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My best friend has an ornate box turtle. She says that his front and back nails are getting very long. She said that she remembered reading that their nails need trimmed every once in awhile.

Is it true that you need to trim their nails?
How do you tell when it is needed?
How do you trim the nails, especially the front ones without getting bit?

Thanks.

From what I read long nails are fine but if they make your friend uncomfortable then they can be trimmed especially they are causing the turtle problems. I was reading how long nails may get stuck in carpeting and they may rip there whole toe of trying to get free.

That is similar to what she is saying. Do you have any idea how she should trim them?

To avoid getting bit when doing the front ones I though she could have him bite a wash cloth or carrot or something and while he is busy with that put another cloth between his head and one of his legs as a barrier.

No idea really but I read you handle it like your trimming the nails of a bird.

That I know how to do. I'll go over to her house later and check it out. Thanks.

I would suggest making a trip to a qualified vet. With proper housing, the claws generally won't get long enough to trim.

She did take him to the vet. Its the guy that is on Animal Planet emergency vets at Alameda East Vet Hospital in Denver. I think he is pretty good. He told her to clip them when they appeared to be too long, but he didn't really tell her how to do it.

I believe the housing is set up well. I assumed that the nails were getting long because he doesn't crawl around on rough rocks like he might in the wild. He is pretty much on soft substrates like his dirt/sand mixture in his tank and carpet.

I should have elaborated. It's a good idea to have slate rock as a portion of the enclosure floor so they wear down their claws naturally.

Oh, I see. I'll talk to her about adding that to his enclosure.