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Nail cutting how/when?

grainy

Warren Scout
Hiya,
How often do rabbit nails need cutting?
And do you do this yourself or your vet?

My rabbit doesn't yet like being picked up so i can't tell how long her nails are but her nails feel sharp. :?
 
myself and my parted do our buns claws (have found its a 2 person job :lol: ) but I would advise going to your vet the first few times and get them to show you - you have to be carful not to cut down into the quick as rabbits have a vein in their nail and it can bleed quite badly.

As for technique, I have found using 1 hand to hold the back of their neck and the other to hold their bottom legs, and holding their back against my front while my partner snips is the best for my 2, but think its a matter of seeing how ur buns happiest
xxx
 
I do mine myself. I do it in the toilet with me sitting on the seat and just letting her sit down on me with some veg/pellets to distract her.

I have wooden flooring so when I hear her nails when she walks, I know she's long overdue for a clipping. I usually clip when her nails poke out of her paws and clip a tiny bit. That way I do it bit by bit and frequently so she gets used to it. It's probably every 3 weeks or so.
 
We do this ourselves, it is definitely a good idea to have someone to help you though :D

My partner holds the bun still (generally she is sitting on one of his arms, with this hand supporting her bum, and then supports her from the top with his other hand). I then use nail clippers (these are pretty widely available from pet shops/vets/the hay experts etc) to cut the nail, avoiding the quick. I generally find that it is useful to have either a lamp or torch to hand, that I can shine through the nail to identify where the quick ends. The quick will appear as a red/brown blood vessel that goes about 3/4 of the way down the nail. If you do happen to cut the quick the nail will bleed, don't panic, but dip the nail in some styptic powder (which stops the bleeding and helps with the pain) or cornflour works well too.

I generally check our buns nails once every two weeks, and then cut whenever necessary. Generally outdoor buns' nails stay shorter than indoor buns - so this will be a factor in how often you have to do this. Nails are generally pretty sharp - this is not necessarily a sign that the nails are too long. Really you can tell how long they are by how much nail there is beyond the quick.

I think most vets will cut rabbits' nails pretty cheaply, so is definitely a good idea to get your vet to show you to begin with. We did our bun's nails ourselves from day one though, as the OH watched a couple of YouTube vids and decided he was an expert :roll::lol:

Good luck! :)
 
I do ours, I actually do them on my own, I find it easier. I have a few different ways as some of them prefer it on their backs, others prefer to sit on my lap. I haven't, however, done Nutmeg's as some of her nails, not all of them, are dark. But the other day I noticed I can see the quik in a good enough light so will do them myself next time so it's not so stressful for her.

If you do catch the quik, dipping their paw in a small bowl of flour helps the flow to stop quickly.
 
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