scratched faces

[lorraine]

I am a newbie to this board.My 2 girls (9yo)have rabbits - one is a rex & unkownmix Velvet), the other a rex & satin mix (Jefferson).Jefferson is a bit more active than Velvet, and "climbs" up my girl'schests & shoulders, often scratching their faces. Weclip their nails, but don't know what else to do to prevent thescratching - the scratches aren't usually deep, but are painful, and wecan't risk an eye injury or a scar on my daughters' faces.The girls do a good job of tending to the rabbits daily, feeding& caring & petting them. We can't afford toneuter - it's aboutt $100 in my area. Thanks! Lorraine

 

[Shuu]

$100 is cheap for a neuter. It's $250 to get my boy done. Though that is Canadian dollars, it's still more than double.

Otherwise, just don't let them climb up their chests. If they start toclimb, gently remove them from the chest and place them back on thelap. Other than manually removing them, there really isn't much thatcan be done.

In cause you're wondering about declawing, imagine having yourfingernails removed. It's about the same thing. Other words, don't.

 

[onnie]

Mine are the same'i make my girls wear jumpersor dressing gowns when handling the rabbit's as they do love acuddle'you should see the state of my chest 'i'm covered in scratches'ihave started wearing an old dressing gown myself. They don'tmean to hurt you 'i think it's a natural thing for rabbits

 

[Blackthorn45]

Actually it's more like having the whole last joint of the fingers removed.. through the bone.

Why not try Soft Claws? They make them for cats and dogs, butthey can be used for rabbits, too. I've never tried them, butit seems they'd help and they are non toxic. Otherwise, thegirls just have to learn to properly restrain the rabbits so they don'tscratch them.

 

[rabbitluvr04]

 

[rabbitluvr04]

BlackThorn is right, they really do remove a whole joint. Its not agood idea. And why would you want to put a small helpless animal inpain in the first place? Please don't do it.

 

[Spiced77]

in the long run that $100 is going to be worthit. get him neutered. if you cant afford that much for yourbunny, what happens when they *really* need medicalattention?? and $100 is pretty cheap for a neuter. mine wascloser to $200.

also, dont let him have the opportunity to run up their faces.. maybe he doesnt like to be held?

 

[lorraine]

We aren't thinking about removing claws. What is "softclaw?" thanks!

 

[naturestee]

Softclaw is a plastic cap that can be put overthe nails on an animal. they are not permant- they need to bereplaced as needed.

 

[juicyjuicee]

100 dollars is expensive in my area for a rabbitbut for a cat , its normal. I paid 56 dollars to get my bun neutered,but it does pay off in the long run. I would NOT recomend de-clawing,like other people have said its just plain awful. I have never triedthat Soft Claw, but try it. and can't they just put the rabbit on atowel on their lap, instead of holding it on their chests?

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Welcome to the forum Lorraine,

My bunny Pebbles will start digging at us when she gets triedof us holding her or when she wants to go backto herlitterbox. This might be treated like a behaviorproblem. If they scratch put them back in theircage. If it happens enough, they might catch on.

Check this link, A Cheat Sheet for Rabbit Care.......

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=3005&forum_id=1

Rainbows!

 

[kelso]

I know some Humane Societies offer discount spay/neuter. Maybe you could try that?

 

[Kricket]

Don't let the bunnies near their faces. Are they holding the buns properly?

 

[lorraine]

Thanks for the link - there was some new info,although we've read a couple of books. We are doing better -Jefferson's owner is now wearing a longsleeved shirt, and spending moretime just sitting with her bun as opposed to carrrying him from cage torabbit run. We will also get the "softclaws" on our nextvisit to a big town, to use while we work on that behavior.I've since discovered that my daughter is holding Jefferson with hishead kind of pointed up toward her face, so when he tries to "get down"he is going up & over her shoulder, sometimes raking her facein the process. Thanks again! Lorraine