So we’ve had our gliders for a little over 3 years. Last year we started having issues with their nails. 3 of them keep getting stuck on literally everything. Two of them are babies and the other is their mom. Momma had to get her leg amputated due to getting stuck in her pouch while we were at work, by the time we got home she was chewing off her toes... we don’t want that to happen again to any of them... the vets say they’re healthy and nothing’s wrong with nails/diet.. we’ve clipped their nails and that didn’t help much. Has anyone else ran into this issue? How do you prevent it and help their nails? Could our vet have been wrong? So many questions..

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Ps we have a total of 8 gliders, so I’m not sure why only the 3/8 are having this issue suddenly.

I have five gliders. Three of them need their nails clipped every two weeks. The other two could go a month or more. I just figured gliders nails grow at different rates the same as humans.

I could actually clip my one boy every week probably. His nails just grow super fast and his always getting snagged if I don't keep up with clipping them. Some of his nails have grown very thick and have gotten close to cutting into his nail pads, so I had to be very careful and persistent once and trim them in to make them thinner. His nails are a constant issue, but I just do my best to keep up. On a side note he is my most skittish glider, but I can manhandle him without getting bitten to do his nails and I swear he seems happy to have them done now.

Oh and not sure why the nails are suddenly a problem for you, but same for mine. They were all fine for like two years. Then Thor's nails started to be a problem. Then Clare's. Now I just clip the trio twice a month and the pair once a month. It is what it is.

(Sorry about your girl and her leg-hope she's ok now)

I’ll have to try cutting them more and see how it goes. Thank you! And our momma is doing great now, she’s all healed and finally gliding again. She has a hard time because they had to amputate so much of her leg that her flap doesn’t connect to the little part of her leg that’s left so she had issues trying to glide without full use of her flaps (not sure what they’re called) but she’s got the hang of it now. Luckily the three that need it are pretty easy to handle.

I'm so glad she's all healed!
Try twice a month to start. I know it's time to trim again when Thor crabs at the others climbing into the pouch...I assume he crabs at them because he's stuck and can't move.
I think the routine is well ingrained in my gliders now. I do it at the same time every time, and now all I do is shake the treat jar and Gimli climbs out of the sleeping pouch and into the pouch where I clip nails. Put him back and Clare's already climbing in next. Put her back and take the pouch out with Thor who waits in there for me to get him. I think because I've done it the same every time for a couple of years now they just know the routine. So if your gliders are fussy at first, take heart that if you're consistent, they'll learn the routine.

Thank you! Gliders are super smart, we will start doing that! What kind of nail clippers do you have? We have tiny ones that are meant for small animals but i wasn’t sure if gliders have special ones or not.

I absolutely love the cuticle trimmers (for people) to cut their nails. Cuticle trimmers are sharp and you can turn them around to get different angles.

I’ll have to try using that. Thanks for all the tips!

Couple things you can get stealth wheels with nail trim inserts, an make sure all their pouches are fleece

I’ve never heard of that kind of wheel! I’m going to look into that and probably get a few lol. And it was fleece, but it was sewn together and from the looks of how she was tangled she got it stuck in that and freaked out and ended up hurting herself very badly. So we got new beds and check them every night for any loose strings.

No offense to Candymarie but I've tried those wheels and it's just not enough. If you get good at cutting nails it's much better for them.

I am not good at nails and resorted to buying a nail trimmer from Exotic Nutrition; makes it easier but I still need practice.

I also have the silent runner wheel with sandpaper insert and eucylaptus branch in cage to help.

Where is a good place to buy eucalyptus? I’ve tried finding it at pet stores/ exotic stores/ plant stores without any luck..

Where is a good place to buy eucalyptus? I’ve tried finding it at pet stores/ exotic stores/ plant stores without any luck..

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Originally posted by Tabbie

Where is a good place to buy eucalyptus? I’ve tried finding it at pet stores/ exotic stores/ plant stores without any luck..

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eucproducts.com/

I think the best way to get hold of him is thru is Facebook Messenger

Thank you all! I’ve used all the tips and it has helped a ton! None of them are getting stuck anymore and seem a lot happier! (: ended up not getting the wheel though, just put more wood in the cage and as soon as I did they were scratching at it and loving it, making it so I don’t have to clip every week, now it’s just a monthly challenge!