When do I know I need to trim their nails?

[summer]

I looked at many videos on youtube and pictures online but I’m not sure when I should trim my bunnies’ nails. I got them recently so I haven’t trimmed their nails yet. My boyfriend’s friend who has rabbits checked them 3 weeks ago (they were approximately 2 months old at that time) and recommended to check again a month or a month and a half later.

Also, compared to the bunnies used as examples on the internet my bunnies are very small. About 20~25cm long, while sitting. 

They are very relaxed around me and usually spread out their arms and legs so I  can see their feet but I haven’t been able to see their nails. I sometimes see them stretch their feet so I see their toes spread out but I don’t see their nails. They also stand up and rest their paws on the cage so I have been able to see their paws pretty clearly in that way, too. Their fur isn’t very long so I don’t think it’s covering them? When they are out of their cage they dig sometimes and I can hear their nails.

When they are in a spread out position, i would stroke their whole body and recently I’ve started lifting them a bit while stroking them to get them used to being lifted. My plan was to gradually lift them higher to get them comfortable with being lifted. 

But since they are so relaxed I think I can clip their nails without lifting/trancing/bunny burritoing them. I found this video and I think it’s totally possible for my bunnies:

I looked at a bunch of bunny nails pictures and they seem so thick and long. And you can see the nails very obviously while the bunny is just standing or something. Are they just exaggerated pictures or do I wait until that point to cut their nails? 

If possible can someone post a picture of their rabbits nails as an example? It would be especially helpful if you had a rabbit of similar size. My bunnies are so small!

[Sr. Melangell]

I would say if you can see the little nails sticking out a bit to get them done, do you have a vet appointment soon for a check up? If so you can ask them when you see them.

[summer]

I looked carefully last night. Softie, my beige bunny, I can see her back nails clearly when she is lying down and lounging around.
Shadow, with black markings, I saw his front nails when he was resting his paws on the cage bars.

For both, I can see the quick but it’s kind of hard to see the white tips.

While they were both lounging I touched their nails and they’re pointy but not sharp.

My boyfriend and his friend who owns rabbits keeps saying their nails aren’t long enough and to wait until next month to see a vet. I’m a worrywart by nature so I’m not sure if I’m overreacting or not… I made a lot of posts on this website with all my worries already maybe I am overreacting but I feel like taking to a vet would give me a piece of mind about all of my worries.

[Sr. Melangell]

Yes Summer, that is what I’mdoing too with Olly,vets help us too, to understand our pets needs, no one understands everything and all rabbits and dogs cats etc are all different, I won’t be cutting Olly’s nails because of my eye sight and too nervous to do it anyway, if you take him to a groomer make sure you stay with your bunny, do not just stand there if they say “OK back in a minute.” and go towards the back door, demand to have him brought back, there have been stories and also they get stressed without their owner, its like being little and the doctor says “Come in the back with me, you’ll see mummy/daddy later.”

[Excript]

when i feel that their nails are like claws(sharp at the end) and it hurts me extremely whenever he’s on my lap then i’ll give my bunny a trim

[Marianne]

Take your rabbit to the vet and have them demonstrate to you how to do your rabbit’s nails. You don’t necessarily need to see a vet, see if they have a tech that will do nail trim appointments. I cut my rabbit’s nails every 2 weeks or so. My rabbit’s nails are white, so the quicks are very easy to see. I cut as close to the quick as I can. Don’t let the nails get too long, as that can easily lead to a torn nail.

[summer]

I took them to the vet yesterday and he did it with his assistant. They had to trance them. I was pretty terrified because one got so afraid that it was hard for them to trance and even when upside down, he still tried to move. And I already knew that they are terrified when tranced.

Is there any other way to cut them without trancing?

I saw a video of a girl who clicker trained her rabbit to just eat without moving and she cut the bunny’s nails easily, although it took a while and she would only one leg a day or something (she said). She desensitized the sound of clipping with dried spaghetti.

So I researched clicker training and I looked at old threads on BB and many say it’s pretty much impossible to train 2 at the same time.

I tried to separate them to train them but they would not sit still without their friend and went crazy looking for each other. So I had to bring them back to each other.

[Marianne]

Yes. You can definitely cut rabbit nails without trancing them. I have never tranced a rabbit for a nailtrim, and I’ve had to do a lot of nail trims on difficult (=scared) rabbits (I’m a vet tech). If the bunny won’t sit still a bunny burrito works most of the time. If not, ask someone to hold the rabbit for you while you trim the nails. When someone assists me with a nail trim, I’ll ask them to hold the rabbit with the back against their body, putting their hand gently under the arms and around the chest of the rabbit, and the other hand to support the backend and backlegs to prevent the rabbit from kicking out. It takes a lot of patience when you have a rabbit that is scared of nail trims, take your time and give treats and cuddles. And if you feel that the rabbit needs a break, give your rabbit a break and continue later.

[summer]

For a bunny burrito I noticed some examples online, they trance the rabbit anyways. I want to bunny burrito them upright with one paw out and cover their eyes. Do you think that would work?

[Author]

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