Nail trimming woes

shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
Love your rabbit
Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
kirbyultra

kirbyultra

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2008
Messages
5,270
Reaction score
35
Location
New York, USA
Bunny's nails have gotten quite long. It's been about 7 weeks since his last trip. I guess it's been about that long since I've had him!

Kirby has never liked to be held. We have had a couple of spats over his dislike of being lifted and I have a lot of battle wounds to show for it :grumpy:I left him be after the first 2 weeks of trying on and off. I gave in to do it his way. We've been getting a lot, lot better with each other and he trusts me a lot more. He even hops on my lap very briefly sometimes. But I can't get him to stay still long enough to do something as sensitive as trimming his oh-so-sharp nails. They're starting to protrude out of his paws so I think he really needs them clipped down or he'll hurt himself... Kirby is a nervous bun so he will bolt without any notice to any "strange" or sudden noise in the house. I'm afraid he'll get a nail caught in the rug.

I can't catch him with my hands to save my life. Neither can my husband. I know all the perils of forcing a bunny's body so rest assured I am as gentle as possible!! I resorted to doing a version of the bunny burrito with a bath towel to get him to #1 be in my arms for any amount of time and #2 stay still enough to trim his nails. It took my husband and I 2 hours to do 9 toenails. He got away about 9 or 10times. He finally pulled some kind of a rabbit ninja move on us and we finally gave up for the night. Besides, we didn't want to keep him in a burrito too long because I was afraid he'd get too excited and hot. My Kirby really, really does not sit still for anything. I was afraid after 2 hours of this evening's difficulties that he'd not speak to me for at least a week. But we rubbed noses and he forgave me. He's currently lounging flopped over in his condo right now, so I think he isn't feeling too angry or upset.

Does anyone have similar woes as I do? I feel terrible having to restrain his legs in a towel, but I haven't found any other way. I've read online that rabbits can be tranced if flipped onto their backs. They will just lie there and not move which is great for trimming nails or administering meds. Has anyone tried this? Does it work? Should I throw in the towel, literally, and ask a vet if they'll do it for me?


 
I don' know if you saw this link in the library..

may want to look at it

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12075&forum_id=17

I have had buns for many years and cut many nails and still it is not something that I look forward to.

One develops different techniques with different rabbits as each bun is different in their level of toleration.
I can cut my own house rabbits by kneeling with them between my legs and keeping them right side up but I want to stress that sometimes I may only do one or two nails/ day.

I would not keep at them for 1-2 hours as it is too long a time to stress them out and turns out to be nothingother a really negative experience which will reoccur in the same way again
the shelter rabbits often need a fairly tight bunny burrito and I cut them quickly.

I would suggest that you get some assistance either by a vet or even a rabbit rescue or shelter near you.

Believe meit it is not easy to trim nails no matter how you put it...at least for me

but the more that you do it the more that you develop a "feel " for it; I hope that other members can contribute suggestions that may help you also.


 
I have one who fights it. With her I do one paw, break (15mins) than next and so on.
 
kirbyultra wrote:
I've read online that rabbits can be tranced if flipped onto their backs. They will just lie there and not move which is great for trimming nails or administering meds. Has anyone tried this? Does it work? Should I throw in the towel, literally, and ask a vet if they'll do it for me?
Click to expand...

Yes it works but some rabbits are better than others. Just keep trying it every day.They may only let you do it for a few minutes or not at all in the beginning. Try holding them gently between your thights.

At first I only try to cut off the sharp nail points so I don't getscratched. It's hard asthey may suddenly relax and the nail disappears.

 
Haha...in my area I am considered the "nail master". I seem to have a special infinity for clipping nails. Of course, I also have many scars. I think that the secret to being a successful nail clipper is to let the bunny know that you are the big boss. Establish your dominance.
 
I can't trance Toby to save my life. I just "bunny-burrito" him and move the towel around so one little foot sticks out at a time. He hates it, but it gets the job done!
 
I gave up on the bunny burrito today. I realized that I'd never be able to hold him still and take out a hind leg the way I burrito him up. I had done his front legs already yesterday with the burrito and it worked well enough. Today I tried to wrap him in a burrito and flip him over on his back. He totally would not have it. He doesn't seem to be a trance-able rabbit. Lucky me. :?

So I went back to bare hands. Covering his eyes definitely got him to stay put until I at least slid my hand under his belly/front legs. Yesterday I couldn't even get in fast enough before he hopped over my hands. I finally got him (maybe he was tired?) on my lap, football-style, his head tucked under my right arm behind my elbow. But I could only do the foot that was facing out, so I had to attempt this feat again but this time tuck him under my left arm. He fought it a lot, ran away a lot. He pulled more ninja rabbitry. I stood in awe... licked my own wounds (all inflicted by his 1 remaining sharp foot). He didn't take my peace offering (craisin). He wouldn't let me pet him. I finally let him back in his comfort zone (his condo) knowing that I'd have to fish him outlater which would be a lot harder for me.But his heart was racing so much and for so long that I let him back in foran hour to let him calm down. He was either tired or he's been thinking this all a game because he cleaned his ears and his face, then immediately flopped over on his side for a little chillaxation. I've read that bunnies won't bunny-flop unless they're really relaxedand they won't groom themselves if they think they're in danger. So I'm pretty puzzled by all this.

