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Another nail trim disaster :(

MimzMum

Wise Old Thumper
Fiver this time. Was clipping his left rear foot toenails and he flicked his leg at just the wrong time. Result: most of the nail gone, nail bed bleeding like billy-oh...got it to stop once, now he's washing it and it's gushing again. Have no styptic pencils...what can I do?
Poor lad...his front left foot is only now growing back the nails that he tore out over a year ago on his hay basket. This must be painful for him. Why do they seem to come off so easily? Is it a nutritional deficiency? How do I fix this? The remainder of the nail is sharp too but I daren't cut more. Can't even keep neosporin on it as he just licks it right off.
Between this and his arthritis and sore hock he must be in agony. :cry:

What is wrong with me? I. Am. The. Worst. Bunny. Mom. Ever. :cry:
 
It's not your fault at all.Have you got any cornflour? I read you can dip the nail in that to stop the bleeding. I hope someone else will have advice about the possibility of a nutritional deficiency.

Hugs xx
 
You are a wonderful bunny mom. These things happen; rabbits don't know why nail clips are important and they need to have it done. Accidentally catching the quick is so easily done; the slightest change of position of the bun can lead to it happening. It is terrifying and can make you feel awful (I know from experience, ha) but Fiver will probably be 'over' it long before you will be.

I don't have any advice for stopping the bloodflow though. Mine have always stopped quickly. :/
 
Oh no, please don't blame yourself :( As Zoobec and tlcwrites say it is incredibly easy to do. I actually trimmed my bunnies' nails on Monday night and Snoopy was kicking his feet so much I'm amazed I didn't catch the quick as well. I've also heard that cornflour can help stem the bleeding.

Sending you lots of hugs. You're doing a fantastic job caring for your buns, unfortunately despite our best efforts these mishaps can happen. xxx
 
I agree with the cornflour too. Have used it for bird claws too. It's so scary, isn't it. When my bunny Heather pulled her whole claw out, it took the vet a while to get it to stop bleeding. She applied pressure and one of those blue styptic pens. I can't deal with it myself, I get hysterical, hubby can cope. The vets seem to treat it as just one of those things.
 
It's easily done,first time I took my bridge boy Rio to the vet,she clipped his claws and showed me how to.All fine until the last back claw.He jerked his foot away and the claw got pulled out,luckily it stopped bleeding pretty soon.So if it happens to the vet,it can happen to anyone.I always managed after that.She did say that their big back feet are more "tickly".So don't blame yourself.
 
Fiver this time. Was clipping his left rear foot toenails and he flicked his leg at just the wrong time. Result: most of the nail gone, nail bed bleeding like billy-oh...got it to stop once, now he's washing it and it's gushing again. Have no styptic pencils...what can I do?
Poor lad...his front left foot is only now growing back the nails that he tore out over a year ago on his hay basket. This must be painful for him. Why do they seem to come off so easily? Is it a nutritional deficiency? How do I fix this? The remainder of the nail is sharp too but I daren't cut more. Can't even keep neosporin on it as he just licks it right off.
Between this and his arthritis and sore hock he must be in agony. :cry:

What is wrong with me? I. Am. The. Worst. Bunny. Mom. Ever. :cry:

No you're not, I am :)

My vet did this last time I asked her if she would cut my rabbit's nails. She gave me a styptic pencil. However, I gather cornflour works well.

I hope it's stopped gushing now?

(((( hugs ))))
 
Fiver this time. Was clipping his left rear foot toenails and he flicked his leg at just the wrong time. Result: most of the nail gone, nail bed bleeding like billy-oh...got it to stop once, now he's washing it and it's gushing again. Have no styptic pencils...what can I do?
Poor lad...his front left foot is only now growing back the nails that he tore out over a year ago on his hay basket. This must be painful for him. Why do they seem to come off so easily? Is it a nutritional deficiency? How do I fix this? The remainder of the nail is sharp too but I daren't cut more. Can't even keep neosporin on it as he just licks it right off.
Between this and his arthritis and sore hock he must be in agony. :cry:

What is wrong with me? I. Am. The. Worst. Bunny. Mom. Ever. :cry:

If I had a pound for all the times that I have cut a claw too short......................... !!

I have found that in the absence of a styptic pencil then any type of flour will to stop the bleeding :)
 
So true Jane,my wee bridge budgie had a deformed foot from birth,two toes were deformed and the claws turned upwards,I always trimmed them short as possible.One day however I had him in my bedroom and he was allowed out to free fly.My niece was staying with me and her Bengal cat too,a total hunter so they were kept well apart.Not sure what happened but I went in to check and one claw was hanging off,most likely caught on something,large blood spots all over the cage floor.Now wee birds can't afford to lose much blood so I got a bowl of flour and just dunked his foot in it.It stopped the bleeding and he seen by a vet the next day,given anti biotics because the foot was swollen a bit.He lived to nearly 12.So yes even ordinary flour helps,cornflour is finer ,but i didn't have any.
 
You are not a bad bunny mummy. As someone who has worked in a rescue with lots and lots of bunnies this happens all the time, no matter how careful you are it happens. It happens to vets, owners, breeders, everyone! I once had to stop off at a shop on the way home from work liberally smeared with blood after a small nail clipping incident :shock:

It doesn't make you feel any better when it happens though I know *hugs* my aunt still feels guilty for over clipping her child's nails when she was a toddler. Apparently she wasn't even struggling and mum still missed the nail! Said child is at uni now :lol:
 
Thank you everyone :love:
Yes, his foot did stop bleeding before I went to bed. I just felt so sorry for him. He's got enough owies to deal with. :(
Thank you for the flour and cornstarch suggestions...I had forgotten about those. I'll keep some onhand for next time...provided I don't chicken out and just take them to the vet so she can feel the guilt instead if she goofs! :lol:

Seriously though...I think my eyesight is not good enough for this stuff anymore either. The two with darker nails are almost impossible to trim safely. I miss my Pedipaws! :(
 
Thank you everyone :love:
Yes, his foot did stop bleeding before I went to bed. I just felt so sorry for him. He's got enough owies to deal with. :(
Thank you for the flour and cornstarch suggestions...I had forgotten about those. I'll keep some onhand for next time...provided I don't chicken out and just take them to the vet so she can feel the guilt instead if she goofs! :lol:

Seriously though...I think my eyesight is not good enough for this stuff anymore either. The two with darker nails are almost impossible to trim safely. I miss my Pedipaws! :(


Indeed! My vet was mortified she had cut to the quick :shock:

Glad to hear all is well :D
 
It is easy to accidentally cut a nail to short. I feel so bad when it happens, even though I know trimming the nails is necessary. I have used flour too. When I used a towel to wrap a sick bunny when administering medications I had a struggling bunny catch a nail in the towel loops and rip off a nail. It is worse when the ripped/cut piece is still hanging by a thread.
With my black bunnies with dark nails it helps to put a flashlight behind the nail to make it easier to see where not to cut. Sometimes the bunny will jump if I get to close and just pinch the quick.
When the vets cuts the nails, he has ideal lighting. Finally, with some bunnies it a two person job.
 
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