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Telling the age of a rescue rabbit through their toes...

iggyperdyandme

Alpha Buck
I remember being told a long time ago that you could tell the age of a rabbit over 5 years because their claws can bend up (not just that you dont cut them enought).

Does anyone know if this is true or if their is a way of telling the age of a rescue bunny?

I would love to know how old Betty is. I think she is between 3-4 but her thumb bends up a little on one of her front paws and now Im worried that she is older and I will have less time with her. I know walter was still very young when we got him purely because of his size! Whereas Betty was already an adult.

I would love to know if anyone knows of a way to tell :wave::wave:
 
I've never heard of this one. I've heard of looking at the fur on their hocks and generally you can tell how old a rabbit is by the callous skin and any fur loss there. But nails I've never heard of! :D
 
I have heard of that, but I am a bit dubious to be honest. I seem to remember it being on here and someone reporting that one of the leading rabbit vets (FHB?) didn't think it was a reliable way to tell.

I think a lot depends on the care the rabbit has recieved over the course of their lives, I'd imagine that a bun which has had its nails clipped once a month for their entire lives could keep their claws in tip top shape whereas a bun that turns up in rescue with inch long talons, well they tend to curl in all directions :shock: of course they are the extremes but I am still dubious about calling a buns age from their claws!
 
no not heard that, I tell youngsters from adults with the thickness as babies and younger rabbits nails are much sharper but not as thick, but one adult hard to tell age of rabbit from nails I would think :?
 
Unfortunately once a rabbit has matured there is no way of telling how old they are!
For most animals teeth are the only real indicator, but with bunnies their teeth depend on their diet/health.
I would love to know how old my rescue Flo is, I think she must be about 2-3years minimum :D
 
Certainly never had any noticeable difference on Charlie's nails: they were cut but only once a year or so (he kept them down over Summer himself!) but I don't remember there being any difference when I checked them!
 
In my experience, older bunnies' claws do tend to be thicker and some have a tendency to go off at an angle. Not all of them, but most bunnies.:thumb:
 
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