RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Sun Sep 28, 2003 6:09 am

I know the snippers your talking about, i don't have any handy tho Sad

I think Lila might try and chew my hand off if i tried to hold her foot still! LOL!! Shes my ADHD rat Embarassed

lol such a sweetie but shes always got to be moving! You bring up a good point too, i will start handling the babies feet and act like i'm clipping them to get them used to it and to holding still!

Thanks!!

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Richelle

The Rattles
~*~Lila, Snow White, Bob, Harry and Ron~*~

My Angel Baby
~*~ Jay ~*~

Sun Sep 28, 2003 6:32 am

Yup. I had to figure something out, because when I get scratched, I get horrible hives and I can't stop itching and all that. All of my litters are 'trained' to let people clip their claws. This next litter's going to be a pain in the butt, there's 15 of them! Lol. My last litter I kept 4 girls, and they're pretty good. But when I get an adult from somewhere else, it's like impossible, so I wear them out, then use a towel so that I don't get super hives! Lol.

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Sun Sep 28, 2003 6:33 am

I keep my girls' nails down by keeping a rock in their cage. I put it under their water bottle, so in order to get a drink, they must walk over the rock, which files their nails down. It works pretty well, I haven't been sliced to ribbons since the rock

You can also use a brick, they both work well.

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~~Mallory~~
*~Paz~Mia~Nina~Medellia~Penelope~*
Angel rat

~Eleanor~ ~Sally~Maggie~

Sun Sep 28, 2003 6:36 am

I've tried the rock thing, but they never got them down enough, or they'd leave a few nails in the back sharp enough to mess up my arms or necks or something.

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Sun Sep 28, 2003 10:29 am

i use nail clippers... but just don't use the toenail ones! yu could have more than a nail if you aren't careful!!

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"When caught between two evils I generally pick the one I've never tried before"- Mae West

Sun Sep 28, 2003 7:49 pm

I was also wondering about this, my neck area looks awful.I was told if you cut there nails then they would just grow back faster and sharper.Is this true? Thank you Confused

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Carolyn
Smores,Pearl,Sky,Tipper,Sapphire,Lucy,Suzy,and Sandy.Buster, Buddy and Crazy Joe (CJ).... Ferrets.
Past on sweeties...........Rosie,Vader and Jean

Sun Sep 28, 2003 7:52 pm

I don't find that to be true. It's like cutting cat's claws, birds and dogs. I clip them once a week. They grow fairly fast, if you don't cut them, they won't grow as fast because they're already super long. Just like if you cut your hair short, it grows faster than when it's longer... Lol. At least that's what it looks like it's doing.

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Sun Sep 28, 2003 11:30 pm

	Quote:
	I keep my girls' nails down by keeping a rock in their cage

I tried that but they just climbed up the cage and hung over it to drink :laugh: the sneaky little things!!!

All the books I have say you should only trim the back claws. but it doesn't say why.

Mon Sep 29, 2003 6:33 pm

I trim the hooks on the front claws. But if you keep them on your shoulder, walk a little slower, they can't hang on as well.

I just clipped my one litters' claws, and they were all fine with it, but I have another rattie of the same age that I got from a friend, and he was ticked. I think handling their feet at super young ages helps.

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Mon Nov 17, 2003 8:25 pm

Do you have to clip their nails? so far I haven't but just wondered. They are quite long but They need a bit for climbing don't they? How long is too long?

Mon Nov 17, 2003 9:53 pm

You don't have to but you can. Sometimes it does become necessary if you notice the nails beginning to curl around. This usually tends to happen in older rats. Trimming nails will also help to keep them from being so sharp. Just be very careful not to cut the quick and always have some styptic powder or cornstarch on hand before trimming, just in case.

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Christy
RP Admin
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Frodo, Zorro, Erzulie, Maeve, Clara, Molly & Emily

Tue Nov 18, 2003 3:05 am

They're not too sharp at the moment and are niot curly. sounds like I can just leave them alone

Wed Nov 19, 2003 9:15 am

Some ratties will keep their own toe nails trimmed. I've had girls who keep their toe nails nice and short and oh, so neat! Had others, usually boys, who wouldn't keep their nails trimmed at all (big slobs!) and I had to trim them. It's not too terribly difficult, especially if you start handling their little feet when they're babies or very young ratties so that they get accustomed to it. I usually do my rattie-nail-trimming in the morning when everybody is sleepy. Sneeky me! wink

Just go slow. Be very gentle and calm. Have very good lighting to where you can see the quick (the vein in the nail) and whatever you do DON'T cut the nail so short that you hit the quick! It hurts the rattie, and it bleeds for-almost-ever unless you have some styptic powder. Better to just go slow, take your time, be extra gentle but firm, and be able to see what you're doing. If you can't get the angle just right, or the rattie keeps yanking their foot away, just take a breather, relax, give it a little time, and try again. If they're still being uncooperative, give them a snack to much on and keep them occupied while you finish up on the trimming.

Oh, btw, I use an old pair of canary nail clippers to do my ratties' nails. They're old (really old) but still work as well as the day they were bought.

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Deb and the
Blue Steel Rats ~~((((8:>

A proud rattie owner since 1964

Thu Nov 20, 2003 7:04 am

One way of keeping their nails down a bit is to let your ratties run around on some sandpaper/emery paper for a couple of minutes when they're out.

