Long nails, any ideas?

hamsterbasil · 10-14-2018, 01:35 PM

So Basil is getting older now and is a lot less active than he used to be. about 2 weeks ago I noticed that he was getting very long nails so I took him to get them trimmed by the vets (I am too nervous to do it myself) but now they have grown back again and are really long. I am not sure what to do because I can't keep taking him to the vets as it costs money and is stressful for him. I have read online that you can use sandpaper but I am worried about that hurting his little feet. I have a sand bath in his cage but that obviously isn't doing the job. Any ideas anyone?
Thanks in advance.

mangoandmimi · 10-14-2018, 01:58 PM

You'll need to put enough things in the cage to keep nails down between trims. One of the best things to use is a rough granite slab - if you are in the UK you can get them off Rodipet. Put one or two of these on a shelf, preferably where the water bottle or food dish is. You could also offer a larger area of sand or find some big rocks/pebbles to put in the cage. Just make sure they're supported or in an area with very shallow bedding. Don't use sandpaper, it won't do much for the nails and will be much too rough on his feet.

hamsterbasil · 10-15-2018, 03:20 AM

I have a pebble under his water bottle, but maybe I will put a few more in. He has a huge cage so there is room to put more in. I will buy some of the rough granite too. Thanks!

cypher · 10-15-2018, 07:50 AM

What kind of pebbles do you have? If it's smooth then it's no use for anything really, the granite tiles are great, you can also use ceramic wall tiles upside down as they are usually a bit rough on the back.

hamsterbasil · 10-15-2018, 11:17 AM

Its a big smooth, pebble so I guess it isn't doing anything. I will definitely take on your advice and buy some granite or tile. It is so weird because I have never had a problem with his nails until really recently, and all 3 of my previous hamsters never had this problem. Thanks everyone!

Pebbles82 · 10-16-2018, 04:01 AM

Also terracotta plant pot bases

But the granite tiles are best

They only cost about £3 but unfortunately the postage from Rodipet (Germany) is about £8. Having said that it is a flat £8 whether you buy one thing or a few things.

cypher · 10-16-2018, 05:35 AM

Terracotta flower pots can work well too, forgot about those! if you put some substrate in them (lying on the side) & hide food or treats they will dig around looking for them which can help wear the nails down.
If he's less active it may be that running in his wheel was helping to keep them down before & that isn't happening now.
Rodipet delivery charges went down a while ago btw, about £3.50 now.

Oobee35 · 10-16-2018, 08:07 AM

You will need things that your hamster can scratch their nails on to wear them down. Things such as scratchy rocks such as granite slabs are great. You can get them from amazon I think and a few other places. You can also sanitize rocks from your garden if all else fails. You can google it and ErinsAnimals did a video on it. Hope this helped!