Do you cut your beardie's nails?

[PoliticalKid]

Hi everyone! My beardie is about 4 months old and I'm still in the process of taming him. As you all know baby beardies can be awfully fast and squirmy. But, every time I finish handling him my arms and hands are totally covered in scratches. Nothing that makes me bleed or anything but it's mildly uncomfortable. So I was wondering if you guys cut your beardie's nails. He's on paper towels but I do have some of these rocks (link at bottom) laid down by his salad bowl in the hopes that it'd wear down his nails a little bit. As I mentioned he's still squirmy so I don't think that I could cut them on my own and I don't know anyone who's comfortable enough around lizards that could hold him while he's squirming. When I look at his nails they don't look too long. When I did all of my research before I bought him nothing was mentioned about nail trimming. I know some people use tile as substrate to wear down their nails but I don't want to do that. And, if I did cut his nails I wouldn't want to cut them too short so he wouldn't be able to climb on his background. Is this something that as he gets older and tamer and less wiggly I won't notice? Any tips or suggestions? Thanks for the help everyone

http://www.petco.com/product/119834/Conceptual-Creations-Stack-Stones.aspx?CoreCat=MM_ReptileSupplies_Decor

 

[LLLReptile]

I normally trim nails for lizards that have longer claws. The easiest way, I've found, is to wait until they're sitting calmly on your hand and go one at a time. I'll pick up one foot, hold it gently, and trim one claw at a time. For smaller, squirmier babies I may press them (gently!) against my body so I can hold the foot and trim without worrying about hurting them.

-Jen

 

[PoliticalKid]

I normally trim nails for lizards that have longer claws. The easiest way, I've found, is to wait until they're sitting calmly on your hand and go one at a time. I'll pick up one foot, hold it gently, and trim one claw at a time. For smaller, squirmier babies I may press them (gently!) against my body so I can hold the foot and trim without worrying about hurting them.

-Jen

Okay, thanks! Now when I go to cut his nails is there a length that I should aim for? Basically how short is too short? Also, can I use regular nail clippers? I think I have a file laying around that I briefly used on my dog's nails, would that be better then clippers because I have both?

 

[LLLReptile]

Just trim the tip, or the pointy part. You don't really need to cut too far, the beardie does still need its nails to walk around!

For a smaller beardie, regular nail clippers should be fine. I think I've only used dog clippers for large monitors and iguanas

-Jen

 

[ChiefsDaddy]

Check out this diagram. You don't want to cut into their live tissue or they will bleed and it will cause them pain. Just the tip is good enough.

Also, switching your substrate to natural slate tile will help keep their nails filed down naturally.

 

[grumpy]

I have 5 bearded dragons and have never cut their nails.
I have rough rocks and a couple of bricks for them to climb on
their nails are filed down by them.

 

[paulsmom06]

I cut my dragon's nails all the time. He always stays very still and never fights, however, I started cutting them when he was good and sleepy so it wouldn't stress him as bad. Now that he's used to it, I do it whenever.

The black part of the nail, or claw, is where you want to cut. Avoid the whiter part as that is where the blood supply is. I use baby nail clippers on my guy. They work great.

 

[thebenior]

I use regular nail clippers, cut only the black tips, and do so while my dragon is sleepy. If he's alert, he'll move his foot away.

I used to have slate tile in the tank, but never noticed any difference in the sharpness of his nails.

 

[disturb3d0n3]

Everyone seems to have it covered. One thing I wanted to add even though it's a no brainer and you prob already do it, but just incase! Make sure you use peroxide and clean the scratches. Reptiles are known to carry salmonella, granted it's not a high chance, a fresh wound from your dragon who may have walked in his poop definitely puts you at risk! And of course always wash your hands after handling

 

[dom1959]

or you could do what i do when handling my chameleons...
long sleeve t-shirts

my beardie is too new and young so i have not experienced the bearded scratch :shock:

 

[fairkatrina]

I used to have to cut my guy's nails (those needle-sharp tips can really grow fast!) but about 12mo ago I bought some sample tiles from my local DIY store (e.g. quarry tiles) and put them around his food and water bowls. I've never had to trim them again, they get worn down naturally when he goes to eat.

 

[ShelbyLu]

I've only had my beardies for a few weeks, and about a week ago I switched to tile substrate and I love it so much. It wasn't very expensive to do. I just did some measurements and picked up some boxes of a couple different sizes of tile at home depot.

One person told me that at Lowes they will cut tile for you. If that's true, at some point I'll change the tile floor so that it's all the same kind of tile. Right now I have a couple of different sizes to make it work. It made clean up SO AWESOME.

Just thought I would give you a thumb's up from another newbie to beardie love.

~Shelby

 

[Siren]

Best time to cut them is in the morning, before you turn on their heat/lights. Colder dragons move less I use infant nail trimmers and trim just the tips. If you do get too far, and it bleeds, try to have styptic powder handy. If you don't have it, you can use flour or corn starch to stop the bleeding. So long as you are very careful and just go for the tips, there should never be any blood.

Also having some rock in the tank for them to climb on can help file them.

If you are really afraid of hurting them, get a small nail file and use that. Take it across the nail in one direction. If you go back and forth it will sharpen them instead.