Trimming or clipping your blue tongue skink’s nails can be a simple or daunting task, depending on how much experience you have got and how confident you are. In this post, you will learn how to trim blue tongue skink nails properly and whether it’s important to trim blue tongue skink’s nails/claws.
To trim/clip a blue tongue skink nails, you will need to sit in a well lit area to locate a ‘quick’ vein in a blue tongue’s nail. Then, you will have to use a clipper to clip a blue tongue’s nails below a ‘quick’.
Do I need to trim my blue tongue skink’s nails?
Trimming your blue tongue skink’s nails is important if they grow long and become sharp. This is because they will grow too long, start curling inwards and make it hard for your skink to walk around.
Also, they will become harder to trim and cause you pain when you are handling your blue tongue skink. However, if you include rocks in the tank and nails are worn down naturally, you might not need to trim the nails, or at least trim only few.
How often should I trim my blue tongue skink’s nails?
Trim your blue tongue skink’s nails every 5-8 weeks, or when you see that they are becoming long and sharp. Blue tongue skink’s toes are very small, and nails start curling inwards when getting longer, so trim before this happens.
Wearing your blue tongue skink’s nail down naturally
Apart from clipping, it’s also a good idea to include something that will help wear skink’s nails down naturally or at least slow down their growth. To do this, you can include a rock, concrete block or sandstone in the tank.
This will file the nails naturally, when your blue tongue skink climbs on top or walks over rocks. Sometimes, few nails can grow longer while others are worn down normally. In this case, just trim ones that are long and start curling downwards.
Preferably use a flat stone, because your blue tongue skink won’t climb much or will avoid higher objects entirely. You can place this rock on one side of the tank.
When is the best time to trim your blue tongue skink’s nails?
The best time to trim your blue tongue skink’s nails is in the morning, after lights turn on. This is because your blue tongue skink will still be sleepy and cold. That will make trimming nails much easier, because your skink is likely to sit still.
How to trim a blue tongue skink nails?
To trim your blue tongue skink’s nails, take it out of the tank first and place in a container. Take a look at its nails and shine some light at them.
You should be able to see a thin line that goes through the nail. This is a blood vessel and nerve called ‘quick’. You must take extra care not to cut where ‘quick’ runs, or otherwise it will bleed and cause pain to your blue tongue skink.
Never cut the nail all the way down, only the sharp tip, and under the ‘quick’ blood vessel. Position the toe sideways, to make cutting more precise. When you look at the nail from the side, you will see the ‘main thick’ part, and then the rest that is thinner and sharper.
Cut the thin and sharp bit, do not get near the main thick part of the nail. To cut the claws, you can use a dog/cat/small animal clipper like this, or even a small human clipper.
Before you start clipping, prepare styptic powder or cornstarch in case your blue tongue skink’s nails bleed. If it happens, do not panic, and apply some powder to control and stop the bleeding.
Also keep your blue tongue on paper towels until the wound has healed. Otherwise, various pathogens might cause an infection by entering the nail bed.
It’s a very good idea to ask someone to help you. One person can hold the skink and its toes, while another one will clip the nails. This will ensure you have more control and will avoid cutting the nail too short.
If you are not confident clipping the nails, you can take your blue tongue to the vet who can probably do it for you.
Thanks for reading this post! To learn more about blue tongue skink care, please see this resource page.