I have a very difficult rabbit and I have no idea how to trim her nails. She hates being picked up, and it's hard to even touch her feet sometimes. All tricks I see are for two people (one restraining and other trimming), but I live alone and don't have anyone around to help.
Trimming fussy rabbit nails
- Thread starter Shubox
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I have been in that position as well with a couple extremely difficult rabbits. Check out the following video. But be warned: when I first saw this, I thought, "no way will this work with my rabbit." But I tried it just as she explained -- even putting the rabbit on a folding table of similar height. I was shocked that it worked. When you watch how she does the back feet, I absolutely thought there was no way it would work, but I did just as explained and, by golly, it worked!
vicki taylor
Member
Im in the same position- considering a vets visit but do the want to stress them- I attempted last week and struggled as they’ve such fluffy feet i dithered as scared of cutting quick they jumped away from me- they hate being picked up and we were all stressed- also one bunny ran away from me for over a week afterwards which was horrible. I’m very jealous when I see these videos of super behaved buns
Myself spread out the trimming of my rabbits claws for a few days. I’ve tried this on my bunnies but one it’s only 500 gram bunny while the other it’s 6 kg, none of them gave me a good grip up on the table. Worked really well on my holland lop, but he’s the calmest when trimming his claws. I can just flip him and he will have a treat chewing on.
The one I struggle with I often took him to the vet and pet shop. But when they trimmed his claws I had to go back 2 weeks later again.
I found out that sort sessions when he was calm or during cuddle time. I could take one claw or two and do the same next day. After trimming a claw he got a treat.
It also work distracting with a treat while I trimmed the claws, for example chewing a whole carrot or a lot of veggies. So during trimming time, he got spoiled with treats.
I have even done the towel thing, didn’t work that good and a high table my bunnies would just jump off to avoid getting their claws trimmed.
The one I struggle with I often took him to the vet and pet shop. But when they trimmed his claws I had to go back 2 weeks later again.
I found out that sort sessions when he was calm or during cuddle time. I could take one claw or two and do the same next day. After trimming a claw he got a treat.
It also work distracting with a treat while I trimmed the claws, for example chewing a whole carrot or a lot of veggies. So during trimming time, he got spoiled with treats.
I have even done the towel thing, didn’t work that good and a high table my bunnies would just jump off to avoid getting their claws trimmed.
Don't let this video deter you, thinking it only works with a super behaved bun. I've had a few extremely difficult rabbits. This rabbit I have now, even the rabbit rescue had difficulty trying to cut his nails and that was with 2 people! He is very difficult BUT this method in the video worked! He even complied with the back feet exactly as in the video.
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After searching the internet for a few days I see a lot of people recommending this video. I have a vet appt for a nail trim this week, but next time I am definitely trying it out. I have one super difficult rabbit and one so-so one, so we'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!
Mariam+Theo
Well-Known Member
My rabbit is the worst when it comes to nail trimming. This way worked perfectly for his back feet and I used the video below for the front feet. I love the phone flashlight idea!
Just a note. With the Mary Cotter method (1st video), there is no need for a flashlight or a need to see the quick of the nail. She has you use the clippers to put pressure before actually clipping (explained better in video). This allows the bun to let you know if you are too close. -- this works like a charm! I didn't believe it at first but found out the hard way that she was absolutely right. It's a super easy way to know how short to clip.
