Nail Clipping

Hi All,

My bun needs his nails clipping, I was thinking of taking him to the vets as this will be the first time its been done. Maybe after seeing the vet do it I may be able to do it myself the nest time.

Does anyone clip their buns nails themselves?

Is it expensive at the vets???

I do my bunnies myself, as they are both really good, but I have my pig Hampton done at the vets cos he pulls his foot away at the last minute - costs me about a fiver I think??

Thats a relief! I was expecting it to be expensive!

Im a little too nervous to do it myself having never done it before and dont want to scare bun as hes never had it done before either.

I always do my buns claws myself, he fidgets a bit but it has to be less stressful for him than trailing him off to the vets every few weeks.

Hiya

I do all my buns claws but need a helper with Princess as she is very fidgety!! I would go to the vet the first time and get them to show you how to do it, as you don't want to clip the quick, which is the blood vessel running into the claw. If nails are dark it can be harder to know where the quick is. With practice you will get more confident I work with bunnies and piggies too so I have had lots of practice there!! I'm lucky with one of my bunnies as digging and flying about the garden keeps her claws nice and short!

NIcola

Hiya and Welcome Sweetie - Awwwww a local lass, your not too far away from me in Bromsgrove.

Prob best if your a little nervous to see how your vet does it first time round as Bunsters will sometimes feed off your emotion and if your a little unsettled in nail clipping - the fear could transfer to them.

Also are the Nails white or black - black are a little more difficult to trim as you have to be more careful not to cut into the quick as its not so easy to see.

I do cut my own bunsters nails now as they are very used to being handled for this and the what you call "trance" very easily for me - this is a process where you (for example) sit with your bunny on your knees with them facing towards you - love and cuddle them and gradually slide them backwards (away from you) until they are lying flat and relaxed with head resting firmly on your knees (not easy to explain in a post) - when they are like this you will just see sometimes a slight reflex in the feet and its ideal for nail clipping, but take care as when the bunny comes out of the Trance State they can suddenly jump so best to keep a firm by gentle grip.

Also this technique when mastered can be less stressful I find than taking the bunny to the Vets for nail clips.

I wouldn't recommend "trancing" as a general way to hold bunsters though as what the bunny is imitating is almost like playing dead in a Prey Situation so I only tend to use this if I need to trim nails, check botties or Fur clip.

All my bunnies are absolutely fine with this now as we've built up a trust - they also get a yummy treat afterwards - no wonder they are willing me thinks :lol: :lol: :wink:

Hope this helps - hope I've explained this o.k as its probably one of those things more easy to understand in diagram than written text.

It's always better if you have 2 people to start off with first too, one holding the bun and one clipping. I've only managed to trance 2 of mine once each and clipped at the same time. The movement sometimes wakes them and they do big flips and scrabbles if you jerk them out of it too quickly. :? Be prepared for scratches if that happens! LOL
Henry, the rabbit in my avatar, is too big to be tranced and clipped at the same time now. He's just too heavy to hold with one arm! :? And he won't lie on my lap! Awkward boy!
Good luck with it! Once you've mastered it, you'll be doing it all the time!

Yes, I clip all my bunnies' nails. I turn them on their back with their head against my chest/tummy and their feet against my bent legs. Vera

My bun is quite new to us and we only just clipped Caspers for the first time ourselves last night!!
My husband held him in his arms and I clipped his nails, he was quite jumpy and in the end my son stroked his nose at the same time, even with all that it was still less stressful than the vets!