hypnotizing rabbits?

So just a quick question, can any rabbit be hypnotized? I tryed putting zentor on his back and holding him down, but he always flips back around and runs way. I know how you're supose to do it (ive seen some videos) but he wont let me put him on his back. are there some buns out there that wont let their owners hypnotize them?

My Flemish will practically trance himself but my Dwarfs are tough! I have to get their heads back in exactly the right position while making sure they're very very calm in the process, and even then it doesn't last long. Pipp is only good for a few seconds. I finally got Sherry to last a little longer, but it took a year of trying.

You have to be very careful, and have a firm grip on the chest and forearms and have their backs well supported, their skeletons are pretty light, you don't want too much twisting and flipping.

I just woke Pipp up to give it a try, she's not impressed!! But she did trance for a few seconds. :upsidedown:


sas :bunnydance:

Yeah, whenever he starts to struggle i let go. I dont want to hurt him. I just wanted to see if I could get him to calm down enough so i could clip his nails without doing a two person bunny borrito tango. haha. ill keep tring, maybe he'll let me do it one day?

I don't find trancing helps much, with my dwarfs especially.

I hold them upright on their rumps on my lap, making sure their back feet aren't making contact with anything, my left hand on their chests with their backs against my body and just wait out any struggling.

Two people is so much better, though, even that way. You can see and reach the nail a lot easier.

But I haven't had to bother with a burrito, just a few times when giving meds.


sas :goodluck:

The last time I did a bunny burrito to clip Peaches' nails, his pupils were tiny little specs (he has pink eyes) his eyes were light pink (he looked dead) I had to check his nose for wiggling to make sure he was okay - it freaked me out but he did stay still while on his back for the nail clipping.

Is this what their eyes look like when they're in a trance? It's just so freaky! Specially because his eyes are red, it looks extra creepy!

I find that if my rabbits feel they have some control of their situation they're happier and more cooperative. I hate trancing them - Riley will do it but it's more like panic since he shivers and becomes tense. He looks calm but he's definitely not! Pancake flails about. A burrito sends them into panic.

To cut their nails I put them on a plastic bin, sit on the floor, give them lots of nose rubs, and do one paw at a time with breaks of up to a day between paws.

My feeling is that if I have to do something that makes a rabbit feel like its life is in danger then a professional needs to do it, perhaps with anesthetic.

You definately don't want to be considering anasthetic for things so simple as nail trimming etc. The risks and such are just totally 100% not worth it. Even if it means trancing the bun (and possibly stressing them a little) then that is definately the way to go imho. The stress and effects of coming out of an anasthetic, let alone the stress of disorientation in a place they don't know with different perhaps scary smells and sights etc., are going to be worse than trancing a bun in your arms in their own home.

Benji will not trance. No way in a million years. I have tried for 4 years, and he just squirms and twists and I worry he will hurt himself in the process. Luckily he is very good when I clip his nails etc. and he behaves himself immaculately with other situations too, like having his teeth trimmed.

Pippin I usually trance when clipping nails. Luckily he is very easy to trance. I lay him on my bent legs, clip clip clip in under 10seconds, then hug him tight to me, treat him with banana and he hops off happily. He doesn't appear to be stressed but there has been some controversy about trancing and whether or not it is a calm state, or a state of tonic immobility in the case of being captured by a predator.

You just need to find a way that works for you, really. With Benji, I have him on my lap, facing away from me, distract him with a crunchy bit of apple etc. and gently move his paws away from his body so I can clip them. He is so used to it now that he is very good. Occasionally I have someone help me, if he's being a littl feisty, but even then it's just someone hugging him and giving him kisses and nose rubs, while I clip quickly.

I have never tried the bunny burrito method, and hopefully won't need to. If a bun is used to being burritoed then it shouldn't be a huge problem for them, but as mine aren't used to it then I wouldn't like to stress them out by starting it when my other methods work well.

You could also try sort of, half trancing him. Get someone to place their hand round his shoulders, place one under his bottom, and hold him up, and close to their chest with him facing away from them. This puts them slightly on their back, so may trance them slightly (this has been from my experience anyway), and then you can clip their paws, which are conveniently facing you and away from their body.

Of course, lots of nose rubs and treats afterwards. The more they can associate nail clippings with yummy treats and good things etc. the more likely they will tolerate it.

Jen

I think the biggest problem with zentor is that he just does not like being held, at all. hes ok for about a min but then starts squirming super crazy. at the first sight of movement we let him go. I get nervous with the clippers so I wont even get one nail done by the time he decideds that he wants to be let go. whenever i get his nails cut i go to the vet, i think they normally wrap him up and it seems to work really well for them. but they take him in the back to clip his nails and they get done in under 5 mins. It sucks because the vet i take him too is kinda far and both my cars have a loud exhaust system so i dont think to put him in the car if i dont have to. also it cost money... I just want to try to find the easiest way to clip them myself.

I've also seen videos on youtube of people tancing buns and it looked interesting. like the buns didnt look in pain or paniced at all when their owners were doing it. they just looked calm to me. so thats why i wanted to try. but anyways.... oh well.

My problem is that it takes me so darn long to clip the nails. I have a lionhead and his claws are hidden amongst all his fur, by the time I can move out enough fur to clip, he moves.

I should get a video of one of my himmies... It's surreal.

I never have to 'burrito' any of them, even my Spots or Champagnes, which you'd think would be hard. I just pinch the base of the ears for controll while supporting the rest of their body. I was taught to scruff my rabbits for 4-h, but grew out of that nasty habit when we got the Himalayans because scruffing them can cause permanent smut over the shoulders. And, hell, it must HURT. So I don't. I don't even touch the ears unless I have to turn the rabbit over, either.The himmie breeder in town taught us how to handle our rabbits- it doesn't hurt them if you know how to be respectful with it.

