# Trimming nails?



## Sowa (Jan 24, 2015)

My rats nails are very long, they scratch me pretty good when climbing on me but they're so small and never stop moving...how do you trim nails? I also might have a small allergy to them, I get little whelts sometimes where they scratch me.


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## LilCritter (Feb 25, 2014)

I prop them up on to their hind legs and try to get a finger between their head and their front legs to prevent squirming away. Then I get on of their front paws and sort of pin it between 2 fingers so that the paw splays out. Then I trim the nails with a clipper. For the back legs, I put them on all fours in my lap and pull their back leg back so that the foot is facing upwards and trim. Not sure if that made any sense, but I hope it helps. There are also some videos on YouTube to help.


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## SaraLovesRats (Jan 11, 2015)

I get welts from my rats nails too I wonder what it is


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## PawsandClaws (Jul 22, 2014)

SaraLovesRats said:


> I get welts from my rats nails too I wonder what it is


The welts are from an allergy to their urine (under their fingernails). It is fairly common to have an allergic reaction to this. 

With regards to trimming a rats nails, we use little pet clippers and make sure to watch out for the quick. It is manageable but quite difficult if the rat is generally squirmy. We have a couple of boys who just will not sit still to have it done so we have to resort to more natural means of filing down their nails. We do this by placing lava ledges in prime locations - under the water bottle, as an alternative to stairs, as stepping stones to favorite sleeping spots. This helps wear down their nails over time but nothing quite beats an actual nail trimming. I find it helps to desensitize the rat to the tool first in a step by step sort of fashion (similar to how you would for a dog or cat). Put the nail clipper close to them and treat. When they are comfortable with this, place the nail clipper on their paw and treat etc. I believe that explains it but there are many good tutorials online to help you.


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## About Pet Rats (May 7, 2014)

Wow, you've gotten some great tips here, Sowa! 

I recently figured out I can trim my rat’s back toenails by kneeling on the bathroom floor while she eats a snack from a dish on the bathroom counter. I don’t even have to restrain her! I won't be able to do this for her front nails, though....unless I try clipping when she has her hands on the bars of the cage. When trimming nails this way, I am super careful and go very slowly.

I like to use the nail trimmers that are like scissors rather than the “guillotine” type. 

Similar to PawsandClaws, I think it’s helpful to touch your rats’ feet on a daily basis as if you’re going to trim them so it becomes familiar. When I trim nails the “normal” way, I sometimes just trim 1-2 nails a day. By keeping the number of nails trimmed to a minimum, it’s a less traumatic experience.

LilCritter, You described your nail trimming process extremely well! I can picture it perfectly and am looking forward to trying your technique for the front nails.


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## amandad (Apr 20, 2015)

I actually watched a video on YouTube with a woman who did a tutorial on clipping rats nails, and she used cuticle clippers. She said because they come to a point and the point on the clippers is just right for getting the thin small nails of a rat. She also recommended putting your rat in a cradle-type position (but on their front - not back) at the inside of your elbow and hold the back paw between two fingers because rats usually put their legs up and splay them back when in said position. I would definitely like to try this as my ratties have very sharp claws and I always get bad scratches from them, but I'm going to try lava ledges first and possibly a pumice stone.


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## Roddy St. James (Jun 4, 2015)

this seems well and handled, but I just wanted to mention something about the allergies, and I am allergic to rats. 

The welts are called hives, and they are a common allergic reaction to random irritants your body feels are bad. (I also get hives from soaps.) I get hives when ratties run around my neck and arms, and sometimes they even turn into a bad rash. Clipping nails helps this a lot, but you'll still probably get hives from them just walking on your skin, but it will take a lot longer and a lot more contact then if their nails aren't clipped. I have guinea pig nail clippers that worked well, but before that I used nail clippers. 

The small animal clippers work best, but if you can't run out and buy them, nail clipper's work okay, just watch out not to cut to close to the pink quick under their nails. (That would be like cutting your nail's so short that they bleed. It hurts.) 

Keeping corn starch around is good because if you do clip the quick, it bleeds a lot, but dipping the finger into corn starch stops the bleeding. (Don't use baby powder.)

Rinsing your skin, or washing with a light soap helps with the itchiness and the hives go away pretty quickly. (I usually just ignor them and they go away without treatment or rinsing in 30 minutes to an hour.) 

You may also start to get itchy red eyes, seeing as though your skin has let you know you are allergic. You can buy medicated eye drops, but I found just rinsing them out in clean, cold water helps wash away the irritant as well as bring the redness and puffiness down.

Keeping the cage clean often helps as well. Hairless rats will still cause hives, as they aren't anti allergenic or anything.


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