Friday, May 14, 2010

Is it ok or safe to cut my turtles nails?

I have a turtle and his nails are getting long, i was wondering if it is ok to cut a turtles nails?Is it ok or safe to cut my turtles nails?
i have tortoises and i trim their nails, the vets use clippers that you cut dogs nails with, if your turtles nails are too long the you can trim them back, on tortoises you can see the quick of the nail and i cut about a mm below this, if you cut the quick of the nail it will bleed, if you are not sure how to cut your turtles nails then take it to your vet and get them to show you how, this is what i did first of all, but most of the time i do not need to cut them, i have a concrete paving slab by the entrance of my tortoise hut so they walk over it to go to bed this seems to keep the nails at a nice level and i just trim them when they come out of hibernation, best of luck honey.Is it ok or safe to cut my turtles nails?
you didn't state if it was an aquatic turtle or not. But in most cases the answer would be no. I have several species of turtles ranging from aquatic to land. The aquatic turtles use there claws as part of there mating ritual and I made the mistake in trimming them and he never mated again and it's been 5 years and he was mating all the time. My vet informed that if I was concerned about the claws to put some rocks for them to climb on.and for my land turtles I use a large piece of granite or brink that is buried in the substrate so they can't dig under it. It allows them to walk across it and file there nails naturally. Hope this helps
I'm guessing that you have a slider or cooter and that it's a male. The long front claws are used during courtship or to demonstrate dominance. They are important secondary sexual characteristics to a male turtle. Let me put it this way, would you like to go to school wearing a padded bra and a miniskirt? If not, don't cut your turtle's nails.
i would think so but like any other animal i would take it to the vet or find a pet store and ask them to do it. it shouldnt cost to much and they wouldnt hurt the animal and they would know were they can and can't cut
do not cut its nails they need them for breeding purposes female turtles have short nails so you do not have them the male turtle needs them for other reasons but they are mainly used for mating

No comments:

Post a Comment