The neverending torn off toe nails (new here)

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Shelbster

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Sep 4, 2012
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Location
Staten Island, , USA
Hello all. I am new on this forum and am hoping to get some help. My baby bunny Shelby has gone through a lot and is very strong. I bought her on a whim off a farm in Connecticut, and since then (in the past few months), we had to go through a terrible bout of Syphilis and then giardia. During one of her penicillin shots, the doctor noted that she tore two of her back toe nails. But he said not to worry. I believed t hat I have identified the cause (the wire mesh that covers the sandbox which is home to my tortoise) and I have removed it.

They have healed quite well and started growing in. Now...I go downstairs to clean her cage and find blood. Pick her up, turn her over, and ALL of them have been torn off. All the nails on both her back feet, and are all at different stages of healing.

What could cause this? She lives in a cage made of those shelving cubes that are so popular. The cage is roughly 3.5 feet long, 2.3 feet wide, and 2.3 feet tall. She has three levels in there, all about 6-9" or so away from each other.

The floor of her cage is cardboard which I change, and the levels are made of the shelving material with cardboard that I cut to perfectly fit the levels. But maybe when she jumps to the level she gets her toe caught between the caging stuff and the cardboard? How can I fix it? I am very worries and need to fix this ASAP. Should I remove t he levels from the cage until I can change the material? Should I maybe consider having wood boards cut out for the levels?

Thanks a lot, in advance, everyone.
 
Thanks. I have done as you asked. Let me know what you think.

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Hi and welcome to RO! First off, I love her coloring.

I had one rabbit tear one nail off one time. All of them at once does sound unusual. What are you feeding her? I wonder if there may be some sort of nutritional deficiency or perhaps being on some medication at a young age may have affected her nail growth?
 
Thanks very much. I agree, she is a beauty. That is how I ended up being captured by her. You should have seen her as a little one!

Well, Her front nails seem VERY solid. And I don't know id Syphilis could hinder nail growth, perhaps? However, it doesn't look like they were all at the same time. Just very close together. One looks brand new (as in just done today-hence the blood), the others at at different stages. One has a partially grown back nail. A few are nubs with the nail just trying to break through.

Could it have bee the penicillin? Otherwise she is so so healthy. All her blood work (she had a full panel) was healthy. She eats 100% Timothy pellets (about a tablespoon), unlimited American Pet Diner Timothy hay, and varied veggies (romaine, kale, escarole, chicory, collard greens, a bit of carrot sometimes, radish...) every other day or so. Her poop and pee couldn't be more perfect, and she is super spunky and full of energy and love.

This is the first time I have had a bunny do this (I have owned two rabbits prior), and I am worried that one of these days one of these nails will get infected...
 
Her pellets are only made of timothy hay, or are they just timothy based? A growing rabbit needs more protein than an adult and even an adult needs more than just hay in the pellet to be nutritionally complete. Generally rabbits are free fed a higher protein pellet until about 6 months of age and then are transitioned to a lower protein restricted pellet diet once they're fully grown. I'd have to do some research to confirm what deficiencies could cause something like this (and I'm supposed to be reading about blood homeostasis and coagulation tonight) but as a start I would offer her more pellets and more protein while she's growing.
 
Thanks a lot. I would really appreciate any answers on the deficiencies bit. I will definitely work on raising her protein levels. Just so you know, she is probably a bit over 6 months at this point. Most likely around 7-8.

Thanks a lot for all your time and help. I am sure Shelby is grateful too :)
 
I really don't see anything in the cage that would cause the nail problems. I agree that a tablespoon of pellets a dayisn't enough. The one thing about good quality pellets is that itprovides the nutritional value your rabbit needs. I look at it sort of as an insurance policy in case the greens etc that you're feeding her aren't providing everything she needs.
 
Hey guys! I have been so busy with work and things that I had no time to update.

To answer the question, no she does not even appear to chew on her nails. Only one of her nails looks a bit swollen and red but not infected. I have been putting soother Plus frm Harrison's on it to help with the inflammation. The others appear to be growing back in or trying to.

As advised, I upped her pellet intake and whatnot. I just worry that it will happen again. I wonder, are there any mineral supplements for bunnies besides mineral licks? Cause she won't touch those.

Thanks, everyone!
 
What pellet is she on? Your post said 100% Timothy and while a timothy-based pellet is good for a mature rabbit, there should be other ingredients too!
 
She is on Zupreem nature's promise, and yes it is 100% timothy. What other ingredients would you say her pellets should have? I will go to a store and get some? Or give me some good brands. I also give her a lot of varied veggies. Lots of dark greens, sometimes carrot, red sweet pepper, radish, radish greens...etc.
 
Is it this one? http://www.petco.com/product/109509/ZuPreem-Natures-Promise-Premium-Rabbit-Food.aspx

If so, the ingredients are
Sun-cured timothy grass hay, Corn gluten meal, Ground corn, Dried beet pulp, Dicalcium phosphate, Dextrose, Salt, Calcium carbonate, Flaxseed meal, Brewers dried yeast, Ground vegetables (carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress and spinach), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate, Choline chloride, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Natural mixed tocopherols, Zinc sulfate, Ferrous sulfate, Manganese sulfate, Copper sulfate, Zinc proteinate, Calcium iodate, Copper proteinate, Manganese proteinate, Cobalt carbonate, Sodium selenite, Vitamin A supplement, Vitamin D3 supplement, Vitamin E supplement, Niacin, Calcium pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine hydrochloride, Thiamine mononitrate, Folic acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 supplement.

I would expect a pellet to have those added minerals. Pellets made of just hay do exist (typically for horses) so my concern was that she was getting a lot of timothy hay and no supplemental minerals, but that pellet should be giving her the minerals she would need.
 
Heh you know i don't know how i was dumb enough not to notice all that. Yes that is the food. Does it look good then? Do you think giving a small amount if alfalfa Hay in addition to the Timothy will help her? Since it is pretty high in protein. Thanks fire your replies, everyone.
 
that food's quite high in fiber and is low in protein, which is exactly what you want in a pellet food. that and timothy hay should be a good diet. :)

rabbits don't digest protein well the way we do, so it's fiber that you want a lot of
 
Great! So that is reassuring. Now I am more confused than ever though about the cause of her nail issue...I was kinda excited about finding out it was the diet. Cause the diet is easy to change. Now I am back to trying to figure it out...
 
aww, thanks! honestly, I think Gaz tends to be more photogenic most of the time, but Nala's equally adorable in person. my favorite pic is still the one where I managed to catch an action shot of little gazzles dumping a colander full of bunny salad onto her head :D
 
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