Anywhoo- for nail clipping, the rabbit goes under my arm while I sit down. The back feet are trickier- but it gets done. I, again, sandwich the rabbit under my arm, while supporting the back with my fore-arm, which leaves both hands free for maneuvering.

In any case, yes, any rabbit can be 'tranced' if you know how to do it.

both my Flemish trance out so easy too..i pic up my male Flem Sherman and he leans back and hes OUT!!..half the time im not even trying to trance him...i gotta make sure his head does not slightly lean back cuz when he trances hes dead weight and hes a big dude...hes so cute when he snaps out of it,hes so calm i can just set him down ..most buns zolt awake and they wanna bail quick!..i can trance all 10 of my buns but they are all dif with it..,i gotta be fast with my lops ,they are a cannonball of energy..they also snap out of it very abruptly and are mad at me for days over it ..they def hold a grudge longer then any of my other buns...my Flashie (Thrianta)..will only trance if after i have him on his back i make sure his head is lower then the rest of his body... i dont like doin it to him cuz hes a shaker while hes under..his paws go nutzo til i hold them..and when i let him down he is very very stressed..breathing hard ,he gets real low to the ground and just looks disgruntled..i gotta kiss some serious bunny butt after that...which is ok cuz hes my fav little buddy.
my young male bun i just caught in a park trances out while im holding him normally...very strange..hes goin in for a vet visit soon and get his danglers removed so hell get checked over...
i really dont think trancing a bunny for nailtrims is very safe..they come out of trance so quick and powerful id be afraid theyd wake up and id hurt them with the nailtrimmers.....the best way for me to trim nails is first i go somewhere in the house that they arent used to ..unfamiliar territory makes them hesitate trying to struggle when they dont know where they are.. then i do what jcotton102 does i sneak a paw out from under them and clip clip clip..some of my buns i do like Pipp said upright with their back to me i hold out till they settle ..but i have to admit there are times i dont get all 10 nails done ..if not i get them another day...no biggie...
Alora maybe it would be easier if u didnt hold him while u did it..let him sit next to you..scratch his cheek for a good while till he turns to putty in ur hands..then go in for the clip but dont stop the scraching of the cheek..

when u let him down everytime he struggles hes training you...he will do it everytime...you gotta be firm and confident and when they try to struggle just snug up a little bit on ur hold maybe cover his eyes or tuck his head under ur arm like Erin said.
AND bunny burrito is the biggest pain in the.... waste of time ive ever done...whats funny is every video out there shows them burritoing either a stuffed rabbit...or a very very docile bunny..not my crazy maniacle bunnies!!,,i set them in the middle of the towel and go to grab a corner and they are GONE!!..later mom i gots stuff to do...!!..Ive gotten to the 2nd fold one time ....but i was more frazzled then the bunny at that point...AND how in the heck do u find a paw after uve just mummified them??..i know its around in there somewhere...hehe poor things..
i would just take it slow if i were u ..try dif methods def dont get the guillotine cutters..its too hard to try and lasso their nail.when u cut, just cut the very tip until ur comfortable enough finding the blood quick thingy..if they bleed dont freak..just use styptic powder or flour will work...kinda.
Alora you got this.!! ull do fine just try out everybodies advice and see what works the best..i know its scary to practice on him cuz its so easy for him to get hurt...just make sure if hes struggling too much and u HAVE to let him go ur close to the ground or something soft ..like a bed.i know how to hold a bunny but they still surprise me sometimes ..so i make sure everything around me is bunny landing safe..just in case.Good luck and Keep us posted...maybe post some pics of some of the scratches ur gonna earn from this....(nail clipping,ear cleaning,.medicine installation war wounds)..yep we all have em....

since we got out puppy he has been soooo much better about me holding him. they are not let out together unless i'm holding alice. she just wants to play with him and he is just annoyed with her. i swear if he wanted to he could kick her butt. haha he's older about the same size (just heavier) and way more cordinated. haha. but yeah now i can pick him up out of his cage and hold him for as long as i want, but only while i'm standing. if i'm sitting with him he sneeks out of my arms. i think nail clipping is getting better. i'm just doing one paw every couple days and not so short. im doing it more often but oh well. last month i had my boyfriends friend do his back feet all perfect, he was a vet tech and he was so quick! haha

Our beloved Miss Hoppy would never be hypnotized, I do think it just varies bunny to bunny. She was most likely a Dwarf/Rex mix, and hated hated hated being on her back. We did get lucky with her, though. After a few times of trimming her nails with the two person bunny burrito method, we took her to the vet once - after not having done her nails for three months, and feeling guilty - and they said she really didn't need her nails trimmed yet. It turned out that she decided to trim them herself, you'd see her sitting up, and hear tiny 'click, click" and she trimmed her own nails until she was quite old.

She never minded being held by me, but belly-up was NOT an option!

I have experience with 4 rabbits in the past, in which I have tried hypnotizing 3 of them.

The 1st one was my dutch, George.
He is a very laid back rabbit and didn't mind being on his back. The longest he stayed in a trance was 7 minutes.

My lop mix Jenni stayed in a trance for about 5 minutes.

My dwarf? Hell no. She is a skittish rabbit in general. I tried twice before, but it just seems to stress her.

I don't do it anymore because there is no need. I did it before because I learned about it and I wanted experience myself. Even when nail clipping, I don't feel comfortable trancing them. I find they get a bit freaked out when they "wake" up.

I do burrito my bunny, but that's the way his nails have always been trimmed, apparently. I did it tonight, and he didn't nip me at all or anything. I was so happy haha. He did bite the towel at first though, because he recognizes the only time I bring out a towel is when I clip his nails. xD But he doesn't really mind it. I think he just gets jumpy at the sound of the actual clipping.