Back to work - This time I think I got better at it or he was more tired. I couldn't get my hand under him this time even with his eyes covered.I had to use my entire body toform a shell around him and made sure he wouldn't run out. Once he was stationary, I picked him up the normal way, held him like a football again.My husband went to work with the clipper. We were done in 2 minutes and I relaxed my hold on him. But he stayed an extra minute on my lap. He walked off my lap, front feet first, with dignity. He didn't run for dear life the way I expected him too. I fed him his papaya tablet and he seemed to forget this whole thing ever even happened. I'm so confused! So was he upset or just yanking my chain when he crazily escaped my attempts to hold him still???:shock:

What worked for me (and keep in mind, my bunny will NOT sit still!):

  1. Front legs: bunny burrito and take 1 front leg out at a time.
  2. Cover his eyes to get him to sit still, pet him from head to tail to get him to flatten out. Then pick him up.
  3. Tackle the little bun. Not really. But had to lock him down with my entire upper body to get him to stay still, then pick him up.
I do not look forward to doing this again in a few months. Guess there's only thing left to say.

What a ninja bunny! (He's got black fur too!)
 
Toby is a speedy little devil, too! I have to burrito him super-quick! I normally throw a towel over his back and scoop him up quickly. Then, while holding him in the air, I flip him over onto his belly. Then, I take one side of the towel, and wrap it over, then the other. Voila! Bunny burrito! I make sure that his head is fully tucked inside the burrito, to start with. Once burritoed, I move the towel just enough to let his little nosey peek out. I have to redo the burrito several times during one nail-clipping section. I was going to start taking him to the humane society here when they have their "bunny pedicure" days, but I figured that is just way too cruel.
 
How on earth did you get your bunny in a santa outfit if your bun won't stay still? I had a heck of a time getting him to sit still, no costume, to snap a photo for the holiday card.

Yeah, I have to throw the whole towel over Kirby too in order to burrito him up. I've seen the youtube videos where the rabbit sits there on the towel and you can wrap him properly. Not my Kirby. No way! It's really hard to fish out his hind leg in a burrito... Sigh.
 
Lets just say I use4 different methods for nail clipping. It took me nearly 2.5 years to master a way of clipping Mocha and Spice's nails on my own.

I also use the bunny burrito on a certain bunny who hates his feet being touched. Some rabbits I have to hold upright and pull a foot out at a time, some need to be on a surface like a table, and some can just be tranced. On the bright side, at least one of those 4 methods always works for me, lol.
 
On the bright side of all this, I've mastered being able to pick him up for more than .3 seconds at a time. Once he's on, I've also discovered that, I stand up and he doesn't dare to make a move either. lol

He did once flip over with his legs on my chest and stomach as I held onto his bottom and supported his back with my hands. He was about to launch himself off until he realized he was a good 5 feet off the ground. Silly thing!
 
What worked for me and was also suggested to me by Slavetobunny as she did to you is go in with the attitude that "You are the boss".. Also, I have it easier as my bun loves to be cuddled (but HATES :grumpy:- to have his nails trimmed).. But after a couple of attempts at "trancing" and then just hunkering down and letting him know that his front paws were going to be trimmed - that went pretty well.. As for his hind legs I've ONLY been successful after MUCH trancing (and only once).. Usually I opt for the Vet and they burritto and have 2 people doing it - so sounds like your doing as well as can be expected..
 
I didn't read other responses so I am sorry if I am repeating anything. My buns are awful too. I do the towel thing also. One thing I found that makes them stay still longer is to stand up with them in the towel. They seem to know they just can't run away as easily. I also cover their eyes with the towel or my hand and that seems to help. I did have my vet do it last time. Took about 1 minute. I think I may do that again. I am not sure where you live but my vet charges $15 to cut each buns nails but it was so worth it. My vet told me that some groomers will cut rabbits nails though I haven't looked into it. I also have to tackle my buns with the towel as they hate being picked up. Good luck
 
I hate doing nails too, I have had a lot of rabbits that are terrified of being picked up, or are outright agressive. What I do for the ones that won't trance or stistill well is this-set the bunny on a chest high table (or you can leave them on the floor and bend over them, if that's easier) Lean my chest over the rabbit, and hook my elbow over his eyes. That leaves both hands free, and I gently pull one paw at a time out to the side a little, so I can see and trim the nails. Then reverse bunny's position so his head is under the other arm, and do the other two paws. It makes insecure bunnies feel better, because they have all four paws on asolid surface the whole time. I think I will have my Hubby take pics of this for me, it would be easier than trying to explain it, LOL. :p
 
Listen to Slavetobunny, her simple, but yet wise advice is to go at the chore of nail trimming is that "You are in charge" and my bun responded to this as have others asking this same question in threads past. Buns might like to be looked upon ad an independent animal, but I think they wish to know that you are their leader ----- to a point. :)
 
what works to trim the nails on my kids is to simply have holding time before i start to trim but have the clipperswhere they can see them

i do not need to wrap them in anything and if i just do thingsslowly and go back to just holding time when they start to get stressed then i can usually get all their nails trimmed in a hour for each kid
 
I wish utube had instructional videos with rabbits screaming and kicking instead of the one that acts like he's on pot. Anyone could trim a rabbit who just lays on his back totally relaxed.
 
I just put vids in my blog.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top