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Stressed rabbit when holding to clip nails

B

BenjiBun

Young Bun
Hi there

So one of my rabbits Benji is very nervous when it comes to handling him. We can pet him and he loves to have strokes and nose rubs and is an overall happy and active bunny but we simply can't pick him up or gently restrain him to clip his nails.
I understand rabbits are prey animals and don't like to be handled but many do tolerate people's affections.
This means I've always had to take him to the vet to for nail clips but last night I thought we'll try it. While he was in a calm mood my boyfriend kneeled down and gently had him with butt between his legs and holding him still around the upper body so I could swiftly go in and clip the front paws

Well, it was going fine he would wriggle then stop and when he calmed I'd continue but then I said quickly let him go, I looked at his eyes and he'd got so stressed that his eyes went all weird like he'd died and his third eye was over his eye plus I could hear him breathing.

I was so terrified of causing him a heart attack that we stopped.

My question is really, has anyone else seen these symptoms when having to hold a nervous rabbit for clips. I know many people seem to say yes they'll get stressed but they never go into much detail as to what this stress will look like, he looked like he was giving up to die last night and was all floppy poor little soul.

We weren't hurting him or holding too tight just the way the vet had shown us.

Right after It he was totally fine I gave him cuddles (on the ground of course [emoji57]) and a treat to say brace boy.

I envy all these folks who can hold their rabbit on their laps.

Any advice is much appreciated
Thanks [emoji5]


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No I've never seen that but Doughnut doesn't like being picked up but will jump on my lap for a treat, sit on it while she's eating the treat then check my hands to make sure I haven't got anything then jump off! I get her nails clipped at the vets, normally if she's going in for her vaccine. I do sometimes have to pick her up to give her her medicine if she's ill but then she runs away from me for quite a while, so I would maybe take a little trip to the vets for nail clipping as you won't be the mean person. I've never seen those symptoms but that would worry me too.
 
Yeh, Benji and Mia do that too, if I have a treat they're all over me under sniffing about until they realise there's no more and then they hop down again [emoji5] but I enjoy the attention while they're there [emoji4]

I think you're right, I may just pay each time for the vet to do the clips, I couldn't stand to create such trauma.
I just thought it was maybe something I should be doing myself as some websites tell you it's too stressful for them going to the vet but they have each other and usually just snuggle together in the carrier.




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There are videos on youtube. Not the trancing videos obviously but how to do it while feed them so they are distracted. It doesn't work for me. I've only cut them when she's had a dirty bum so had to pick her up to cut off the poop so got the nail clippers and did them then.
 
I've never attempted to cut my buns claws, have always gone to the vets. They usually do it without having to pick her up, we just take the top of her carrier, and the vet picks her paws up one by one, while I fuss her (rabbit - not vet :lol:) saves a lot of hassle
 
Cpayne that sounds like a delicate situation, bet you had a steady hand. Well done though for managing all that at once [emoji1362]


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BenjiBun said:
Hi there

So one of my rabbits Benji is very nervous when it comes to handling him. We can pet him and he loves to have strokes and nose rubs and is an overall happy and active bunny but we simply can't pick him up or gently restrain him to clip his nails.
I understand rabbits are prey animals and don't like to be handled but many do tolerate people's affections.
This means I've always had to take him to the vet to for nail clips but last night I thought we'll try it. While he was in a calm mood my boyfriend kneeled down and gently had him with butt between his legs and holding him still around the upper body so I could swiftly go in and clip the front paws

Well, it was going fine he would wriggle then stop and when he calmed I'd continue but then I said quickly let him go, I looked at his eyes and he'd got so stressed that his eyes went all weird like he'd died and his third eye was over his eye plus I could hear him breathing.

I was so terrified of causing him a heart attack that we stopped.

My question is really, has anyone else seen these symptoms when having to hold a nervous rabbit for clips. I know many people seem to say yes they'll get stressed but they never go into much detail as to what this stress will look like, he looked like he was giving up to die last night and was all floppy poor little soul.

We weren't hurting him or holding too tight just the way the vet had shown us.

Right after It he was totally fine I gave him cuddles (on the ground of course [emoji57]) and a treat to say brace boy.

I envy all these folks who can hold their rabbit on their laps.

Any advice is much appreciated
Thanks [emoji5]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


Yes I know exactly what you mean about the eyes. I have a rabbit that is incredibly nervous and the eyes literally bulge and look just like you say. It looks incredibly distressing. It doesn't only happen when nails are cut, it's any time there is picking up.

