How to Trim a Ferrets Nails: The Importance of Nail Trimming, Nail Trimming Methods, and the Process of TrimmIng a Ferrets Nails
In this post, I will dive into the importance of regular nail trimmings for ferrets, nail trimming methods, and the process of trimming a ferrets nails step-by-step. One should note that every owner has their own method of trimming their ferrets nails; there is no right way, only a plethora of different methods. Every ferret is different, so some methods or every method may work for you and your ferret; implementing the different strategies listed and developing your own method that works for you and your ferret is always best! Now, quick disclaimer— the reader should note that I am not licensed or certified in the animal field in anyway; I am simply a pet parent who enjoys learning about my companions and sharing my input, research, and experience to others. CCC is in no way responsible for your pets wellness, health, or care. CCC is simply a resource for pet parents to use for their research on their companions and should not be solely followed without proper research and consultation with a licensed or certified professional. This is not to say any information CCC provides is harmful, inaccurate or false; we simply like to stress the importance of research, speaking to licensed/certified professionals and your trusted veterinarian regularly on topics in question. The best way to care for our pets is knowledge.
Cutting your ferret's nails can seem like, and sometimes is, a scary feat to face—trust me, all of us pet owners have been there; but we owners can groom our animals ourselves without the aid of a groomer or veterinarian. Learning to trim your ferrets’ nails, although might seem daunting, will become an easy process as you practice and learn more about your pet! As a person who has been trimming the nails of various animals like dogs, cats, and even iguanas, I can relay firsthand that you too can cut your pets' nails safely and easily with confidence, practice, and knowledge.
In order to properly and safely trim your ferrets' nails, it’s important to know the basic parts of their nails, safety measures to take while trimming, and the necessary tools you will need to perform this grooming task. In this post I will explain all of these topics, the steps involved with the process of trimming ferrets nails, as well as discuss the risks that come with not regularly cutting ferrets nails; this is to stress the importance of either practicing or paying for a ferrets regular trimming and give you, the reader, more information on this playful pet. I would like to add that animal care is changing all of the time, so it is important to research your pet and its care frequently to stay up to date on the latest breakthroughs in their care; everything in this post is based on my research and experience with ferrets and may differ from others opinions or methods. With that said, let us talk about how crucial it is to cut your ferret's nails.
The Importance of Regular Nail Trimmings for Ferrets
Ferrets are carnivorous mustelids that grow relatively long nails. In captivity, their long nails need maintenance since they lack the natural rough terrain that nature offers. An animal that lives in the wild with sharp nails, let us say for example a polecat, has natural materials around them 24/7 that breakdown their nails and keep them at a safe, healthy length; but in captivity, this is hard to replicate which is why regular trimmings are necessary for certain animals. With ferrets, long nails pose a risk of snagging on fabrics or getting stuck in cracks which is harmful to a ferret. If a ferret were to snag its nail, it could begin to flail around or pull roughly which can cause serious injury, like a ripped nail, or even broken toe or leg! It also doesn't help that the longer your ferrets go without nail trimmings the more their nails could flake or crack making snagging a much higher risk; and the quicks grow longer during this time. The more frequently you cut your ferrets nails the better! This ensures the quick gets shorter and stays at a length that is safe for your ferret and yourself.
As well as snagging, long nails can cause foot problems for a ferret in the future. Having long nails becomes invasive and makes an animals foot rest oddly on the ground; if this were to continue for long periods the animal can develop foot problems or get a serious injury—which with ferrets is something you want to avoid considering they notoriously already have a plethora of health problems. Also, you wouldn't want your pet to suffer from a condition that could have been avoided—right?
Now that we know trimming a ferrets’ nails is crucial for a ferret's health and safety, we should discuss the pros it brings for us owners! Handling a ferret can come with lots of painful scratches—something that is inevitable with any animal that has sharp nails, but if a ferrets’ nails are trimmed the chances of getting scratches are lower. One should keep in mind that even with trimming, scratches are possible from a ferret based on how pointed the end of the nail is after trimming, but these scratches are generally much milder compared to scratches from untrimmed nails. To deal with already trimmed nails that are still sharp, I recommend filing their nails lightly with a nail file (be sure to watch out for the skin on their feet!). Taking care of your physical well-being is just as important as taking care of theirs; they need their owner healthy and injury-free!
