Monday, June 8, 2009

Manicure or Pedicure?




















This is Penelope - and this is how she looks like when she is perky. She is a happy little girl who likes to collect bedding and tissue paper as her hobby. Also seen here is an enlarged photo of her little claws as I've been trying to trim them for quite awhile but she won't sit still for the manicure / pedicure. So is it a manicure or pedicure for hamsters? For the clueless, hamsters can use their front paws like hands and can hold things with them. They mostly fall into 4 categories: grabbers, snatchers, droppers and holders. The greedy ones are normally grabbers, they'll stand erect in anticipation and expertly grab the food out of your hands. The timid & greedy ones are snatchers. Their strategy is snatch & run off with the food - often their greed overcomes their fear. The droppers are the really timid ones who are so fearful that they'll clumsily drop the food you give them followed by the most apologetic look. The holders are the relaxed ones who will just take the food from you and say "Thank You".

Back to the claws..... It is advisable to trim their overgrown claws with a baby scissors or nail clippers if they grow too long. Actually Penelope's claws is still considered acceptable. So what is considered too long? It is when their claws start curling inwards, making it painful for them especially when running the wheel. You should only trim off a little portion and leave some behind as they need to scratch themselves. If you're unsure please Ask a vet to do it for you as their paws are very intricate. So I leave you with the clawing question - Manicure or Pedicure for hamsters?

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