Posted By: Ladymagyver
Nail trimming UGH! - 07/05/21 12:31 PM
So Stewie is 3 yrs old and Gracie is 10 months old today...
I usually wait till about noon- 2pm and then we start clipping nails.
Stewie has learned to sit in a rolled down pouch with mealies to eat while I clip his nails. It works till I get down to his last front paw (his left one he holds mealies in to eat), then I get a little nip to let me know he's not happy anymore. That's ok, I just coax him back into the pouch, unroll it, grab the last paw, tuck the top of the pouch around it and continue to clip his nails... He's happy once it's over gets another mealie or two and goes back to bed.
Grace on the other hand is another story. She hates to be held and is slippery as a snake. She also hasn't learned not to bite, and she goes for blood every time...
I made a mesh pouch a few years ago, and it didn't work for any of my gliders until she came along. The basic principle is as they hang on to the sides, their nails go through the mesh and you can take a pair of cuticle scissors and just nip off the tips without fear of getting their tender quick. You can fold the mesh bag to keep them still long enough to do this as well.
At first it was great! She'd go right in, and I had about under 5 minutes to clip all her nails as she tried to find a way back out of the pouch.
Well, she's gotten wise to this... She'll go in the pouch, and while I'm zipping it shut, she'll climb around. But the minute my attention is on her with clippers in hand, she sits sideways and curls up into a ball, and all feet and paws are in tight fists tucked under her chin.
Well at first, it was cute. She's no dummy... But girl, we gotta get this done.
So I wait her out, and turn the pouch this way and that, clipper/scissors at the ready. She doesn't care for the moving around and tries to right herself. Then I'll see a nail or two. One, two, three. (Yay!) Then she goes back to her fetal like position, fists tight... So I turn the bag, and get a few more...
By this time she's getting stressed and biting the bag, so I get a few more clips in and call it done.
I know I didn't get them all, and tomorrow will mark a week and we'll try again. She's not sticking to the fleece in the cage anymore, but she can still climb, hang on to the wheel from the outside and go for her favorite ride.
Will keep you posted on how that goes...
I usually wait till about noon- 2pm and then we start clipping nails.
Stewie has learned to sit in a rolled down pouch with mealies to eat while I clip his nails. It works till I get down to his last front paw (his left one he holds mealies in to eat), then I get a little nip to let me know he's not happy anymore. That's ok, I just coax him back into the pouch, unroll it, grab the last paw, tuck the top of the pouch around it and continue to clip his nails... He's happy once it's over gets another mealie or two and goes back to bed.
Grace on the other hand is another story. She hates to be held and is slippery as a snake. She also hasn't learned not to bite, and she goes for blood every time...
I made a mesh pouch a few years ago, and it didn't work for any of my gliders until she came along. The basic principle is as they hang on to the sides, their nails go through the mesh and you can take a pair of cuticle scissors and just nip off the tips without fear of getting their tender quick. You can fold the mesh bag to keep them still long enough to do this as well.
At first it was great! She'd go right in, and I had about under 5 minutes to clip all her nails as she tried to find a way back out of the pouch.
Well, she's gotten wise to this... She'll go in the pouch, and while I'm zipping it shut, she'll climb around. But the minute my attention is on her with clippers in hand, she sits sideways and curls up into a ball, and all feet and paws are in tight fists tucked under her chin.
Well at first, it was cute. She's no dummy... But girl, we gotta get this done.
So I wait her out, and turn the pouch this way and that, clipper/scissors at the ready. She doesn't care for the moving around and tries to right herself. Then I'll see a nail or two. One, two, three. (Yay!) Then she goes back to her fetal like position, fists tight... So I turn the bag, and get a few more...
By this time she's getting stressed and biting the bag, so I get a few more clips in and call it done.
I know I didn't get them all, and tomorrow will mark a week and we'll try again. She's not sticking to the fleece in the cage anymore, but she can still climb, hang on to the wheel from the outside and go for her favorite ride.
Will keep you posted on how that goes...