I am no zoologist or veterinarian by any means, but I research and read about ferrets and other animals quite regularly and would like to share what knowledge I have with others in hopes of helping people learn about their pets; In this instance, trimming your fluffy floofs nails! The photos shown below are my creations to help you, the reader, understand the different parts of the nail. Before displaying the photos and explaining the parts of a ferret's nail and how to trim it, I would like to briefly touch on the subject of declawing.
Declawing a Ferret
A ferret's nails are part of its toe and can’t be removed; attempting to declaw a ferret would require amputation of part of the ferret's toe since their nails are part of this appendage. If one were to try and get this procedure done with a veterinarian, I am sure most, if not all, would turn the case away since this procedure is unethical and animal abuse. Since the ferret's nail is part of their toe, it too has blood vessels and nerve endings like the rest of their body and would bleed and produce pain for the animal if it were to be harmed in any way. So, please, do not declaw your ferret if you are ever given the option or considering it; it is cruel. Now, with that explained, let's talk about the parts of a ferret's nail.
A Ferret's Nail
A ferret's nail is white and semi-transparent making it much easier to trim than animals with darker nails! Inside the ferret nail, a small red or dark pink line can be seen running from their toe to almost the middle of the nail (this is my observation in regards to length); this "red line" is a blood vessel that has various nerve endings, and if that red part of the nail is clipped it is painful for a ferret and can cause bleeding. This "red line" is called a quick and is the part of the nail that should be avoided when trimming so the ferret doesn't bleed or feel any pain from nail clippings.
The part of the nail surrounding the "quick" is the shell of the nail. The shell of the nail has no nerve endings and can be cut without any harm to the ferret, but if the quick were to be cut low enough—as in closer to their fleshed toe—one could seriously hurt the ferret and even require medical attention by a veterinarian.
Now if you cut the ferret's nail don't worry, the end of the nail is not painful at all for the ferret if you trim it as explained above. Picture a humans nail, it doesn't hurt to cut the white part at the end, but I'm sure if you attempted to rip your nail from the pink part it'll hurt and sometimes bleed; this is the same for a ferret… essentially. I’m sure you understand the point I am trying to make clear. So, in layman’s terms, or maybe in terms that are much more understandable than my comparison, your ferret will only feel pain when getting their nails trimmed if their quick is accidentally clipped.
It is always a risk to accidentally cut a ferret quick, all ferret parents may experience this, but with practice and proper execution a ferret owner can learn to trim their pets' nails swiftly and pain-free for the ferret and the owner too (because I know whenever I would accidentally clip the quick I felt a lot of emotional pain). Ferrets tend to squirm, flail, or run away when you want to trim their nails if they aren’t used to the process or they’re kits [ kit - term for baby ferret ], training and patience can fix this. There are a few methods that I know of that ferret owners use, some I recommend and others I would only use as a last resort. Before discussing the methods, let’s discuss the tools that are needed for nail trimming.
Tools Needed for Nail Trimmings
Before performing the task of cutting a ferret's nail, you need proper tools for this! Below is a list of tools that are needed for nail trimming:
Nail Trimmers: (RecOmmend VETERINARIAN Grade trimmers)
a.) Cat/Dog Nail Clippers
Cat/Dog nail trimmers are what I use for my ferrets! I find them to be the easiest to use to trim their nails, but some people prefer other types of nail clippers. Cat/Dog nail trimmers are easy to find and are less cheaply made than other nail clippers. Most cat/dog nail trimmers are sharper, which is important when clipping ferret's nails to prevent snagging and cracking of the nail from dull trimmers. Keep in mind, if you are purchasing dog nail trimmers they should be made for smaller dogs as ferrets are small animals! I recommend vet grade nail trimmers as these are the sharpest.
