Long nails, not bonded...help us!

Hello everyone! I feel so very bad for my babies' nails, they're getting caught on everything and they MUST be driving them absolutely nuts. They aren't all the way bonded to us yet, especially the babies, and i almost definitely know for a fact that a couple of them (if not all) will be very upset with me if I start pulling out their hands/feet and holding them their let alone start clipping!

Here's a little bit more info about our babies before we go any further..
Matilda and Sweetie (both females) came to us in late October of this year (2018). They both have had a joey each and were about 11 months old when we got them (or so we were told). we're just getting to the point where we can take them out of the cage in their pouches in the morning without them crabbing and also we've just started to be able to pet them and actually have them enjoy it now as of about 2 days ago! (WOO HOO :D) Matilda is my little babe, and Sweetie is my fiance's little babe (we love them both equally tho) but they are both STARTING to get used to BOTH of us and we couldn't be more excited but also sort of impatient, naturally..
Meeko and Kratos (both males) came to us at the end of November (almost exactly one month after the girls) from the same breeder and were both about 12 weeks OOP (we were told). I think Meeko is Matilda's baby, actually <3 The Breeder told us that the both of the boys were cage mates and were doing well BUT on the way home with the boys they started fighting like CRAZY and ended up getting out of their little tupperware thing with holes in it (which we think they were kept in ) and running all over the car almost getting underneath the stearing wheel and the pedals!! ugh, that was stressful for EVERYONE. But, we thought once we got them home they would be okay and we realized very quickly that they were NOT cagemates already and it took a few days for them to calm down and love each other. They are good now, thank the lord, but they are still pretty scared of us. We haven't been able to take them out of the cage even in the pouches more than once before and that one time they were very upset about it...theyve been eating treats out of my hands thru the cage and come out when they hear my voice but they are still scared of my fiance and i really dont think theyd let us trim their nails....I really don't want to stress them out even more than they already have been..the breeder didn't treat them very well (from what we saw when we picked them up, and the lies she told us before we got there..a few things just didn't add up and the poor little guys were VERY aggressive)

SO, with ALL that being said, what can I do to relieve my suggie babies of getting caught on everything and having long nails without taking 10 steps back in our bonding progess?

ANY tips are greatly appreciated.
Thank you for reading and for any replies

Hi! And

Unfortunately, nail trimming is part of it and if handled correctly, won't have much affect to the bonding process... Here is a thread that may help.

Good trimming nails thread

Let me first say , and I want to let you know that I am in no way criticizing you with the rest of my post.

You probably are not aware that gliders are not legal in PA, and your state is one of the strictest when it comes to enforcing that law unlike CA where they say they are they are illegal but don't seem to really care.

Whoever the breeder is that sold you the gliders should have known your location and not sold them to you.

All this being said, you are here, so we will do our best to help you with any questions you may have.

Dawn/Ladymagyver has given you some great advice on trimming nails. It isn't easy the first time, but it is necessary if their nails are getting caught on everything so there is not an injury.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have and we will try to help.

Look for the flashing envelope at the top of the forum by your name. I will send you a private message.

Again, Welcome To GliderCENTRAL.

Hi and Welcome to GliderCENTRAL!

I agree with everything that you have been told before. I am going to post to your post in a different color below.

Hi, and welcome to GC!
I had a pair of gliders prior to the four I have now. I didn't realize I could get a track with sandpaper-The Raptor Wheel is a great one as the Freedom wheel is not currently available. It is over 60.00 but has free shipping right now. The Raptor is available at the "The Pet Glider" on line. Good luck with bonding.

the number one thing I read here and agree with...

They will forgive you.

I have several gliders that don't like nail cutting much, but once it's over they seem fine, even at the start of having them, they seem to walk away and
get over the being angry fast.
I have a video on youtube where we are cutting an albino gliders nails, he is not so happy about it, but we just wrap him up in a fleece towel, I
pull out a leg and my wife starts cutting.

its titled...Cutting a Crabby Sugar Gliders Nails...its 3:26 long. there are several good video's on youtube. but most deal with friendly gliders
the one person cuts. ours is more of two person difficult glider cutting.

Personally, I hate trimming nails. Mine like to make it an ordeal for me. They forgive me as soon as they get their yoggie, but it takes me a little longer to forget them... okay, they just have to look at me like they're the cutest thing out there.

Anyways, what I do to avoid it is let them run on wheels that have squares of sandpaper around the outside. It keeps their nails at a decent length & dull enough it doesn't feel like I'm dealing with medical instruments. Can't get much easier than remembering to switch the paper every couple of weeks.

I
Cuteness aside, I have 1 glider who needs as much wheel time as he can get (Stewie), but hates the sandpaper. He's been like this since day one.

He keeps his nails short due to his hyperactiveness, but they are needle sharp. They are so sharp, he can hook them into my pores of my skin. I plan to put 400gr sandpaper hidden under the cover of his treadmill today to take the very tips off. I hope this works... Right now he's like Spiderman... He can hang on to almost anything... (Even popcorn ceilings!) Then there will be a process of following him around during out of cage time to catch him when his catlike grip is gone...I may need to figure out the thing I've seen in old old movies where the firemen are holding a big trampoline looking thing, and running back and forth below a burning building trying to rescue people who are jumping out of windows... Oh, I have a giant frisbee/ hover disc... I could cover it in fleece....

They have a built-in parachute Should that fail, they bounce, hahaha

Okay... it looks like they bounce since they're moving again so quickly. Except Gwyn who tries to play it off like she meant to do that.

You'd think that! Lol! In my observation, they don't have the agility of a cat where they can twist and turn in time to release their parachute. My ceilings are only 8' high. Now in 80', I think they could manage it.