I don't think that you will cause a heart attack. After all, it doesn't happen at the vet. But it *is* causing significant stress, which in my experience may not diminish over time. But familiarity with what's going to happen may mean that although it's never a nice procedure (being picked up for any reason), it will be tolerated better.

I think a swift pick up and nail trim is fine. A trip to the vet is stressful before they even begin. If you're able to do it at home, apart from the fact you have to witness the distress, I think it's better all round. They come to realise you're not a big bad ogre. You need to do things to help them.

Not sure whether any of that helps at all! :)
 
Hi. We've always cut our rabbits claws as I believe it is definately less stressful than a trip to the V.E.T. Some have been been better than others at tolerating and I would always do it with a second confident person holding. Eyes looking like they are going to pop out is not nice to see and is obviously a sign of stress in the bunny but we always give treats immediately after and our current rabbit Bob actually sticks around after we put him down on the floor expecting a treat! Claws need to be clipped so getting this done as swiftly and with as little fuss is possible with practice. If you feel it is too much then the vet is the better option, but maybe try again with renewed confidence that it's OK to do?
 
We've had real problems with nail cutting. Contrary to some advice, we've found that what works best is rather than getting down onto the floor, we pick them up and carry them somewhere specific - either the sofa or the bed, usually. This signals that it's grooming/nail trimming time. We make sure there are two of us, that it's done as fast as possible, and that we give treats and (if welcome) cuddles to end on a "high" before we allow them to go back down and away again. It doesn't mean it isn't a stressful experience, but the one we've had for a while has learnt that a) it's over quickly and b) there's treats at the end. Last time he let me do three claws before he started playing tricksy on the fourth, which is a huge improvement on when we got him.

Ultimately, you have to learn from what works for your bunny - but having asked the vet to check nails when we first started out with our bunny, to make sure we were doing it right, she did say it's usually only easier for a vet because the rabbit is too stressed out to fight back the way they do at home. So I prefer to do it ourselves, make a routine of it, and do what we can to diminish stress (and injury to ourselves!) But if I had the money, I can't say I wouldn't be tempted to go to the vet sometimes - when he manages to simultaneously both bruise and scratch my face, it can be easy to give in!

Good luck, whichever way you decide to go - and I hope he can learn to relax a little and trust that nail clipping is a good thing!
 
I'm cliping my rabbit's nails at home on my own. At first it was hard to do it alone, so I needed another person to hold him. But now I'm doing it alone. I put my rabbit on a higher surface, like chair or table (with fleece on top) and clip the front paws, then back legs. He seems to tolerate it better than being held by someone else. I used to put him on his back, but It was quite stressful for him. But if your rabbit is really sensitive then maybe you should do it at the vets. Good luck!

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Some good advice already. I also agree that going to the vet in itself is stressful so doing it at home will eventually be tolerated.

I found with mine that we have to kinda trick them and work quickly. I sprinkle high value treats around the floor, enough to keep them occupied for a while then OH picks them up, hold them back to his chest and I quickly clip all the nails, bun the immediately goes back down onto floor with the treats & we do the next one.

I find they do eventually get used to it, and if you're not regularly picking them up then it's not much of a worry really.

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It's horrible when they're stressed and struggling, but as others have said, going to the vets for it is probably even worse. Here are some things I find make it a lot easier
- Don't put bunny on the floor, it's too easy for them to wriggle away, hold them or put them on your knee
- Move them somewhere unfamiliar. If I try clip my rabbits claws in the living room they wriggle much more because they know what they can jump on and how to escape. They're not allowed upstairs so I do it there instead and they're a lot calmer
- Distract with lots of treats
- Try the 'bunny burito', wrapping them up in a small towel

So they probably don't sound any less stressful for bunny, but it might make it easier for you which means it won't take as long and everybody wins.

Are they in a hutch/cage with mesh/wire? I discovered a super easy way to cut my boys front claws was to dangle some veg above the cage, as they reach up to eat it they rest their paws on the mesh, claws poke through, a quick snip snip and they barely know what's hit them. For back claws I stick them on top of their cage with a lot of food to keep them busy and i cut them from below
 
Thanks so much everyone it's really nice to get some feedback and similar situations regarding nail time, Migtymax and JuiaW you've seen the bulgy eye thing before too [emoji18]
sometimes i can start feeling a bit insecure about it when you feel like a terrible person trying to keep them tidy and well kept.
but like you suggested Linuxete and Monty's Mum we'll move to a higher area and in more unfamiliar territory
And to accompany that definitely as daphnepheobe and DemiS say lots of treats/food they do seem to become so preoccupied for a while that you could get in there and get clipping.

