quick can grow if nails are left uncut for too long???

[maomaochiu]

just had a chat with a vet, who specializes in dogs and cats, but probably knows more about bunnies than i do, he said that if a bunny's nails are not cut timely, then the quick part can grow longer and longer, which makes it harder to cut nails later as it isharder to avoidbleeding, and the longer quick thus the longer nailsend up making the bun uncomfortable... has any of you heard of this before???

we kind of noticed that maomaochiu's quick gets longer this time when we tried to cut his nails than before, is it maybe due to we have not cut his nails timely? it has been 2 months since the last cut.

thanks

 

[naturestee]

Yes, it can. But if you clip his nails more frequently, it should eventually go back to a shorter length.

 

[maomaochiu]

Thanks! so 'more frequent ' is how frequent?

I dreaded every time we cut maomaochiu's toe nails, because he just wiggles and kicks, nothing so far helps

if cutting nails more frequent, the quickwill retreat to short ??

also, should i avoid cutting the quick or cut the quick so that it won't keep growing? it almost made me fainted just to think about cutting to his quick and make it bleed...... but the vet said if the quick is already too long, then i probably need to cut into it every time, so that it won;t keep long. does this sound right??? i don't see how i can ever do this intentionally :X

 

[Snuggys Mom]

I haven't experienced this before, but I know if you cut the quick, it will bleed and you don't want that.

 

[ec]

You might want to take Maomaochiu to the vet for a nail trim - that will help you see how it's done, and maybe will be less stressful for everyone. My bun has to be held by someone else for nail clipping, and there are times I've had to take her to the vet to get it done.

it actually works well, in that she thinks I'm was a big hero (heroine?) for getting her *out* of the vet's office and taking her home. She seems willing to forget that I'm the one who brought her there in the first place...

 

[JimD]

Every rabbit is a little different as far as how fast their nails grow.
I clip mine every 4 - 6 weeks.

If they get too long and past scheduled clipping, just cut them as short as possible without cutting into the quick. In order to get the quick to receed, you'll need to keep clipping them every week or two.

 

[Starina]

I think the vet meant that you should cut the nails back to a reasonable length, and that may mean cutting the quick.

I hate cutting my bunny's nails too. I can get the front ones okay, I just do one nail at a time, without flipping her over. I recently discovered that when she does the "love circles" She is much more willing to let me do whatever I want to her. So when she gets tired and lays next to my feet, I just pull a foot from under her and clip those bad boys one at a time. :bunnydance:I have scars from trying to flip her over! Never again!

~Star~

 

[Leveret]

I cut Kit's nails, which is no mean feat as he's a wild hare and he's not easy to catch and not easy to hold. To begin with, I'd avoid it as much as possible because I dreaded having to handle him. As a result, his nails got so long they were pushing his toes into strange positions. I discovered that it was a hell of a lot easier to do them if I bundled him up in a sheet and someone would hold him while the other person would cut. We have to do it fast, though, because he gets pretty hot bundled in a sheet.

Needless to say, I cut his nails as infrequently as possible, so at times I leave them way too long. Even so, his quick has never extended at all. I can cut off a centimeter of nail and still be well clear of the quick. Oddly, he also has dew claws, which I was expecting to be an ongoing problem, but it seems they stopped growing on their own and I've never once had to cut them. How peculiar.

So, my experience is that the quick doesn't extend, but that might just be in hares. Who knows? My dog's quick seems to extend if her nails aren't kept short. My advice if you're worried about cutting nails is to try the sheet. I found that Kit would be very still and calm if the sheet was over his eyes so he couldn't see and wrapped around his body.It gives me a more secure hold of him. It can be tricky finding all the feet, though.

 

[naturestee]

You don't need to cut the quick, just cut close to it. I'd say clip the nails every 4 weeks or so until the quick is at a more manageable length, maybe more often if his nails grow fast. It will take a while, but I was able to get Fey and Sprite's nails back to normal by doing this. They were1.5 years old when I got them and their nails had never been trimmed.

 

[kathryn303]

What type of nail clippers are you supposed to use to cut a bunny's nails?

 

[maomaochiu]

i use the one that looks like a cissor, but i heard a human nail clipper can work too.

 

[JimD]

maomaochiu wrote:

i use the one that looks like a scissor, but i heard a human nail clipper can work too.

Human nail clippers can crush the nail causing it to splinter and put unnecessary pressure on the quick.
It's better to use the scissor or guillotine type.
I have both.

 

[maomaochiu]

thanks! o.k. i will avoid the humane clippers. never used them to cut bunny nails anyways