ok, so i wrecked my ipod trying to mess with themes and what not and now it will not turn on. it will not even mount when plugged in. I am wondering if i can some how format it with terminal. when i type "mount /dev/disk1s3" it says "unknown special file or file system". . i dont know much code but if someone could help me i would be so grateful.
See if you can manage the commands in this thread:
Did you try Disk Utility?
Also, Google is your friend.
and/or, man diskutil
Be careful to reformat the correct drive! 
I could be mistaken, but disk0sX (where "X" is however many partitions there are on the drive) is the internal hard drive.
disk1sX is the optical drive..
Theoretically, disk2sX would be the iPod, or another optical drive. 
"it will not even mount when plugged in"
Try to reset your Mac's NVRAM: