HOW TO CUT RABBIT NAILS

Trimming rabbit nails

To assure your bunny stays in good health you will need to clip their nails. This can be a frustrating job at first, but with patients and practice it will become an easy part of your care routine.

Rabbits need to have their nails clipped short for your protection and theirs. Long nails can leave nasty scratches on owners arms. Rabbits with long nails can get them caught on furniture or wire cages and rip them clear out, causing pain for the bunny. A little routine maintenance can prevent these problems from happening in the first place.

Your going to need :

clippers. The human kind work just fine.
a long sleeve shirt and jeans. (helps prevent scratches)

Rabbits nails need to be cut about every three weeks on average. The first few times you clip the nails, you will probably want to have help available, since the rabbit will probably not be too happy about the clipping. Remember, rabbits are easily frightened of new things, but with patience they learn it doesn't hurt them, and become willing participants.

The most important thing to remember is that there is a vein that runs up the rabbit's nails. You will want to cut BELOW this vein for two reasons. First, the nail below the end of the vein has no nerve endings in it, and the rabbit will not feel you clip the nails. Secondly, if you cut into the vein, the rabbit's nail will bleed - sometimes quite heavily.

Look at the nail, and make sure you can see the vein. If you cannot see the vein, shine the light from the flashlight behind the nail. The nail will be more transparent, and the vein will appear darker. It should look like the picture above.

Method #1) Sit in a chair with your bunny between your legs, tummy up, head toward your knees. If you put a bunnies head lower than the rest of the body you can put the bunny in what's known as "bunny trance". Be careful because the bunny can snap out of this trance at any time. With a bit of practice you can become good at "trancing bunnies" and it will make the job of nail cutting much easier.

Method #2

Carefully place the nail clippers just below the vein, and clip firmly. Now repeat the process for the remaining nails. If you cut too high, and the nail bleeds, use the styptic powder to stop the bleeding.

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