b.) Small Animal Nail Trimmers
Small Animal Nail Trimmers are the same as cat nail trimmers, except the most easily found small animal clippers are cheaply made and are not the best for clipping ferrets nails as they may not be sharp enough, like dog/cat clippers since dog/cat clippers are more common.
c.) Baby Nail Clippers
This is something I have not personally used, but many have said that using baby nail clippers is considerably easier compared to cat/dog/small animal clippers! So, if you have a pair at home, give it a try and maybe you’ll prefer those over animal nail clippers. I personally prefer animal clippers since they are tailored to the pets nail.
2. Styptic Powder
Styptic Powder is a powder used to stop the bleeding of an animal's nail, wing, or other minor superficial cuts to the skin/body. This powder can be bought from just about any pet store, online pet store, online store, etc... The Basic ingredients that most Styptic powder will have are bentonite, potassium aluminum sulfate, diatomaceous earth, ammonium chloride. This is a necessary product to have when trimming your ferrets’ nails just in case you accidentally clip their quick! If this happens, you just apply the powder until it stops bleeding and keep watch on the clipped nail. Corn starch is another option, I personally prefer Styptic Powder.
3. Cotton balls/Cotton-buds (Q-Tips)
Either of these two items is important to have on hand when trimming your ferrets' nails. They will be needed if a quick is accidentally clipped and they begin to bleed! I like using cottonbuds/Q-tips for this. These materials will be needed to apply the styptic powder to any accidentally over trimmed nails to stop the bleeding.
Keep in mind that although styptic powder is a good solution to some accidental nail quick clips, sometimes the damage is much more severe and medical help should be sought out by a trusted veterinarian immediately.
*Optional Materials:*
1) Salmon oil
Salmon oil—as will be mentioned later in the post, can be used as a good distraction for ferrets making nail trimming easier! This material is not necessarily needed to trim a ferrets nails, but could be useful. I recommend Hare Today’s Unscented Icelantic Salmon Oil.
2) Treats
Although, I believe treats are must after nail trimming other types of rewards can be given to show your ferret that they did a good job. Praise and positive reinforcement are the best ways to train your ferret; but, seeing as treats aren’t necessarily needed to complete the task I listed them under optional materials.
Some treats I recommend:
PureBites Freeze-Dried Raw Cat/dog treats (single ingredient ferret safe treats from this brand are okay. Some ferret safe treats include: Turkey Breast, chicken breast, salmon, whitefish, minnows, beef liver, duck liver.)
Vital Essentials Freeze-Dried Raw Cat/Dog treats (single ingredient ferret safe treats from this brand are okay, as well as a few others. Some ferret safe treats include: minnows, chicken breast, chicken heart, Turkey giblets, chicken giblets, rabbit nibs, beef tripe, Duck nibs, beef nibs.)
Hare Today’s dehydrated Pet Treats (Single Ingredient safe treats for ferrets from this brand are: Dehydrated Beef Liver/Lung/Strips, Dehydrated Bison Heart/Liver, Dehydrated Chicken Breast, Dehydrated Salmon, Etc.)
ClawsPaws&Raw Pet Treats (All treats from this brand are ferret safe except their dehydrated beef tendon treat, Dehydrated beef trachea treat, & Dehydrated pig ears; these are for dogs)
The Pampered Ferret Treats (All treats from this brand are ferret safe)
3) Blanket/Towel
A blanket or towel that is comfortable for the ferret. This can be used for one of the methods mentioned later in the post. I recommend a blanket or towel that cannot be easily snagged by their sharp claws.
How to Trim a Ferrets’ Nail
Now that we know the tools we need, let’s discuss how to trim the ferret's nail. Begin by laying the ferret on their back with their stomach facing up, this position is ideal to see all four paws and their nails—this also provides easier access to spreading their toes to cut and see the quick. Adequate lighting is needed to see where the quick ends to determine where it’s safe to trim. With good lighting and the ferret set up in a position that is best for you to cut their nails in, the next step is to take the clippers and cut the nail at a 45° angle.
