Rabbit question... Not horsey I'm sorry!!

[Katie__Connie]

Sorry if this shouldn't be in NL

Just noticed my rabbit's claws are a bit too long... now I could take him to the vets to get them cut... but he is very nervous and traveling there would be so stressful for him... So would I be able to do them myself? Say if I got someone to hold him while I did it? I have some clipper things that I could use...

 

[sea_view]

Need to be really careful as their 'wick' bit which is like the pink on our nails travels right down the middle and if you cut it by accident not only will it be sore but you could leave it open to get infected as bunny will be hopping about.

 

[Gluttonforpunishment]

I do mine because like yours she gets highly stressed poor little thing.

My OH wraps her in a towel and cradles her like a baby so just her paws are showing (obviously her head too!).

She is quite easy though because her claws are white so you can see the pick bit.

If your are nervous then take her to the vets the first time so you can see the length and then you will be able to do it yourself with confidence.

 

[Tickles]

It is certainly possible. I do aged hamster claws at home with human nail snippers. Parents do their dog and used to do even the black claws of our British Giant Rabbits which needed pliers as they were too big for normal claw clippers. It does require caution as others have said though.

If you're feeling cautious/wealthy you can get the vet out to you the first time anyway. I've had a vet laugh when I enquired about having them out to PTS a hamster (call out fee obviously a LOT more than cost of hamster) but we are doing any of this to make our animals happy and comfortable (or in the hamster case end suffering) so I always pay the extra for something I can't deal with myself where the animal might not cope well with traveling. Not everyone can afford that luxury but I don't think it is a bad ideal.

 

[Daisychain]

Yes its easy! Get a good towel and wrap him up well, cos they kick like hell!

Take out paw, by paw check where the quick is and don't cut that. Job done.

 

[Sessle]

I used to do my rabbits myself, I just used our dog nail clippers, he used to let me do it quite happily, I only used to cut a little at a time, and could tell if I was getting to near to the bloody bits, as he'd fidget. I also had a thing of ?Trim-X? (Maybe!?) its basically a orange coloured powder and stops the bleeding if you go to close, but think I only ever used it once!

 

[dwi]

If you don't feel confident trimming your rabbits claws do you have any tarmac or paving that you could let him run on? With our guinea pigs if we notice that their claws are getting long we put their day hutch on the patio so that they have to run across paving to get to the grass. Blunts off their claws nicely.