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Clipping nails

nessar

Warren Veteran
Well I am feeling proud of myself, with the help of a man and a towel I have just cut Barney's nails for the first time :D (I know, simple minds simple pleasures, right?) But I am feeling very pleased. He didn't like it and struggled a fair bit but I got it done surprisingly quickly!

Problem is I'm not sure how much to cut them, and I think I maybe didnt cut them enough... I also couldnt get to the 'thumb' nail on his front feet so I'll have to do that another day.

So my question is - how short should they be cut? And if anyone has a picture of some nice short nails feel free to share :D

Oh and should they be all square-ended and rough and sharp after cutting?

Thanks in advance!
 
The clippers I got from the vets years ago tend to make them square ended and straight.

Hard to do at first. One of my females bunnies used to bleed so used to take her to the vets. Every time they clipped her claw they made her bleed too. Her nail veins where quite close to her nail endings. (Hope that makes sense).

Not had any problems with clipping for years. You just need to be able to see the blood vessel/vein that is in the nail and not cut near there. :wave:
 
How do you judge it on black nails?

A very well lit room or if you can get someone to help you they can hold a torch so it shines through the nail, you should be able to see the quick (vein)then.

As for how long. I think it's best to leave them longer, rather than catch the vein and they bleed. This can be very sore for the bun and I've always wondered about infections too.
 
I can see his veins very clearly so that's not a worry, although the torch tip will be good for if his future friend is black.

Just had a look, the nails are now nearly a cm longer than the vein, maybe 7mm (I got a ruler but couldnt measure accurately) is this okay or should I be looking at trimming them a bit more soon?
 
If you have a bunny with long nails and a long kwick the best thing is to cut it little and often as this can encourage the kwick to shrink back aswell.
 
Just had a look, the nails are now nearly a cm longer than the vein, maybe 7mm (I got a ruler but couldnt measure accurately) is this okay or should I be looking at trimming them a bit more soon?

Sounds like they may need a bit more. I try to trim mine as close to the kwick as possible.
 
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