Very brittle nails/nails that keep breaking?

[bunnnnnnie!]

Zeus has broken a nail at least 4 times since I got him 2 years ago.  I’m wondering if there is some reason for his nails to be breaking so easily.  His nails are never very long.  He’s had to go to the vet twice now because of the broken nails, and both times the techs said they were surprised because the length of his nails looked fine.

Is there any reason he would be breaking nails like he is?  Is there any sort of culprit for brittle nails?  I feel bad it keeps happening, I’d love to figure out if there’s something I can do to keep his nails from breaking so seemingly easily.  It’s not life threatening or anything when it happens, but it’s painful and when it requires a vet visit, stressful on him.

We just got back from the emergency vet clinic because he actually ripped/broke the entire nail off (and it was 1030pm), nothing left but the quick.  He’s ok now, vet tech did an awesome job and he’s stretched out resting in his cage now.

[blackfang]

Probably hanging out in bathroom too much? –> accident hop on hard floor in wrong way and nail break.
Did Zeus placed his paws between the umm what do you call it….fence of cage? Hope you get the idea.
Or perhaps he dig too much?

My rabbit always jump onto the second floor in his cage without having problems until yesterday. For some reason, he was about to jump but he didn’t success. He fell down and bounced three times. Romeo broke his nail but he is okay. (It isn’t animal cruelty, it is just Romeo happened to hurt himself.)

[BunnymomKS]

I’ve noticed my bunnies’ nails get drier and older as the bunnies age, but we’re talking 7-8 year old bunnies, and Zeus is only 2. I’ve also sometimes wondered if it’s dietary deficiency – like maybe omega-3 or something? Or calcium, though one must of course be careful not to overdo calcium in adult rabbits that aren’t nursing mothers. Wish I had some answers rather than just questions for you. Maybe try rubbing a little vegetable oil on the nails weekly and wipe it off? Maybe that would soften them.

[RabbitPam]

Hi, bunnnnie! I don’t mean to hijack your post, but we were just saying today that there’s a new member with a BIG bunny posted in the Lounge that would like advice from other large bunny owners. Zeus was thought of. If you have a chance, check out the Lounge. Thanks.

I would call your regular vet and tell her the problem. I wonder if it’s a vitamin thing. I know in humans you can just eat gelatin to firm up your nails and stop them from breaking, so maybe there’s a bit of a diet supplement or a food you could give him.

Also, keep an eye on what’s paw level in his habitat. He may be pulling on something you hadn’t noticed.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By RabbitPam on 07/29/2012 01:41 PM

Hi, bunnnnie! I don’t mean to hijack your post, but we were just saying today that there’s a new member with a BIG bunny posted in the Lounge that would like advice from other large bunny owners. Zeus was thought of. If you have a chance, check out the Lounge. Thanks.

I would call your regular vet and tell her the problem. I wonder if it’s a vitamin thing. I know in humans you can just eat gelatin to firm up your nails and stop them from breaking, so maybe there’s a bit of a diet supplement or a food you could give him.

Also, keep an eye on what’s paw level in his habitat. He may be pulling on something you hadn’t noticed.

No biggie, I’ll head over to the Lounge next.  Always fun to chat with fellow large-bun owners. .

I’ll give my vet a call and see what she says.  Now that you say the vitamin thing, it makes me wonder.  Zeus is not a big pellet-eater, never really has been.  He MIGHT eat 1 teaspoon of pellets per day.  For his size, that’s nothing.  And since he doesn’t get a huge variety of greens, the pellets are the only real source of mins/vits in his diet.

Luckily I do know it’s not anything in his pen, every time he’s done it it’s been during out of cage time with random freak things.  Running and slipping on linoleum, digging at a curtain and getting a nail caught, and this last time was me trying to trim a few nails and he leapt funny to try to get away and broke a nail in the process (not even the one I was trying to trim!).

[peppypoo]

My vote is on some kind of nutritional deficiency, but I wouldn’t point to omega-3s or calcium. It could be very possible as well that there’s something different about the way his body metabolizes/builds different substances. Agreed on asking the vet though!

[BunnymomKS]

My Shamrock gets impatient to get let out for playtime and has broken off dewclaws 2 or 3 times clawing at the door, poor boy!

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