Nails

Question
I have two sugar gliders one male and one female.  My male glider is younger and much slower than my female so he doesn't run around the cage as much.  I have got sandpaper covers for their perches and food bowls to help with their claws.  He has had his claws trimmed twice by the vet before since he is a bit aggressive toward having his feet messed with.  I will have to get them trimmed again soon if I can't find a way to keep them down.  How can I keep his nails trimmed if he doesn't like to have his feet touched?

Answer
Cody,

Sorry, but there's no magical solution for glider nail trimming. I have tried the wodent wheel with a nail trimmer surface, but it hasn't worked for my gliders.  It might work for you.  Does the sandy perch work for the other glider?

Gliders hate to have their nails clipped, and will likely bite if given a chance. Here's how I do it without getting bitten:

Get some small nail clippers.  Wrap the glider up in a small towel or other cloth.  Hold him in your left hand.  With your right hand, reach into the towel and pull one foot out and give it to the thumb and forefinger of your left hand.  The rest of the fingers of your left hand are still holding the glider tightly.  With your right hand, clip only the sharp tip of the nail.  Their nails have blood vessels, just like a dog or cat, so be careful to trim only the white tip.  They have five nails to clip on their hands, but only two on the feet.  On their feet, you will notice that the fused toes have soft nails, and the thumb has no nails.  The gliders use the soft nails for grooming.  Do not clip these.  The two that need to be clipped are much harder than the others.  Of course, if you are left handed, reverse the hands.

After a nail clipping, gliders can't "stick" to things like they did before, so might fall off things for a while.  That's okay, but just be careful.

I hope my directions are clear enough.  Let me know if you have any questions.  Good Luck!