The Importance of a Good Manicure

Our first "medical" issue with the gliders occurred a month after we got them when Foehn tore off one of the nails on her right front paw. A visit to the vet was reassuring in that she wasn't seriously injured, but he said that the nail may not grow back. Their nails are used for climbing, grooming, and holding food, and while the loss of one nail wasn't going to hold her back, we still felt bad that this happened.  It was just recently that I noticed that the nail has in fact grown back! The last time we trimmed their nails about six weeks ago it wasn't evident. I'm not quite sure but I think it was the second finger that was injured. As you can see in the photo below all of her nails are normal now. Her 'thumb" is under her body and not visible..

Here is a photo of her entire paw (a little out of focus) showing all five "fingers".

If their nails get too long they start to curl under and are prone to catching on things. If they do get caught on something the gliders will try and free themselves and that can result in injury. So, we check their pouches and other things to make sure there are no loose threads or anything else that they can get hung up on. We also attach wet/dry emery paper to their wheel every other week. As they run on the wheel their nails are kept trimmed to a normal length. If their nails get too long then we have to actually trim their nails with a nail clipper, which is an interesting exercise. The gliders are pretty good about it, but it takes both M and I to get the job done. Fortunately, the wet/dry paper on the wheel seems to be doing the trick.