Nail trimming for a first time owner with a young bunny–Help?

[JustPeachy]

Hi there, 

I’m new to the site, and a first-time bunny owner. I starting looking into monthly maintenance things and researching more on bunny care-I’m kind of obsessed with my little man. 

Now please don’t judge me, but I have never in the time that I have had Peaches have done his nails. He is a strong willed demanding rabbit that absolutely HATES being held/not in control (you get the gist). But he digs ALOT and I have mats and digs boxes and cardboard boxes for him to keep him entertained and for him to destroy and dig at. So I haven’t really thought too much about it. Plus he is still young. He’s not quite a year old just yet. 

As he gets older though I’ve been thinking about it and stressing that I’ve been a bad bunny mom since I haven’t checked his nails. At what age do you start watching his nails and trimming them? Should I take him to the vet for them to show me the best way to do this with him? How do I make this an unstressful thing for him?

(P.S. I’ve been working slowly with him to calm him when being handled. To show him he doesn’t have to stress about it. But he’s not to a point where anything out of his control is ok yet. Moving him into his carrier stresses us both out, but he is getting better about it.)

Any help is much appreciated, Thank you!

[Luna]

Hi! Don’t worry, he might not even need his nails trimmed if he digs a lot and is still young. But I agree that you should start checking . Overgrown nails are not only painful, but they can cause other issues as well (ie. sore hocks). You could have your vet show you, and/or there are some instructions in the “Bunny Info” tab in “Monthly Maintenance.” It’s a good idea that you are trying to get him used to being handled. You can also try getting him used to having his paws touched, as most buns do not like that either. Try touching one of his paws for a few seconds, then lengthen the time once he is comfortable. Then acclimate to lifting one of his paws off of the ground.

[vanessa]

My bunnies do a lot of digging too. They have a sand box to have an abrasive dig. Carpet/cardboard digging doesn’t keep the nails trimmed. Thye even have a non-skid level on their bunny condo. Still not enough.
Nail trimming isn’t my favorite thing to do – so I also waited a few months to start. But Now that they are used to it – it goes quite smoothly. the biggest challenge is catching two of them. I have 4 – 2 r easy to hold, 2 are very very difficult. I scoop them up in a carrier. 3 of the 4 get the bunny burrito. Once they are wrapped up in a towel, snip snip and it’s over in less than a minute.
I’v read about people getting their rabbits used to is on the ground, not being held, I can’t do that. If I were to try that – my bunnies nails would be growing through the floor by the time I ever got them to sit still. So I don’t focus on getting them used to it without being held. Instead, I focus on getting the whole process over quickly and smoothly. Lancelot is the easiest. Pick up up, flip him over, snip snip. Done. Then Guin – pick her up, bunny burrito, snip snip, done. Then Avalon/Morgana – corner them and scoop them into a carrier. Pick them up out of the carrier with a towel – (I can’t hold them with bare hands/arms – I’d get clawed). Bunny burrito, snip snip, done. The hardest part is catching Avalon and Morgana. No – they don’t like it. They hate it. Sometimes we have to do things that they hate. My parents couldn’t convince me not to be stressed about getting vaccinated as a kid. In the same way – I can’t convince my bunnies not to hate the nail clipping experience – but it is something that has to be done.
The one thing you can do to make it easier – is once you have the nail in the clippers, apply a little bit of pressure without cutting the nail, so the bunnies knows what to expect. Then clip. Otherwise it may come as a surprise to the bunny.

[GeorgieTheBunny]

Honest to Goodness this video is what you need to see:
https://youtu.be/W9KemnaTGIs

It’s Mary Cotter, a big name in the land of bunnies, showing best practise for nail cutting.
She is the head of the New York chapter of House Rabbit Society and reputable source of info.

There are a number of videos in this How Cast series about rabbit care by her, they’re an educational watch
More videos on hrs.org by her on bunny handling too….

[vanessa]

That was an AWESOME video!!! I’m going to have to practice on Lancelot before I try my other 3 buns!

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Welcome to the forum JustPeachy! You and Peaches look so comfy together, amazing job on developing your bond

Wow that video looks amazing! We’ll definitely have to try that with Breintje, it was a mess when we cut his nails this week. Fur flying, scratches everywhere and 5 raisins to get him to stop thumping.

[vanessa]

Posted By Ellie from The Netherlands on 5/16/2017 11:27 AM

Welcome to the forum JustPeachy! You and Peaches look so comfy together, amazing job on developing your bond

Wow that video looks amazing! We’ll definitely have to try that with Breintje, it was a mess when we cut his nails this week. Fur flying, scratches everywhere and 5 raisins to get him to stop thumping.

5 raisins?!? Yeesh!!!

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Posted By vanessa on 5/16/2017 11:35 AM

Posted By Ellie from The Netherlands on 5/16/2017 11:27 AM

 
We’ll definitely have to try that with Breintje, it was a mess when we cut his nails this week. Fur flying, scratches everywhere and 5 raisins to get him to stop thumping.

5 raisins?!? Yeesh!!!

Yup, we’ve been on the receiving end of quite a bit of bunnytude the last couple of weeks. Maybe he’s extra grumpy&thumpy because of his moult. He’s been on and off his moult for nearly 10 weeks now, it would make me lose my temper as well I guess.

[BunnyFriends]

Don’t feel bad, I couldn’t cut my boy’s for 1.5 years… now I just give him food and train while he eats. He doesn’t find, he’s in love with food.

[JustPeachy]

Thanks everyone for the info! 

I’ve actually seen the video when I did my initial research, I really like that channel-SO USEFUL! But yes, still wasn’t confident in my ability, especially with his “bunnytude.” I decided to go to my vet for just the first time to have them show me and get me comfortable doing it myself. I had to get a check up anyways, so I just added it to the agenda. They were great about it, however, I have yet to try it myself at home. I’ll be doing that this month if he needs it.

 I’ve actually done the bunny burrito with him before (he needed meds after his neuter surgery, which he took like a champ), it works pretty well with him but HE IS SO FAST! So it usually takes a while to catch him and it’s all very stressful for us both. Thanks for the tip tho. And your bunnies sound adorable, love the names!  

And my pic is actually kinda a weird story. The short version, I had to house him in my shower for a while after his neuter surgery so he didn’t hurt himself on the levels or anything in his condo. (I know, “my shower” it sounds terrible. But when I first got him his condo wasn’t finished either so he had to stay there then too.) Anyways after our first meditation session and the bunny burrito, he was so upset, so I crawled in there to calm him and pulled him onto me since he hates being picked up. This worked pretty well and I kind of think that was the moment he really bonded with me. But it was pretty funny looking. 

Raisins. Hmm, I’ll have to try those with him. 

Thank you all again for all the information and help, I’ll definitely try these techniques and see what works best for him! 

[Wick & Fable]

Wick doesn’t chew or dig, so as a young bun, he’s already had a molar grinding and has had his nails clipped once to twice over.

Something that helps is, if you’re in a position to do it somehow, holding the base of the nail you’re cutting. The slight twist/rotation which inevitably happens when you press down the clippers can be scary for a young bun since it’s not a regular experience (imagine if someone came up and bent your pinky toe a little when you’re off guard!). This helps with Wick a lot.

Also, don’t feel pressured to do all of them at once. You can do one or two in a sitting, note down somewhere which ones you did, then revisit clipping again when you feel comfortable.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

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