So far my most requested video has been
how do you take care of hamster's nails and do
you need to trim them?
For most of the time, hamster nails don't need to be clipped because a majority of hamsters
actually keep them naturally worn down, Syrian hamsters even in fact will chew their own
nails so they tend to be pretty good at keeping them worn down.
I myself have owned hamsters for 11 years now and out of all of those years, I have
only had to clip exactly two hamster nails so that kind of just goes to show it's not
a very common occurrence not something like a rabbit who needs to have their nails trimmed
every couple of months but some hamsters may not wear their nails down as much as others
or they may tend to just have faster-growing nails.
So because eventually, hamster nails can become overgrown if not maintained they will have
to be clipped if that happens.
If not the nails can begin to curl which can cause difficulties when eating as well as
walking and if the nails start to grow too long it can even curl up into the paw pad
causing pain and infection.
The best way to maintain your hamster's nails is through prevention.
This includes providing natural materials in the enclosure that will help keep the hamster's
nails trim so this includes:
rough rocks, these can be found from outside or in your
local craft store, if you are getting rocks from outside just make sure to wash them with
hot soapy water also keep in mind that it needs to be a rough rock a rock like this
one which you can see the shine to it is pretty smooth and it's not going to do much for their
nails compared to a rock like this one that's got texture to it.
Slate tiles are another good option to help a hamster keep their nails trim and you can
put this underneath the water dish or water bottle or where you feed them so then they
are going to be walking on it more often.
Terracotta pots, another natural material that can help your hamster's nails stay trim
especially if the hamster decides to go in there and dig at it which I have seen hamsters
do before.
Different textured accessories like grapevine wood and cork can be very helpful as well
for keeping nails trimmed as you can see cork is very very textured so it has the ability
to help them keep their nails trim especially if they try to dig at it or just climbing
over it can really help and some substrates such as the sand bath and corn cob bedding
can both be great textures for keeping the hamster's nails trim especially when they
decide to dig at it.
Some wheel companies have created sandy tracks for their wheels and this is supposed to help
the small animal keep their nails trimmed while using the wheel but these are not safe
for hamsters due to the way that they naturally walk they walk more on their paw pads so the
sandpaper would cause a lot of friction against the paw pad which can create sores.
A hamster's nails should be relatively short and once they start to curl a bit that is
a sign that they will need to be trimmed and once a hamster's nails get to that point where
they are curling a bit you cannot use preventative methods to wear them back down they are going
to have to be clipped.
There are different nail clippers out there I personally like to choose the baby-sized
nail clippers these are just perfect sized in my opinion and they make it easier to just
clip the hamster's nails but you can also use the scissor-styled nail clippers whatever
works best for you and your hamster.
The method you choose to clip your hamster's nails is all going to come down to your hamster's
personality while some hamsters may be very calm and let you clip them very easily there
may be hamsters who are very temperamental and more difficult to clip.
Before we get on to the methods of clipping your hamster's nails I have to say if you
are uncomfortable at all or unsure on clipping your hamster's nails please see your local
exotic vet and they will clip them for you.
Hamsters do have very tiny paws and even tinier nails and they tend to be very wiggly so we
do have to be very very careful because you don't want to accidentally clip off a toe
or something.
So first we need to know which part of the nail to clip.
A typical hamster nail is going to look something like this and the pink part there we see is
called the quick, the quick is what supplies blood to the nail and if it's accidentally
nicked it can start to bleed and can be painful to the animal but even professionals such
as vet techs and vets have accidentally clipped the quick before and of course it is something
we want to avoid but in the case that it does happen you're going to want to have something
like styptic powder or flour on hand so that you can dab on the nail to help stop bleeding.
The first method to clipping a hamster's nails may not work for all hamsters but it may work
for some, this can be done by offering a large treat and then you can carefully clip the
hamster's nails while they are distracted with the treat.
Some hamsters may be too fast or just not interested in treats at the time so wrapping
them in a hamster burrito can be another method I tend to use this with larger animals such
as cats and rabbits when clipping their nails and this usually just involves a little towel
or blanket and wrapping them so you can restrain them and then you can properly clip the nails
now some hamsters can ball up pretty good so then you don't have access to the paw so
it may not work for all hamsters.
If you are able to have another person help this can make trimming the nails easier, one
persona can gently hold the hamster while the other has access to the paws so that they're
able to trim them.
If you have a hamster who tends to be a biter wearing gloves can be helpful to avoid any
bites that might come your way which protect your skin and the hamster because we may often
have reflexes that may cause our hands to drop the hamster.
Then you can hold them on their back on your palm and while using your thumb to safely
restrain them and then clip the nails.
The last method is more commonly used on hamsters that cannot be restrained using the other
methods because they are either too wiggly or too fast.
This would be a proper scruff, hamsters like many other animals have extra skin at the
back of their neck that can be used to safely and painlessly restrain them.
This is a method that is commonly more so used with vets.
Of course scruffing isn't enjoyable for the hamster just like going to the vet isn't enjoyable
for them but in many cases may be necessary and this is never a way you should regularly
handle your hamster only for medical cases such as administering medications, nail clippings
or something even giving injections.
To properly scruff a hamster this requires you to use your thumb and index to gently
pull back on each side of the cheek pouches and using the rest of your fingers to collect
the rest of the loose skin down the back using your wrist and palm to then support the back
of the hamster to then restrain them so that you're able to quickly clip their nails.
A hamster should never just dangle from their scruff that is not proper and I would encourage
others to try the other methods of clipping a hamster's nails before you try scruffing
because it does need to be properly done.
Hopefully, this video has been able to help you take care of your hamster's nails and
if you've been struggling to try and clip them yourself hopefully it gives you a method
in which you can successfully be able to shorten them back down so that they are not at a dangerous
length.
So I will see you guy's in my next video, bye!