't get her nails trim on her own. I even have several wooden toys and a sand bath for her! She happily scratches them all the time, but they still get so long! I'm scared to scruff her, too, so I think I'll just do it little by little even if it means clipping them on different days. Thanks so much for your input!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

RH has said it all really

You probably know about being careful not to cut the quick of the nails - there are a number of diagrams on the internet about the angle of cut and how little to take off to avoid this. I'm sure it was a bit stressful for her. Or she may have fallen asleep - or faked being dead lol in the hope you'd let go. Agree with maybe just doing one or two nails for a short period next time

Yup, I know about the quick all too well by now haha. I volunteer at a vet clinic and I know how rough it can be when the vet techs accidentally clip too much. Thank god hammy nails are clear so it's so much easier to see where the quick starts! I love the idea that she might've just faked being dead, though. So dramatic and so like something she would do just to get out of getting her manicure haha. Although, I've seen YouTube videos of the same technique on other dwarf hamster species and they all look like they're falling asleep too! So weird. Nonetheless, thank you so much for your advice, as well. I'll definitely clip her nails little at a time. Maybe one paw a day?

racinghamster · 02-16-2018, 02:10 AM

Yes, checking their length and clipping the ones that look as if they are growing faster than the rest and then just check them periodically. This is usually seen more in older hamsters though and not so much the younger ones who are more active, but it`s worth keeping an eye on all the same.

Pebbles82 · 02-16-2018, 08:17 AM

Just wanted to say hello and nice to see you to RH! You haven't been on for a while!

Yes I do think they are cheeky enough to trick you by faking dead lol. After all they are a prey species and have to have all kinds of tricks up their sleeves. But it's more likely she just gave up struggling and dozed off.

racinghamster · 02-17-2018, 02:12 AM

Thanks Serendipity. Don`t have any small pets at the moment sadly but will pop in now and then to catch up and help where I can. x