Alternative methods to doing nails?

My bunnies will be needing their nails done soon. I've never done it before (my parents always did my previous bunnies) and I'm scared of doing it wrong or hurting them and neither of them are particularly fond of being handled so I was wondering if anyone knows of any alternative ways of getting the nails down shorter?

I know that some people avoid it by having their buns on hard but slightly rough surfaces like concrete which I could do but it's so hot outside (I live in south texas so it's 80-90F everyday) and I'm worried that they'll be too hot if I put them out there for more than a few minutes. I was thinking of bringing in a slab just for the purpose of getting their nails down but don't know how effective it actually is.

My other idea (and main question) is to use sand paper to help file them down a little bit? but I didn't know how safe this would be. I know that they make sheets of sand paper for birds and figured maybe this would be safer as birds can sometimes peck and chew at the paper...Can anyone advice me as to how safe this would be? Could I maybe just use one sheet and supervise them at all times to make sure they don't chew on it?

Sorry for the long post but any ideas would be greatly appreciated by Lagos and Blossom and of course me lol.

What about wrapping them in a towel?

I believe this was how my parents did my previous bunnies. I've tried it before when I had to pick Lagos up a couple of times and it seems to make him more scared and he's very good at squeezing out of the tinest of spaces but I don't want to wrap him up too tight y'know? Blossom I've never tried it with but he was pretty calm when I picked him up a moment ago to check his nails (some are black too :? )

Luckily it's not a huge pressing thing at the moment, there's only a little bit of white nail after the pink quick (sp?) so I should be alright for a little while but obviously I'll need to come up with something soon.

Oh and I forgot to say, I can't get the vet to do it so that's not an option either.

It's definitely true that concrete etc wears the nails down, all my bunnies have lived outside with a mixture of concrete/grass as well as their hutch/sheds, and I have never had to cut a single nail. I'm not convinced that a single paving slab would be enough, I think it's the general moving around over time that gradually wears them down.

Do you think maybe I should take them outside (in an exclosed pen of course) and just find a way to keep them cooler out there? Maybe a mini fan and some ice cubes to play with or something? If I do it on a daily basis how long should I keep them out there to see results? Like 30 mins a day? Sorry about all the questions

hi hun...the sandpaper idea is a good one but i would just use a simple nail file - u know the paper emery boards that we use on ours. I use these on one of my dogs who hates having his nails clipped but is happy to sit on my lap and have them filed away just put a towel on ur lap to catch dust. I have also used this method to take the sharp edges of a tortise's nails one they had been clipped. It takes the stress out of it for them. Other than that i wrap my bunny in a towel to clip his and he is fine. but if ur not confident enough to clip them darling just give him a manicure with your nail kit...... if u can get him sitting still on ur lap and relaxed it should work a treat.


hugs alpha xx

8) as for the heat - i use plastic pop bottles fill them with water but not full as water expands when frozen. pop the bottles into the frezzer and once frozen bunny will enjoy rolling them around licking them and laying up against them to keep cool. Also do beware of the heat as bunnys do suffer more in the heat than in the cold....dont leave them in direct sunlight if u can always make sure they have some shade.....but the frozen bottles work wonders - ice cubes do melt too quickly.


good luck

hugzzz
Alpha

Try asking in your local petshop/humane society/rabbit clubs you might be able to find someone with more experience willing to help you out.

I don't think you're likely to have much luck with them wearing down unless they spend a significant amount of time on a rough surface, and it has to be moving about not just sitting around. I imagine if it's that hot they'll probably just sun bathe so won't help anyway.

You'll probably find getting them to hold still for a nail file harder than snipping.

What colour claws do they have, white easiest, if you can't see the quick on dark claw, try shining a torch through. You can always mark where to cut with a pen and then cut them if that would help.

Tam

The pen idea is a pretty good one lol, never even thought of that. Most of the nails are white but Blossom has the odd black one I think (didn't want to stress them out too long to look). I'll experiment with what them and see what works best...I'm definately leaning towards sand paper at the moment tho Thanks for all the help

If you do choose to clip them keep a bowl of cornflour at hand as it will stop bleding if you nip the quick. I know what you mean, I hate clipping mine's nails!

what you could do is hold your bunny and put him/her on your lap, tummy up.. so his/hers back would be against your lap and gently clip his/her nails with animal nail clippers(like others suggested). Hopefully this way would work for you, it works for both my bunnies and they dont seem to mind.

Any vet nurses that would come to your house and help you do it?

I have been unable to figure out how to get my bunnies onto their back or try and trace them without getting my arms clawed to death lol. If I could get them on their backs, nail clipping would be so much easier :roll:

I know there's a local humane society who might do the job for me, I'd have to ask.

Still curious about the sand paper idea tho lol, anyone have any opinion or ideas about that?

All I can say is nail clipping is not as scary as it seems.

I put off doing my bunnies for ages - I kept coming on here for advice but would never actually go and do it cos I'd chicken out.

I struggle to get twiggy on her back because she's quite large and also very very strong.

Anyway, about 2 weeks ago enough was enough and I was not going to get ripped off by a vet to do it! So I did it! And it was easy.

With twiggy I picked her up with right hand under her front and left hand under her bum and the very quickly turning her on her back so I'm holding her like a baby. Then I sat on a chair and had her so that her back was in the gap between my thighs. if you see what I mean? Then I could hold her with my left hand while cutting her nails with my right. I expected her to panic and struggle but she didn't at all.

Picking them up does take some practice...I never had a rabbit before mine and it took me a long time to get the confidence to pick them up. The more confident and the more security in your hold the more comfortable they will be with it.

I have found by accident that by keeping a bucket full of stones and mud keeps Chesters nails down pretty well.

I had too much soil in the garden and filled a bucket up with stones from the grass and the excess mud with the intention of moving it to the front garden. Well I forgot and now Chester has adopted it! lol He spends hours sitting on top of the bucket digging. The bits of brick and stone has kept his nails nice and trim and if you keep the mud slightly damp it is also cold. It makes a bit of a mess but stops him digging up the garden! lol Everynight I put the mud and stones back in and the next day we start over :lol:

Of course I am no expert but it works for us

there is nothing to be afraid of, nail clipping is a simple task. You just have to make sure you don't cut too deep, as there are blood vessel in his nail, if you cut too deep, you'll cut into the blood vessel, and there can be infection if it happens.

To fix all these, just cut 1 mm - a maximum of 2 mm per nail.

You do that every 3 - 4 weeks, guarantee it works.

To check if the nail is even long enough to cut the 1 - 2mm, feel it w/ your hand. If you can feel it curling downwards, it definitely time to cut, if you can feel it is pretty much straight, then you don't need to cut it.