Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum DIET & CARE How long should her nails be?

Viewing 11 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • Serawyn
      Participant
      41 posts Send Private Message

         I’ve successfully clipped Chloe’s nails 4 times now without any trouble. I would like to know how short her nails can be though because right now, they seem pretty long to me. I’ve only clipped a tiny bit so that I wouldn’t hurt her. :\


      • mrmac
        Participant
        2156 posts Send Private Message

          Are her nails dark? If you can see the quick in them, I usually just trim to a little longer than the quick so as not to clip it and make it bleed. The more regulary you clip them the quick will recede some so they can be cut shorter over time.


        • KatnipCrzy
          Participant
          2981 posts Send Private Message

            I agree- you need to see if her nails are dark or if they are white with the pink quick showing thru.  If a bunny has excessively long nails then you can trim every 2 weeks or so to get the quick to recede.  Otherwise for typical maintenance I trim my bunnies nails once a month.  My bunnies are on fleece and carpet A LOT and they rarely dig or do anything that could wear their nails down.  So to keep them from getting painfully long and to prevent a possible broken or snagged nail I trim them monthly when I give my dogs their heartworm prevention (that is how I remember it needs to be done).


          • Serawyn
            Participant
            41 posts Send Private Message

              Her nails are dar so it’s very hard to tell. I’ve try shinning a flashlight to her nails to see if I could see the quick, but it’s still difficult. She’s ok with me cutting her nails and I use the click, click, snip method to make sure I’m not touching her quick. I guess I’m just not sure what is a “good” length.


            • KatnipCrzy
              Participant
              2981 posts Send Private Message

                I have 2 Mini Lops and I would guesstimate that their nails are about 1/4 inch long after being trimmed.  Except for their “dewclaws” (if that is what they are called on a bunny)- those seem to be a titch shorter.  I would estimate that I cut maybe just under an 1/8th inch off the nails monthly- especially the back nails as those seem to get worn less.

                Bunny toes are so different than a dogs toes since their feet are so furry- I never really see the base of my bunnies nails when I am trimming- I can only feel it with my fingers.  Cotton has some nails that are grey- but she does have some that are white/clear and I can tell how much to trim off the colored ones by looking at those usually.

                I think one of the main things when dealing with house bunny nails is to just make sure they are not long enough that it seems to be pushing to toes upward when they stand (this causes a lot of strain on the joints which can lead to arthritis).  And I have seen bunny and guinea pig nails so long that they start to corkscrew and curl. 

                Bunnies that are avid diggers probably keep their nails worn down- at least their front nails.  I remember I had to trim off much less on Pennys nails- but she was a digger. 

                My bunnies do not prefer to go into our kitchen or bathroom much- so there is not much to wear their nails down- so I just make sure to trim them and they are so used to it that it does not even phase them anymore.


              • BinkyBunny
                Moderator
                8776 posts Send Private Message

                   

                  Hopefully this photo will help. You can also find this in the monthly maintenance section under Bunny Info. 

                  VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:  This is Rucy’s nail and her quick is relatively short  (they can recede even more in some bunnies) and it’s  just slightly rounded because I did keep up with her nails.   If nails are allowed to grow long or are kept longer, the quick itself will grow longer and pointier  and less defined. It can grow a sort of long transparent tail toward the end of the nail.  The transparent part doesn’t bleed, but I can tell it must pinch or feel “close” when it’s cut.

                  So, if your bunny’s nails have been long for a while, the quick may have grown longer as well and so you may have to do more small trims more often to help the quick recede.  Rucy’s nails were very dark and I would have to have my husband hold the flashlight behind the nail,  so I could look very closely and trim.

                   

                   


                • Monkeybun
                  Participant
                  10479 posts Send Private Message

                    I wish monkey would sit still and let me trim her nails. Little bugger hates beign held, and the flip onto the back thing just does not work with her at all. *sigh*

                    Reminds me, must call the vet for a nail trim appointment lol


                  • Beka27
                    Participant
                    16016 posts Send Private Message

                      It would benefit you to have someone else hold the flashlight like BB said her husband did for Rucy. I would recommend a vet visit to get them trimmed up, but I’m not sure that the vet techs really have any special equipment up their sleeves for dark nails… What about it Katnip? How do you guys work with the dark nails?


                    • KatnipCrzy
                      Participant
                      2981 posts Send Private Message

                        With dark nails in almost any pet (dog or bunny) we cut off a little- look to see what the end of the nail looks like.  If the end of the nail starts to look like it is solid then you are getting closer to the quick (it looks more alive and not just dead keratin/nail).  And once we cut little bits off on nail to see how far back we can go- we base the other nail length on that.

                        We have gotten animals in with super long nails- and we trim the nails and then keeping “shaving” off/trimming the end of the nail until it looks like we are near the quick.  In the extreme long nail cases I trim each nail and keep shaving it back as far as I can go to make sure the pet gets as much relief as possible from shorter nails.  I call it “shaving” because that is almost what it is like after clipping the main portion of the nail off- I cut such a short amount off it not a piece of nail but shavings of the nail.  And as long as it looks like it is all dead nail- I shave away at it until I find the quick/fleshy looking part of the nail- it is usually darker than “dead nail”.


                      • RabbitPam
                        Moderator
                        11002 posts Send Private Message

                          https://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/a…fault.aspx

                          I posted this a little while ago because I found this DVD sooooooo helpful on clipping. It’s a technique where you actually can do it by feel with the help of your bunny. If you’re too close, bunny pulls away and flinches. It’s Press Press Clip – you don’t actually cut the first two times so if you have touched the quick, the bunny will let you know before you cut and make her bleed. The DVD is better than my paraphrase, but all the info. is in this post.


                        • BunnyBun
                          Participant
                          3 posts Send Private Message

                            Monkey, MY RABBITS HATE BEING HELD.

                            I found a good trick to trim my 3 buns’ nails was to put a bundled up towel under them. They seem to snuggle it while you’re clipping the front nails while holding their paw.

                             Also, If you hold them with one arm and hold their side against your chest their feet seem to flare out (DEFINITELY makes it easier to get those back feet!)

                            Another thing that helps is if you talk to them while you’re doing it  


                          • LittlePuffyTail
                            Moderator
                            18092 posts Send Private Message

                              Hi, BunnyBun! Thanks for sharing your tip with others. However, this is very old (2009) thread and we ask that members please not respond to old threads as it can cause confusion. Please feel free to start a new thread and offer your tips. Nail trimming is a big issue for a lot of bunny owners.

                          Viewing 11 reply threads
                          • The topic ‘How long should her nails be?’ is closed to new replies.

                          Forum DIET & CARE How long should her nails be?