Fear not, you can do this. I have trimmed everything from the beaks of raptors to the feet of draft horses.
With a pair of your own nail clippers, at a time he is relaxed, just get him into your hand and manipulate his little toes, one at a time. He may be weirded out at first, or he may be chill. When it seems right, clip only the tiny sharp bit off of one claw only. No need for a full-on pedicure. Then the next time he is out, and you are holding him, do the same thing, with a different toe. This is called habituation. He will become used to this action, and over time will not be stressed even when you do all of his claws at once. Be patient, be slow, and eventually he will just accept that this happens every so often and that it doesn’t mean the end of his world.
Back in the day, before the Ph.D. I used to groom dogs and trim their nails all the time. I never got bit and never made them bleed. Now I teach workshops on trimming goat hooves. It is an artform, but not rocket science. Bear in mind that the ends of his little claws have no more blood or nerves than the end of your own fingernails. Damaging the quick should be avoided, but nipping off the end will come nowhere near the quick.
If you need more guidance on this, just ask. Always happy to help.
.
Home
Log in
Sign up
Buy Bugs