Nail Clipping

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gwhoosh

gwhoosh

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, Florida, USA
My bunny Rilee really needs her nails clipped! The last time was in April, and it's not dangerously long, but still. The problem is this.

For as long as I've had her, no one's ever been able to trance her, and she is NOT a fan of being held. I mean, she does okay, but once you start touching her feet... I don't have anyone good with rabbits who can help me, nor do I own any clippers.

I usually take her to (Broward Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital) the vet, but now she needs a $50 wellness exam before they'll clip her anymore. I was going to go ahead with this, since it HAS been a year, but then there's this.

At "school" she's not really allowed in my apartment, so sometimes I have to board her. Last time I got stuck with an emergency type vet who was cheap and took her without an exam and last minute, but their care sucked. So I planned on finding a better vet, getting her examined THERE, so then I could board her there if I ever needed to.

SO I don't really have enough money to pay for two expensive exams really close to one another. I don't want to wait until we go up there to find a new vet to clip her, because that won't be till maybe September and her nails are already long. We come home every other month, so I figured I'd be golden to take her then to clip them, but then this came up.

:( What should I do? Does anyone know of any other exotic vets in south FL? I thought about a regular vet (since it's just a nail clipping) but they probably won't be able to handle her. The "emergency vet" used to clip her up there, but the last time they almost broke her back because the girl didn't know how to handle her. I checked the list, but none were really close enough. Should I just plunge ahead, buy a clipper, and declare none of us leave this room until your nails are cut?? Like 65% of her nails are black too, and I'm scare to hit the quick. Then I would NEVER get her back.


:(:(:( Heeeeelp....
 
You don't actually have to pick her up to clip her nails if she is hard to handle. Set her either on the floor or on a table, whichever is easiest. Lean over her and sort of pull her paw out to the side a little so you can see the nails. Then clip away. With the black nails, set the clippers on the nail where you want to cut, and squeeze them together slowly. If you are too close to the quick, she will flinch, or her toes will curl a bit, and you can let go and move outwards a little. And don't forget the dew claw, I have a bad tendancy to do that myself. :D

As far as what clippers to use, I use cat clippers. Not the guillotine ones, they can sometimes splinter the nail instead of cutting it. These are the type I mean: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6023350They are available in petstores, too, and some feed stores. Now that I look at them, those are pretty nice clippers, they even come with styptic powder stored in the handle..... I might have to upgrade, LOL.


 
I don't know how long it is before you go back to school, but if you take Rilee to one of Gainesville Rabbit Rescue's adoption events at Petsmart, they will help you clip nails.
 
slavetoabunny wrote:
I don't know how long it is before you go back to school, but if you take Rilee to one of Gainesville Rabbit Rescue's adoption events at Petsmart, they will help you clip nails.
Click to expand...

Rilee won't be up there till at least September, which is likely too long to wait.

You don't actually have to pick her up to clip her nails if she is hard to handle. Set her either on the floor or on a table, whichever is easiest. Lean over her and sort of pull her paw out to the side a little so you can see the nails. Then clip away. With the black nails, set the clippers on the nail where you want to cut, and squeeze them together slowly. If you are too close to the quick, she will flinch, or her toes will curl a bit, and you can let go and move outwards a little. And don't forget the dew claw, I have a bad tendancy to do that myself.
Click to expand...

Oh, we did a similar thing the second to last time I went to that vet I don't like. The kid couldn't handle her, and I had to help him by holding her on my lap while he pulled out one paw at a time, and HE flinched more than she did *eye roll*

Thanks for the advice and clipper suggestion!


PS I tried trancing her again, we didn't even get to 45 degrees, hahaha >.<
 
For black nails I take a small flashlight (the top of the flashlight is about the size of a quarter) and I shine that directly against the nail. This allows me to see the quick. Once I've seen the quick I hold the bunnies nail, putting my own fingernail directly above the quick. Then I set the flashlight down, pick up the nail clippers and clip the spot that is just above where I'm holding.

This is a two person job though, and if you can't find someone else to either do the holding or the clipping part, I'm not sure that my method will be helpful. If you were to find a person to help you, I would let them do the clipping while you hold the bunny, because clipping is easier and you can teach them how to do it.

One of my bunnies is really bad at being held too, and doesn't like his feet to be touched. The process takes a little longer with him because we have to wait for him to stop kicking before clipping a few nails. He has to be held firmly though the whole process or he will kick off and run away.

Anyhow, I hope this was somewhat helpful :p Good luck! :)
 
what about contacting the house rabbit society if you aren't comfortable trying it yourself? many people never feel comfortable doing it.

I can do it but I HATE doing it.

also I am wondering if vet techs are taught how to cut rabbit nails?

try to find any rabbit rescue near you or a shelter that has rabbits. Most people that can do it would just do it and not charge for it,
 
I'm so glad you pulled it off, yay! I do the table thing as well. It works great for me and my buns. Well, I only have one now, but in the past, Angel liked it as well. They behave well enough for me to do it that way. Very calm and they let me take a paw at a time. When they need a break, I let them have it, a small run around and try again. It works great for me!

Best of luck in the coming nail clippings for you!:)
 
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