I'll keep practicing though and get more confident and they'll hopefully become less freaked out by being handled as the months go by, but will have a few Vet trims when they have any checkups or injections.


Anyway guys thanks for the support and your experience, this forum is gold.


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BenjiBun said:
Thanks so much everyone it's really nice to get some feedback and similar situations regarding nail time, Migtymax and JuiaW you've seen the bulgy eye thing before too [emoji18]
sometimes i can start feeling a bit insecure about it when you feel like a terrible person trying to keep them tidy and well kept.
but like you suggested Linuxete and Monty's Mum we'll move to a higher area and in more unfamiliar territory
And to accompany that definitely as daphnepheobe and DemiS say lots of treats/food they do seem to become so preoccupied for a while that you could get in there and get clipping.

I'll keep practicing though and get more confident and they'll hopefully become less freaked out by being handled as the months go by, but will have a few Vet trims when they have any checkups or injections.


Anyway guys thanks for the support and your experience, this forum is gold.


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Glad you got some good tips here :)

One thing I find really useful - I'm sure you already know - is to shine a little torch behind the nail so I can see the quick. It gives me confidence, particularly with black rabbits, so I can cut quickly, cleanly and safely :)
 
BenjiBun, you've basically described Lopsy :lol: I've never had to get his nails done but he's a PITA, and his back legs are so strong and EVERYWHERE AT ONCE it's a miracle no-one's died or needed stitches! Again, he's super-lovely, I can poke him about mostly fine as long as all his feet are under his control, and he likes being stroked (quite roughly too!). Aboleth wasn't great at the vets, having her nails done, it was pretty stressful for her but not that bad and she's much easier to keep hold of! I'm also not always sure when she has bulgy eyes because half the time I'm on her no-eye side! :lol:

As people have said, the more you do it the better they'll get: I'm hoping to at least go through the whole picking up thing with both of mine so they know they're not about tho be eaten :lol:
 
Hi Keletkezes, that's what we'll be doing, keep practicing a slight pick up so they can get use to my hands near their bellies. Benji is okay for a bit if i raise him up under his front legs but his butt is still firming on the ground, but as soon as he senses a hand going for the scoop position at the back he leaps away from me )and I often get some feet flicking back at me to show how unimpressed he is [emoji5])

I'm gonna talk to the vet about the eye thing because all my senses are telling me not to cause that situation again, my heart breaks when I think of making an animal go into that state. Surely it could cause him to have a funny turn, anyway I will ask when I can get in.


And mighty max that's a great thing for Mia, thanks. she has black nails so the light will help me see something [emoji18]




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BenjiBun said:
Hi Keletkezes, that's what we'll be doing, keep practicing a slight pick up so they can get use to my hands near their bellies. Benji is okay for a bit if i raise him up under his front legs but his butt is still firming on the ground, but as soon as he senses a hand going for the scoop position at the back he leaps away from me )and I often get some feet flicking back at me to show how unimpressed he is [emoji5])

I'm gonna talk to the vet about the eye thing because all my senses are telling me not to cause that situation again, my heart breaks when I think of making an animal go into that state. Surely it could cause him to have a funny turn, anyway I will ask when I can get in.


And mighty max that's a great thing for Mia, thanks. she has black nails so the light will help me see something [emoji18]




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You're welcome :)

Regarding the eye thing, it does get better. Not fast and not perhaps completely, but they do cope better the more you handle/cut nails and they realise they aren't going to die. I guess the only other option is sedation?
 
I'm glad you said that it eases up, I'm going to keep handling them. So far I've always avoided holding them as I know they'll fight it but this distance is probably no good in the long run so they're gonna need to get use to me [emoji847]


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BenjiBun said:
I'm glad you said that it eases up, I'm going to keep handling them. So far I've always avoided holding them as I know they'll fight it but this distance is probably no good in the long run so they're gonna need to get use to me [emoji847]


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It's hard to explain, but probably because I've worked with so many hundreds of rescue rabbits over many years, I have a 'firm but fair' grip that even the feistiest rabbit can't thwart! It wasn't always that way, and I have war wounds to prove it. But if you do it like you mean it - you're not going to hurt them, but not going to let them struggle and jump away - eventually they will realise that resistance is futile and also that you are genuinely helping them. Don't allow your own fear or frustration onto the scene - just a business-like approach with lots of concentration.

Sorry, I know you didn't ask for that little soap-box :lol:
 
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