Re: How to cut hamster’s nails?
Hamster really don’t need their nail cut and hamster will often chew their own nails down to the correct length. What is the reason you feel your hamster needs their nails cut? As there is the rare occasion which some hamster do requires a few of the nails to be cut.
From my experience it isn’t easy and I wouldn’t advise doing if you aren’t confident. I’ve had to cut a few of my hamster nails but it only as their nails were getting quite overgrown and affecting their toe placement and would likely soon cause issues. I only attempted it as I have experience cutting pets nail due to my job so I’m fairly comfortable in doing so. I will only attempt to trim their nail if the hamster if they can be held still in my hand. If they are wriggly or they keep moving their feet i will never attempt to trim a nail as it isn’t worth the risk of causing injury. If they need multiple nails trimmed I will do one a time unless they super relaxed. You have to ensure you don’t cut into the quick as that is very painful and will bleed a lot and advisable to have corn starch/flour available to help stop bleeding. I haven’t had issue cutting my hamster nails but still isn’t something I feel comfortable advising someone else to do as it very easy to cause injury - cut their quick or even their toe:
If you feel your hamster is in need of a nail trim it would be best to consult a vet and they can preform the nail trim under some gas anaesthetics but some vet won’t attempt it unless they feel a nail trim is necessary.
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Popcorn Syrian
Owning Hamsters since Nov 2007
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