Nail clipping

Hello all, can someone please tell me the best way to clip Bella's nails? She's so squirmy when I try using a nail clipper and they are hard to see. I don't want to clip and bleed. Thanks Sherri and Bella

My rats hate nail trims so I usually have my husband or daughter hold them when I do it. Some are easier then others and I have a couple that I wrap in a little blanket with their back feet hanging out and have whoever is holding distract them little pieces of treats but it always takes a few tries to get all the nails. Their front feet don't usually get that bad but the back ones grow to be little talons.. As far as clipping them to short, you should be able to see where the pink part of the nail is and then the white part starts and that is the part you wanna clip but you don't wanna clip it all the way to the pink just clip the sharp point off. Like I said it will most likely take you many attempts to get them all and if they start to seem to stressed just give them a break and go back later and finish.

Ok after watching many videos on YouTube on nail clipping for rats I finally braved it. I started with her rear feet, they were the longest. The first clip and she jumped and made a chirp noise! I thought I clipped too short, but after a minute no bleeding. Well needless to say she did those same things for every clip. Her front nails didn't need clipping yet. Hopefully I will have less scratches all over me ! Lol thanks:bounce:

Nice job, lilhushpup! It really does make a difference with having less scratches on yourself after their nails are trimmed. I try to do just a couple of nails each day so I don't stress my rats out with trimming all their nails in one session.

Thank you very much for the help!

I have one who is a drama queen about clipping. Some days he's an angel the other days he just squeaks like crazy even if I didn't clip his nails yet. :roll: I usually keep a terra cotta plate in the cage where they drink water to help maintain their nails so they aren't 'too' sharp. I might change to brick soon since it might work better.

Oh I hate doing their nails lol and it's always a two man job. I usually give them a small piece of yummy food while I try and do it.

I just figured out a new way to clip nails! I found I can trim them without even holding my rat by giving my rat a meal or treat on the bathroom counter while I reach over with the clippers and trim a back nail or two.

In order to clip my rats nails I wear dark coloured pants or use a dark coloured t-shirt to place beneath them to use as contrast against their light coloured nails. And because I am 46 years old I use reading glasses to see their nails more clearly.

I also make sure my nail clippers give a nice smooth cut, not one that 'breaks' the tip of their nails. We have nail clippers here that do a number on my nails because of others in the house using them to cut wire!

It sounds like you're getting the hang of things though.

We have to do the nakies their nails curl under they get so long. The worst part is the hubby he jumps like a scared baby when they squeek and then I almost take a toe off. I have to explain to him step by step and that I'm going to clip and they might squeek DON'T JUMP!!!

My poor Bella! I clipped 1 front nail today and she jumped and peeped which she normally does when I clip her hind claws. This was a first time to clip front. After a couple seconds I had blood on my hand!! I clipped her toe skin by accident. She stopped bleeding but I am horrified!! I feel so guilty. I couldn't bare the thought of trying to clip more. Has anyone tried a nail file or is that way off? I'm scared to trim any of her nails now!:confused2:

Lilhushpup said:

My poor Bella! I clipped 1 front nail today and she jumped and peeped which she normally does when I clip her hind claws. This was a first time to clip front. After a couple seconds I had blood on my hand!! I clipped her toe skin by accident. She stopped bleeding but I am horrified!! I feel so guilty. I couldn't bare the thought of trying to clip more. Has anyone tried a nail file or is that way off? I'm scared to trim any of her nails now!:confused2:

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I haven't had to trim yet... But I have read of people using files instead. I guess the main issue there is getting the ratties to sit still longer...
I should trim my boys nails though

Nail files can work. However, I feel like it's easier to use clippers because they are much quicker than nail files. I like the type of clippers that are like scissors---seems like I can see what I'm doing better.

I know how terrible you feel about causing your little rattie to bleed. Nothing's worse than knowing we accidentally harmed one of our babies.

Some people like to place sandpaper or a rough stone such as a brick in the cage to help keep nails shorter.

We just trimmed our boys' nails yesterday since they were starting to get quite long. Using the 'burrito' technique of wrapping them in a soft towel, I braced them against my shoulder while my other half held their feet and carefully clipped. We did one foot at a time, gave them treats afterwards, and ended up trimming all the back nails. Yay! Today we'll tackle the front nails.

I'm considering getting some sandpaper to put over one of their ramps in their cage to keep their nails from getting super long again. It would also spare our boys the trauma of getting their nails trimmed regularly. I'm going to the hardware store later, but I'm not sure exactly what grit size to look for. I want to keep their nails in control, but not hurt their little feet. Any recommendations?

I know, that's what I've always been concerned about is having the sandpaper not only keep their nails short, but also irritate the skin on their feet. I would imagine a finer grit would be better than a rougher one.

Hooray for trimming all of those back nails and rewarding them with treats. Sounds like you did a fantastic job!

guz said:

We just trimmed our boys' nails yesterday since they were starting to get quite long. Using the 'burrito' technique of wrapping them in a soft towel, I braced them against my shoulder while my other half held their feet and carefully clipped. We did one foot at a time, gave them treats afterwards, and ended up trimming all the back nails. Yay! Today we'll tackle the front nails.

I'm considering getting some sandpaper to put over one of their ramps in their cage to keep their nails from getting super long again. It would also spare our boys the trauma of getting their nails trimmed regularly. I'm going to the hardware store later, but I'm not sure exactly what grit size to look for. I want to keep their nails in control, but not hurt their little feet. Any recommendations?

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I'd recommend something similar to the feel of a nail file. That should be fine enough that as long as they aren't constantly walking on it that it won't bother their paws.

I'm so excited with how well it works to trim nails while my rat eats a snack on the bathroom counter. I kneeled on the bathroom floor again last night while she ate and snipped a few more nails without even having to restrain her! Won't be able to do this for front fingernails, though....unless I try clipping when she has her hands on the bars of the cage. When doing it this way, I am super careful and go super slow.

dspch911 said:

We have to do the nakies their nails curl under they get so long. The worst part is the hubby he jumps like a scared baby when they squeek and then I almost take a toe off. I have to explain to him step by step and that I'm going to clip and they might squeek DON'T JUMP!!!

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Lol that's so funny dspch911.