Nail Trimming
This can be about the most challenging activity for any bunny parent, experienced or not. Although we have had Baby for almost 4 years, we still struggle to cut her nails every time. Whenever I have her at the vet for something else, I always have them trimmed. I've also taken her to my local pet shop which offered this service too. And everyone struggles with this from time to time with an over active hyper bunny like Baby.
Let's talk about the tools of the trade first. Nail trimmers.
I know of these 2 that will work. The first pictured below have a round clipping area where you have to get the rabbits nail inside the circle and apply alot of pressure to get the nail to cut off. It does take alot of pressure but it will cut the nail. These are relatively inexpensive and come with a cap of a little bunny covering the cutting part. Bad thing about these scissors is that they are made for little small hands. They are hard to use for someone with big hands.
Now the other scissors are much better, cost more and are a little more dangerous to use. They are Resco brand Number 727 made for small dogs and cats. I bought them online somewhere and like them for Gracie and Dino who I can control pretty well while cutting nails. Unlike Baby who twists, turns and swiggles out of your hands and cuts herself on the sharp edges. See below.
See the sharp pointed edges, if you have a bunny that is hard to control then these may not be right for you to try and use at first. Those points are sharp and can cut if your bunny moves around or squiggles then maybe don't try these yet until you can handle your bun better.
Then you need a styptic or Quick Blood Stopper, in case you cut into the quick of the nail (which will hurt the bunny) which will then bleed. You'll need something to stop the bleeding. DON'T EVEN ATTEMPT TO CUT THEIR NAILS WITHOUT THIS. This is a white grainy powder that when applied to the cut, will clog the blood and stop it from bleeding. And oh once you open this up, keep it closed as much as possible because the air hardens the powder into a rock and then it must be replaced. Rabbits for Dummies by Audrey Pavia states that in a pinch you could use crushed aspirin or cornstarch to stop the bleeding too. But get the styptic powder please.
Okay let's talk about nails. Rabbits need their nails trimmed on a regular basis. If you don't - it will hurt them to hop - not good. They need to be cut. The more hay your rabbit eats, the faster their nails will grow. Depending on the fur color of your bunny, their nails will vary too. A light color bunny will have a white-ish nail where you can actually see the quick of the nail. It's almost like a blood line that you don't want to cut into or it will hurt and bleed. For medium colored bunnies the nails will be darker but you should still be able to see that faint line across the top part of the nail close to where it goes into the paw. If you can't see the bloodline, then be very, very careful and take small nips off every couple of weeks. If your bunny has dark nails these can be the hardest to see the bloodline and the most difficult to judge where to cut (Baby has nails like this). We try and take the tiniest of pcs off of Baby's nails and sometimes even then it's too much and bleeds.
Here are the steps we take to cut nails at my house every 4, 6 or 7 weeks depending on the bunny. Each bunny's nails grow at a different rate.
1. You need 2 people. One that can firmly hold and control the rabbit while the other person cuts with the trimmers.
2. Prep the room. We use our bathroom where we can remove the throw rug and put down an old towel - trust me you don't want blood on your good bathroom rug - been there, not fun. Put old shirts and pants on - you don't want to ruin your clothes either. Do not wear bulky sweaters or knit shirt since the rabbit will get their nails caught in it. Trust me Baby had a nail torn out of her paw because it got stuck in a sweater. Not good. It grew back in okay but we took her to the vet just to be sure. Get an old towel for the floor and another if you plan to use a towel to bunny burrito.(Good youtube video on how to burrito your bunny in a towel).
3. Catch the rabbit and take him/her into the bathroom, close the bathroom door and let the bun roam free until you are ready to start. First person needs to firmly hold the bunny (properly supporting the hind legs and body weight). We always do this on the floor so if the bun gets away, he/she won't fall, jump or get hurt - after all it's not far to the floor when you are sitting on the floor.
And I can't stress enough to get a firm hold on that bun. If you loosen up even a little bit, the bun will sense it and try and make a break for it.
4. Use the trimmers of your choice and start to cut each nail on each foot until they are all done -or if it were only that easy. Now this takes a bit to get use to for the bun and the humans. If you are not use to handling your bun, then you need to get use to handling your bun. Don't be afraid, be firm so that he knows you've got him and he can't get away. You can try putting the bun in a trance, which is to hold him on his back sorta down the inside of your arm. Most buns will lay pretty still and calm when they know they can't get away. We put Dino and Gracie on their backs to trim their nails which works out great for them and us.
5. For trim of each nail, look for the quick - the line that should be about the top 1/4 to 1/2 of the nail from where the nail protrudes out of the paw. It might help to hold the paw up in the air, sometimes light behind the nail will give you an idea where that quick is.Take a very ,very small cut off the end of the nail with the trimmer. You can always do nail trims more often if needed so that you avoid cutting into the quick and hurting the bunny.
The more you do this, it does get somewhat easier.See below for some great resources about nail trims.
Meantime check out this great video on bunny nail trims by a vet.
More nail trim information here from About.com.
From a vet at friendlytails.net another good video on nail trims.
Thanks good bunny parent for cutting those nails!