Hurt nail while trimming -advice please

[Azerane]

Hey guys, I feel awful right now. I was trying to trim one of Bandit's hind claws, as I cut it he pulled his foot away and judging by the amount of blood it either cracked or partly pulled out the nail, he won't really let me see it.

Does he need to go to the vet for this or can I leave it to see how it heals? Normal vet isn't open on a sunday but we have an emergency vet straight across the road (though I believe they cost quite a bit more).

Any advice is greatly appreciated, I feel like the worst person right now

Edit: Bandit finally flopped out in a position where I was able to view his nail. I feel a little silly now because it seems that all I've done is cut the quick. The fact that I cut the quick surprises me immensely since I only cut the tiniest piece of nail off (only a mm or 2) and on the piece that I cut off, there is no evidence of blood on the inside piece. Secondly, I can't believe how much blood there was for just cutting the quick. If I'd been able to get a hold of him I would have put some powder on it, but I thought it was worse which is why he wouldn't let me touch him. When he flopped out just now he let me touch his foot and his toe which to me means the nail wasn't pulled out or damaged. All I could see (besides fur) was the red center to the end of the nail. Still feel awful though. I'll keep an eye on it and if I see any problems will take him to the vet then, just can't believe I hit the quick when I only cut the tiniest amount off his back nails, how am I supposed to trim them if I can't even take a tiny amount off?

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a blood covered floor to mop...

 

[Watermelons]

Sounds like he'll be just fine Sometimes its tough to know exactly how much to take off even when youre just taking the smallest bit off. ESPECIALLY when they move their dang feet!
I do this all the time with my dog, I clip it too short because she moves her feet a mile a min when I clip, and I can stare at it and see I hit the quick but theres no blood, yet. It usually takes a min or so for the blood to make an appearance and once it does, it just bleeds and bleeds and bleeds!

 

[missyscove]

As long as he's stopped bleeding, he should be fine. I've had rabbits pull out entire nails and end up just fine.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

When I trim nails my son hold and I trim. We always have styptic powder handy in case we trim to closely. One way to tell, especially with dark nails is to put a small amount of pressure on their nail, and if they try to pull away you are probably pinching the quick and need to move furthrer down the nail.

 

[juju]

you can dip the nail in bicarbanate of soda. this will stop it. i have done this before

 

[ZoeStevens]

Isn't it crazy how much they bleed? My vet cut my rabbit's quick once and he bled all over and for a long time. But eventually he stopped, and was fine. No harm done!