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 #1867933


Multireps
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 Nail clipping...

ok so as the title says. i have two baby’s about 4 inches long* body legth for those who know how to measure a lizard. and about what age do you do so? basically when they start growing to long?



09/25/08  08:24am

 #1868002


Gone green
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  Message To: Multireps   In reference to Message Id: 1867933


 Nail clipping...

here this should help. :)
Trimming
For lizards and other clawed critters

©1996, 2002 Melissa Kaplan



Iguanas, being arboreal lizards, are equipped with deceptively powerful toes and excruciatingly sharp points on their claw. The combination of the two enable them to climb any vertical surface on which they can get purchase, and to inflict some severe damage to human arms, hands and faces.

Living with iguanas is much easier when their claws are regularly trimmed. It is best to start trimming them early - this will reduce the overall growth of the iguana claws as they get older (they won’t get as long) AND it habituates the iguana to having its toes handled and claws cut while they are still small enough to not flay your skin.

The claw is in two parts - the thicker part extending out from the toe itself, and the thin, pointed, razor-sharp end which comes off the end of the main claw. It is this last bit that gets cut off.

When they are tiny, you can use people nail clippers but they soon outgrow these. Human clippers, and the guillotine cutters so often used for dogs and large birds crushes and shreds the large claw, and so should not be used. There is a pair of clippers available in the pet trade, marketed for cats and birds (and now being packaged for iguanas), which look like a pair of stubby children’s safety scissors. Instead of long blades, they have short stubby ones, with round finger loops which are generally encased in red or gray plastic. Each of the blades has a small semi-circular piece cut out of it. This design allows you to carefully place the cutting edge (the semicircle) on the nail exactly where you want it before you actually clip. As you clip nails over several sessions, the iguanas will become comfortable with the sensations involved, and if you respect them by NOT cutting when they jerk after you place the blades, instead backing off a bit and repositioning it, they will come to trust that you will not hurt them.

If the nails are very brittle, try increasing the frequency of baths. Then, when it is time to cut, remove the iguana from a bath and cut the nails while they are still damp



09/25/08  10:38am

 #1870576


Jmusclegirl
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  Message To: Gone green   In reference to Message Id: 1868002


 Nail clipping...

how do you clip an ig’s claws without someone else to hold it?



09/29/08  09:50am

 #1870691


Birdfever69
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  Message To: Jmusclegirl   In reference to Message Id: 1870576


 Nail clipping...

its hard, and i know shela doesnt like to be held when i do her nails. since her cage is plastic chicken wire, i put her on the inside (belly facing me) and file her nails thorough the screen. doesnt bother her at all. but i dont clip them, i have a small and quiet battery nail filer that does the trick.



09/29/08  01:27pm

 #1870722


Jmusclegirl
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  Message To: Birdfever69   In reference to Message Id: 1870691


 Nail clipping...

great idea---thanks!



09/29/08  02:14pm

 #1870836


Fat iguana
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  Message To: Jmusclegirl   In reference to Message Id: 1870722


 Nail clipping...

here is a cutting guide



09/29/08  05:14pm

 #1870965


Lobo26
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  Message To: Fat iguana   In reference to Message Id: 1870836


 Nail clipping...

^ found that to be funny, idk why, lol
but it does help :)



09/29/08  07:42pm

 #1871244


Fat iguana
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  Message To: Lobo26   In reference to Message Id: 1870965


 Nail clipping...

the diagram is for all the people who just cant seem to function with out a full diagram, complete with a pie chart, visual aids and fizzy spinners to help keep their attention. LOL just thought it might help



09/30/08  04:44am

 #1871329


Lobo26
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  Message To: Fat iguana   In reference to Message Id: 1871244


 Nail clipping...

hahahaha :)
then that would be me!



09/30/08  09:31am


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