Depicted above is a diagram of a ferrets toe, nail, quick, trim line, and guides provided and created by CreepieCutieCritters
After finishing all of their nails give your ferret lots of praise and a reward—like a healthy treat, to show them that they did a good job. If you do this every time you trim your ferrets nails, they should begin to associate nail trimming as a good thing and make the process much easier!
Methods To Trim a Ferrets Nails
Putting Salmon Oil on The Ferret’s Stomach
I have not had luck with this method, but many ferret owners have! Keep in mind, all ferrets are different! Just because this method didn’t work for my ferrets does not mean it won’t work for yours. This method, like all different types of animal care, comes with some discretion. Salmon oil is a very good source of omega fatty acids which are great for many animals, especially ferrets! Unfortunately, salmon oil can soil fast if not properly stored and most believe that salmon oil is already rancid before it even hits store shelves! Now, I have not researched to prove that salmon oil is bad once it is in the store, but it is a fact that salmon oil indeed goes rancid and soils very fast. If you put this in your ferrets' diet regularly, or just use it as a trick for trimming their nails, be sure to store it correctly; find a good brand that you believe is healthy for your ferrets and ensure you give your ferret the correct amount—too much salmon oil can be bad for ferrets!
Now, this method involves laying your ferret on their back on your top legs, their stomach facing up. Place a drop of salmon oil on their lower stomach and let them lick away as you trim the nails! You have a limited amount of time that your ferret is distracted by the salmon oil to trim their nails, so make sure to trim swiftly and precisely; we don't want to hurt your ferret! To trim them, Spread their toes and have adequate lighting so you can see the ferrets quick. Take your cat clippers/small animal clippers/baby nail clippers and quickly cut your ferrets nail at a 45-degree angle, avoiding the quick by cutting below the quick, to all 5 of the toes on all four limbs; be mindful that ferrets two back feet have smaller nails so they will need less trimming than the front. If this method works, it's a perfect way for you to trim your ferrets' nails! If not, don't worry, there are plenty of other methods that could work for you and your ferret!
Catching Them While They are Asleep, Half Asleep, or Just Waking Up
This method will work for most, but if your ferret is high-energy or a kit, it might be a bit harder. With this method of trimming the nails, the owner essentially catches the animal once it’s sleeping—preferably sleeping quite deeply, and attempts to trim all of the nails either while the ferret is still asleep or while they’re waking up. Ferrets are usually low energy when they’re waking up so trimming their nails should be considerably easier since the chances of them trying to escape or flail around if they aren’t trained is slimmer since they’re still tired and trying to wake up.
Of course with kits, this could be considerably harder since once they wake up they usually are immediately high in energy; this is for most kits, not all. Also, if your ferret is more high-energy despite not being a kit anymore, this method may not work the best either. Like I said in the last method, every ferret is different, that’s why there are many different ways people trim their ferrets' nails! So, don’t be discouraged if this method doesn’t work for you.
The Calming/Trapping Method
I am unsure if there is a name for this method, but it is one that I use, but have yet to read about. This method requires a lot of patience, but will also simultaneously train your ferret to be calmer when getting their nails cut; or at least help! With this method, you can grab your ferret when they’re just waking up like the previous method or whenever you would like. After that, you place them on their back, stomach facing up on your lap and trap their front legs over your forearm and give a very light amount of pressure to hold them in place—you don’t want to squeeze them, but you don’t want them to move too much either. The arm that you are trapping them with is also the arm you will use to spread their toes and cut. Keep in mind, the ferret might flail or try and run away, you have to keep putting them into this position until they calm down and you can trim the nails safely without them moving. It is important to stay calm and have patience so your ferret during this process. I find it is easiest to start this when they are asleep and get them into the position as they’re still asleep or waking up.
