Nail Trimming Help

I have a nail trimming wheel but mine won't use it. I have only had my female about three weeks and her nails were getting so bad that she was getting stuck to the inside of the pouch. I had to trim them tonight! What a disaster. She is really mad at me. I got bit more times than I can count. She latched on and wouldn't release her bite for a few seconds. Man did it hurt. She is really upset but at least the tips of her nails are trimmed off. I don't really have anyone to help me with nails so I either have to learn some tricks, get leather gloves or take them to the vet regularly for nail trims. Anyone in the Hampton Virginia area or close by that could teach me how to do it easier? My girl is 2 years old and i have no idea how her previous owner managed to trim her nails. I just ordered the stealth wheel so maybe that one is better.

The best time to trim nails is during their sleepy time in the day hours. Just take the pouch out of the cage...if they wake up, give a treat to occupy them, and trim....quickly <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />. You can always just do two legs/arms at a time also, to avoid stressing them out too much.
Good luck...with time they will get a litte more used to nail trimming time.

Karin

thanks. I have a smaller pouch that I will have to use for nail trimming. I read a bunch of the previous posts on nails and it helped. it was still a tramatic event for both of us. She forgive me this morning though!

See if this helps. I took these pictures while a vet-tech showed his recomended procedure. I still do this no less than three times a year per glider.

thanks! If I can get her to not fight me that would be great!

Nope...you will never get her not to fight you. The key is to hold her gently and firmly. Many times my wife steps in and trims while I hold them down. key word..Gentle.

Gil that is a great step by step.... unfortunately I have not learned the best procedure to try it alone,,, mine definitely will not sleep through trimming…. But I may just try to take another look at the diagrams an see if I can figure it out like that.

i read in some of the other posts about using bonding pouches that have mesh. Give them a treat and clip their nails while they are poking out of the mesh. I'm going to try that!

What I have found that works best for my little ones is to loosly wrap them in a wash rag or bandanna so their head is covered but you can still get to the paw. Having their head covered seems to help them relax. And giving them a wax worm when I finish each foot unless they try to nip me then they don't get the worm. This seems to work very well and though they still wiggle some they very rarly nip at me anymore when befor I wouldn't walk away with anyless the 4 bites.

Okay Gil, I followed the attachment instructions for nail trimming and boy oh boy, what a difference!

I have the WW but the nail trimmer doesn't seem to work really well and I'm afraid if I leave it in too long that their little paw paws will get raw, so this went a lot better than I had expected, thanks a heap for posting that info!
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumb.gif" alt="" />

Well it was nail trim time again because one of willows nails got hung up on the netting of the tent during tent time last night. This time i got her during the day and took a variety of pouches in the bathroom with me to try. I have to use the bathroom so I can see those tiny tips. The pouch that worked the best was a tiny one. I was able to hold a foot out and quickly snip the tips off without too much complaining. I put mikki in the same pouch and he was relatively easy if you don't count all the wiggling. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yelclap.gif" alt="" />

I use my small pouch also. It helps to bring out one hand or foot at a time. I just have to watch out for the nose that tries to follow. They can get in such twisted positions sometimes. A couple of mine have learned to relax and it's over more quickly. In between nail trimmings, I've started holding their hands and feet and gently rubbing them. I think that's helped also.

My friends recently took in two gliders a family was giving away because their son had gone to college and they didn't have time for them. They were really sweet, but the woman told them one glider wasn't walking very well and hardly walked at all. They were expecting HLP, but what they dealt with was quite a shock. The little female's nails had not been trimmed in years. They had grown in a circle and had punctured the toes -- through. They were like ram's horns. My friends cut the nails back so far that she was bleeding -- but they had to get them out of the skin. He's a vet, so they were able to anesthetize her during the procedure and had things to use to try to stop the bleeding. The next morning they didn't know if she'd be alive or not, but were happy to find her jumping all over her cage. She and her mate are the sweetest gliders they've rescued -- even after such a horrible ordeal.

that's horrible that anyone could let those kinds of things happen but we see it on the news all the time.

Okay, I've looked at Gils pictures of nail trimming, but I have no one to help me and you need 2 pair of hands to acomplish this. How else can I do it alone. I have no pouch with mesh. The WW just doesn't do the trick. They're not real fond of it any how. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. The kids need it done, especially my Gizmo. Thanks guys and girls.

If all fails, try taking them to the Vet and let him (or) her do it for you. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

What is scarey for me is, I took my 3 to the vet's office to get their nails trimmed and none of the vets there would do it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worried2.gif" alt="" /> One said he had accidently cut a glider's toe off in vet school and would not try again (like I would have let him ) and another took Lilo, my mellow little girl, out of the pouch to look at her nails and she ran up his arm and sat on his shoulder. I thought it was sweet, the vet got freaked out and said he didn't know how to trim nails. I am not feeling comfortable with the vet situation here now. There is one vet that was not there that day that told me he would treat gliders, so I may still try him but will keep using the wodent wheel and sandpaper for now.

You can always try the sleepy method (for lack of a better thing to call it) Anyway, when your glider is asleep in the pouch, very gently ease their foot out & clip the tip of the nail off. I can usually manage to get a few nails done before the glider wakes up & pulls their foot away. You can also give them a treat such as a yoggie drop & trim their nails while they are munching, tho it is hard to get their hands since they're holding their goodie.

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking I would probably have to take them to the vet. Hope he can give me a pkg. deal price.
I've never been able to even look in their pouches without them waking up, no matter what time of day.