Does Tiled Flooring Wear Bunnies’ Nails?

[HalaBuns]

Hi there

I am a relatively new bunny parent and adopted my cute little fluff balls 2 months ago.

6 weeks ago I had their nails trimmed by a mobile grooming company (which apparently specialised in rabbits, lies), but it was such a stressful experience for them I vowed never to put them through that again and learn to do it myself. When they did them, they did comment that one of my buns was actually fine and that they didn’t need doing, so left most of them.

After watching many a YouTube video on how to do it, I got each of the girls on the kitchen counter, inspected their nails and got them into position to trim them, but they really didn’t look very long. I tested the pressure of the cutters on one nail and she quickly withdrew her paw and shook it about, so could obviously feel it so I left it.

We live in the Middle East and all homes have tiled flooring, including their previous owner’s. My bunnies, roam free around my apartment all day and it is mainly on tiles, with the odd rug (which are primarily used for binkies).

Is it possible that their nails need trimming less frequently because the floor tiles wear them down? Or am I just misjudging it and they do in fact need doing? I’m not totally sure on how long a healthy nail should be, I can only find guidance on how frequently they should be trimmed.

I would prefer to do it at home myself than take them to a vet. The little nuggets have been through so much stress in their little lives already, so I want to keep everything as calm as possible for them.

Thank you!

 

[Preitler]

I would think so, but keep an eye on it. In nature bare earth is enough to do the job, and my rabbits never had an issue with nails, even those which don't dig.

 

[Abi :)]

Hi there

I am a relatively new bunny parent and adopted my cute little fluff balls 2 months ago.

6 weeks ago I had their nails trimmed by a mobile grooming company (which apparently specialised in rabbits, lies), but it was such a stressful experience for them I vowed never to put them through that again and learn to do it myself. When they did them, they did comment that one of my buns was actually fine and that they didn’t need doing, so left most of them.

After watching many a YouTube video on how to do it, I got each of the girls on the kitchen counter, inspected their nails and got them into position to trim them, but they really didn’t look very long. I tested the pressure of the cutters on one nail and she quickly withdrew her paw and shook it about, so could obviously feel it so I left it.

We live in the Middle East and all homes have tiled flooring, including their previous owner’s. My bunnies, roam free around my apartment all day and it is mainly on tiles, with the odd rug (which are primarily used for binkies).

Is it possible that their nails need trimming less frequently because the floor tiles wear them down? Or am I just misjudging it and they do in fact need doing? I’m not totally sure on how long a healthy nail should be, I can only find guidance on how frequently they should be trimmed.

I would prefer to do it at home myself than take them to a vet. The little nuggets have been through so much stress in their little lives already, so I want to keep everything as calm as possible for them.

Thank you!

I have tile flooring for my buns, I usually cover it up in the winter as it gets cold, but in my experience it does wear their nails down, I rarely have to trim their nails and also during the summer it cools them down

 

[JBun]

Usually a rabbits nails need to be trimmed every 6-8 weeks, though I don't do mine til 10-12 weeks and they're fine. Tile can wear the nails down depending on how abrasive of a tile it is. You may be able to go longer than the normal amount of time without having to trim your rabbits nails, but if the tile isn't abrasive enough you may need to trim them at some point. Just look for their nails sticking out through the fur on their feet. If you can clearly see the nails then it may be time to trim them. I usually do my rabbits when the nails are about 3/16 inch from the end of the quick, and I trim about 2/16 off. I leave a little of the white part after the quick because if you get too close to the quick as they tend to flinch because it hurts. Basically if you trim off the part sticking through the fur that is usually just enough and doesn't get you too close to the quick.

 

[HalaBuns]

Thank you so much everyone, that’s really helpful!

 

[zuppa]

Can't tell about if tile flooring helps with wearing down the nails or not I clip the nails every 4-6 weeks. If you could post a pic showing their nails clearly so we can see the quicks. One of my rabbits Fred trims his nails himself it was because I was busy and forgot to do that once and he was probably very uncomfortable with that. I didn't like how he did that and trying to clip the very ends now so he'd stop doing that. When nails are too long I've read that it affects posture. Some rabbits have their nails growing really fast and others slower

 

[HalaBuns]

Thank you all! I decided to take another look and I took off just the very ends. I feel quite accomplished haha. Kiki has 2 full sets of black nails on her back paws and I didn’t find the flashlight method was working for me, so I was nervous about those, but it was fine.

Lots of squirming about and general dissatisfaction with my behaviour. I had the clippers picked up and thrown at me at one point . I think that has more to do with my inexperience though, so hopefully they’ll be less annoyed with me as I get more confident with it haha.

They’ve forgiven me though and happily hay munching now