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Jayne & Bob the old, Sammy, Frankie, Floyd, Jasper, Dylan, Zebedee, Stan, Bella, Cinnamon & Pepper

In my thoughts Angel rat

Ganja, Willow, Smudge, Biz, Star, Fred, my beloved Joe, little Ollie & little lady Fizz xx

Fri Jan 09, 2004 4:45 pm

Up untill now, I've always used human nail clippers to trim my rats nails. I've never had a problem.
But my old boy Zero has lost usage of his hind legs so his nails grow quite rapidly, they're also very thick and brittle. When I use human nail clippers on them, they seem to sort of 'crush' the nail instead of trim off a neat bit.

If it's doing it to his nails, it's likely they're not the best things to use for any of my rats. I don't often have to trim nails as my rats come out a lot and wear them down, but am I just being paranoid? Are human nail clippers ok?

Fri Jan 09, 2004 7:55 pm

I use small animal nail clippers and find they do the job better than human nail clippers.

The ones I have are similar to these http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=73&pf_id=1079

I've seen them in Pets at Home and various other petshops but I bought mine from the Acrorats stall at a show.

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Isla

Beanie & Meg
RIP Marmite, Treacle, Pepper & Pickles (we all miss you)

Sat Jan 10, 2004 3:03 am

I use small nail scissors and nerves of steel!

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Sab

"I feel like I know her, but sometimes my arms bend back"

Sat Jan 10, 2004 3:27 am

I've heard you can put a brick or a chunk of concrete or any stone with that sort of roughness in their cage. When they climb on it, the nails get filed. It's never worked on mine, and I could never rinse the pee smell out of said brick, so ended up tossing it, but it might work for others.

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Arvay and the Squirmin' Vermin

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'

--Erma Bombeck

Sat Jan 10, 2004 4:57 am

I just suffer the scratches in silence.

But I remember having to trim Widget's nails when he was getting old, because they were starting to curl. I just used small nail scissors. I hated doing it though, and I was convinced that I would catch a blood vessel and do him some real damage.

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Linda and the RMDs

Many have forgotten this truth but you must not forget it. We remain responsible forever, for what we have tamed.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Sat Jan 10, 2004 6:09 am

i use a human nail clipper.. its best to get my lads out when they are half asleep. The get 'em efore they realise approach is always best! They look a bit stunned when you put them back!

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"When caught between two evils I generally pick the one I've never tried before"- Mae West

Tue May 18, 2004 2:01 pm

Does anyone have any pictures of what bumblefoot looks like? I'm kind of worried about Basil as, under his nail, the bump of his toe looks a little bigger than normal. I think it was because his nails were a bit long and it was pressing against the skin, but I want to be sure. Also, does anyone have any problem with cutting older rat's nails. Poor Basil is not very patient with me when I try to clip his nails and they do tend to hurt him when I cut them. His nails almost curve under his feet for crying out loud, but if I cut them much shorter, they bleed. Any help?

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My zoo: Link, Cyrano de Bergerat, Pipsqueak and the girls Harley, Kira and Esie<:8 )~
Also, Arwen the garter snake, Merry the beta, 2 fantail goldfish, 4 applesnails (r.i.p. pinky), 3 cory cats and Evie, the Jack Russell Terrier.

Tue May 18, 2004 11:31 pm

This is from a guinea pig care page (scroll down): bumblefoot

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Victor, Bandit, and Sparrow's Sweeties: Neiko & Roo. Sparrow's Boys: Oliver, Arthur, and Rabskuttle. The fRAT Boys: Jim, Jack, and George.
Good night, Witter, Kono, Rat, Olie, Metro, Calle, Mr. Ratburn, Arwen, Leather, Ohana, Zoe, Misto, and Kanga.

Wed May 19, 2004 2:33 am

Thanks! From the looks of it, it's not bumblefoot. Just hammertoes:P

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My zoo: Link, Cyrano de Bergerat, Pipsqueak and the girls Harley, Kira and Esie<:8 )~
Also, Arwen the garter snake, Merry the beta, 2 fantail goldfish, 4 applesnails (r.i.p. pinky), 3 cory cats and Evie, the Jack Russell Terrier.

Wed May 19, 2004 2:35 am

Will he cooperate if you give him a couple yogies or other favorite treat while the clipping is being done, or is he one of those guys who must go in the corner to eat?

Hmm, could be messy, but can you get someone to let him eat a small spoonful of ice cream while being clipped? I can't imagine he'd leave the spoon in favor of his toes. Mr. Green

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Kate & the M.O.U.S.
If you saw a man drowning and you could either save him or photograph the event ... what kind of film would you use?
~ Anonymous

Wed May 19, 2004 2:53 am

LOL! Not unless I had 3 hands. One to hold the foot, one to hold the clippers, and one to hold the spoon:P I've tried the yogie thing, but it causes more problems than it solves.

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My zoo: Link, Cyrano de Bergerat, Pipsqueak and the girls Harley, Kira and Esie<:8 )~
Also, Arwen the garter snake, Merry the beta, 2 fantail goldfish, 4 applesnails (r.i.p. pinky), 3 cory cats and Evie, the Jack Russell Terrier.