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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum DIET & CARE clipping nails!

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    • lillian
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      131 posts Send Private Message

        Not really sure where to put this, so will put it in the random area lol.

        Nail clippings with my buns has always been a struggle from the beginning. Wiggles, whimpers, whines, the works. At one point, I actually met some people that work with a strictly-rabbit shelter and asked them about it. They told me, due to my rabbit having black nails, just to snip the very tip, like 1/16th of an inch at most. Big big big mistake! With the wiggles and whines, 1/16th of an inch was a nightmare! For every 1/16th I got off, there was another 1/8th of new growth! Her nails were just getting longer and longer!

        Both luckily and unluckily, my eyes were opened to the truth yesterday, and this may be able to help you guys who are struggling with nail clippings too! If you just want the tips, scroll to the bottom. Everything in between is the horror story I witnessed with my bun.

        My friends male was at the vet yesterday, which is what caused them to allow my girl in (“well, shes already here and her other bun is here, so, lets just take her in”). Anyway, to the horror story that opened my eyes.

        I got the call, around 2pm, that we can come pick up my friends bun in about 2 hours. Him and I were like “okay lets kill time” and put a movie in. Not even 10 minutes after that call, my bun had tried to jump on the bed, missed, and suddenly, blood! It wasn’t like a little drip here and there. Oh no. It was like someone ripped out her jugular. Panicked that she was going to go in shock, I ended up practically going in shock. -skip the 30 minute drive to the vet where I was freaking out. Why does the only good vet that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg have to be 2 towns over?!-

        Get to the vet, bun is lethargic but not in shock, not wiggling, being pretty calm (shes definitely tougher than me). They manage to squeeze us in for an emergency appointment. Shes cleaned, given a cream that I have to put on twice a day for the next 2 weeks, and the wound examined. The nail was practically ripped out. It was then the vet told me she is going to have the nurse teach me how to clip nails.

        I would like to point out that my rabbits nails were a good inch long. They were quite on the extreme case. We were actually going to take her in the next week just to have them clip them(as that’s when I get paid next), but, we got an early start and a free lesson. So, the nurse comes in, and stuns us all. He has me hold her, and just clips away, way more than I thought possible

        So, now the long waited part, the tips he gave:
        1. Where the nails begin to bend is where you should clip. This is great for rabbits with colored or black nails where you cannot see through, like my buns.
        2. Clippings should be every 3 – 4 weeks
        3. The quick does NOT grow with the nails. This. This surprised and confused me after so many people told me they do, and I think a lot of people make the same mistake I did due to this fear. He pretty much proved it though when he cut like 80% of her nail off, and, no blood. He actually had the vet come back in and explain this too me, because in all honesty, I did not believe it. I had been told by people who call themselves professionals that they do, but, the proof was there. Of course, the quick IS in the nails, as it is with any other animal, and it does go probably 1/8th of an inch out with the nail (at least with my bun) but it doesn’t just keep growing and growing as the nail keeps growing!
        4. There were a few nails where the bend wasn’t too visible. The second length cutting tip was just a little longer than the fur.
        5. Styptic powder is a life saver if the quick is nipped (more so mine than the rabbits, lol)
        6. The type of clippers that everyone in there recommends is the ones that look kinda like pliers and cut like scissors.
        7. Two people is definitely better than one. One to hold and comfort, the other to clip


      • Sarita
        Participant
        18851 posts Send Private Message

          Good info – going to move to the Diet & Care section…think it’s better suited there.


        • LittlePuffyTail
          Moderator
          18092 posts Send Private Message

            Thank you for sharing. Nail trimming is such a difficult aspect of being a bun parent.


          • lillian
            Participant
            131 posts Send Private Message

              Thank you for moving it to the correct section lol

              I wanted to share my own experience in hopes of helping bunny parents (or, bunny slaves in my case lol) because I was always so unsure. You read 30 things online, and every one of them contradicts the other. Heck, Ive had people tell me that “oh no, you shouldn’t clip the nails, that’s bad for them” and Ive had people “oh you have to cut them every 2-3 days” . I think the biggest thing that helped me though was that the quick doesn’t grow, cause that was my biggest fear. I always feared hurting my little ones, and I rather not see blood (although yesterday was….whew…).

              Its kinda funny now though. When my rabbits nails were long, they never caught on anything (besides yesterday) and now that they are cut short, I keep hearing them catch on everything. There is no way I’m going to be able to file my little girl’s nails…. lol

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          Forum DIET & CARE clipping nails!