Throughout the session, they will probably continuously move around and then go through the “calm” period where it appears they have given up trying to escape. That is why I said this method requires patience because the owner will constantly have to readjust the ferret into the correct position and wait for the pet to calm down enough to safely trim the nails. During this process, positive praise and treats are highly recommended so your ferret associates getting their nails cut as something good. If they do that, it’ll be considerably easier in the future to trim their nails.
Note: when they are still and allow you to cut the nails is the time that you should praise them so they associate being calm and still as a good thing!
Giving them treats and praising them immediately after trimming their nails is highly encouraged.
Having Two People To Trim
This method requires two people; one to hold the ferret in their lap on the ferret's back with the ferret's stomach facing up keeping the ferret somewhat calm and restrained, while the other trims the nails of the ferret. During this process it’s important to make sure your ferret is still as you cut their nails so prevent accidental injury to them, as it is with all of the methods mentioned.
This method is a good one and will certainly give good results in accomplishing trimming your ferrets nails, but not everyone has two people to trim a ferrets’ nails; so, this method won’t be for everyone.
The Blanket/Towel Method *Last Resort Method*
The blanket method involves wrapping your ferret in a blanket or towel until they are somewhat restrained (please do NOT wrap your ferret too tight! You must wrap them as light as possible to both restrain them and make sure they are safe and not uncomfortable!) Although, I believe nail trimming should be trained to be a positive experience and this method might not do that, I understand that some may not be able to use the other methods and in the end the ferrets nails HAVE to be trimmed. While using this method please consider using high rewards throughout the process, like treats, and lots positive praise. For this method, wrap your ferret like a “burrito” (I’m not kidding) with a blanket or towel and pull one limb carefully from the wrapped “ferret burrito” at a time as you trim their nails until all nails that need to be trimmed on each limb are finished. Readjusting the blanket will probably have to happen a number of times; please remember patience is key.
Scruffing *DEFINITE LAST RESORT METHOD*
I personally believe that scruffing should be a last resort with anything when it comes to ferrets. With my own, I personally do not scruff my ferrets EVER. I have had the luck of having a second person around to help me if a ferret was being difficult with a particular important task. Even then, I try to just stay patient and do the task on the ferrets terms by myself!
The most important thing to do is not scare or traumatize your ferret during these processes; and sometimes bringing a second person or using methods like the blanket method or scruffing is very scary for them! The method of scruffing should be a very last resort in my own opinion! Positive reenforcement is the best way to train a ferret and scruffing is more of a punishment than anything; but, trimming their nails is very important so this method should be used as a last resort. Like I mentioned, please use patience with your ferret rather than scruffing; but I understand that there may be some situations where it can’t be avoided.
To scruff your ferret, grab the extra skin on the back of their neck (not their actual neck, the loose skin that ferret/cat mothers would generally use to pick up and carry their babies) and pull back until the ferret goes still and almost immobile. Trim the nails as fast as possible and use lots of praise and treats when finished if you use this method. And I mean a lot of treats and praise. For this method treats are definitely not optional if your ferrets like them.
Please keep in mind that there are many variations of these different methods and many others that are not on this list! Every ferret owner will eventually find a method and routine that works for them! Whether that is one of these methods, another you happen to find, or even a mix of these methods.
How Often Should A Ferrets Nails Be Trimmed?
Trimming should only need to be done about every 2-4 weeks, the bottom paws will probably need less maintenance since the nails are not as long as the nails on the front paws. Frequent trimming is necessary to prevent health problems, pain, and possible injury to your ferret. Also, the more frequent you trim the shorter the quick will eventually become. Allowing a domesticated ferrets nail to grow without trimming will allow the quick to grow longer, making the amount of nail you’re able to trim smaller. This would result in the ferrets nail still being too long even after a trimming to the quick line (as close as you can to the quick).
Please tap a response or leave a comment with how you felt about this post! Did you find this post helpful? What is your method to trim your ferrets nails? & are there any specific topics discussed in this post that you would like to hear more about? Let me know!
References for this post can be found by clicking the link to a google doc. here:
How to trim a ferrets nails, Methods, & its importance References
The video above is The Modern Ferret ‘s video on how to trim your ferrets nails.
