Finally trimmed bunnies’ nails!

[Lightchick]

This is what it took….

Lizzy had a fit that was pretty darned close to a seizure in the car a couple weeks ago, so I don’t want to drag her in the car…

New vet is 45 min away in traffic, and charges $20 for nail-clipping.

Old vet is very close, cheap and EVIL–I refuse to support them in any way.

Groomer is the bunny rescue…60 min away.  Very far…

So I informed BF that this weekend was bunny-nail trimming-time!

I made bunny-burritos, tranced the buns on my lap (head hanging over my knees, hind end toward my torso), and had BF on his knees with the nail clippers.  He probably didn’t trim off as much as he could have, but he did really good considering he’s never done it before!

Question–we only did the front paws.  We were both shaking, and afraid to push the buns any further.  How do you position your buns to get at the back paws?  Just reach into the bunny-burrito and pull the hind-legs out, or cradle them in your arms rather than your lap, or is there another secret…

Thanks!

(Note–the buns disapprove of any help you can offer, but the humans would be very grateful!) 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

LOL Congrats! I do a trance to trim nails so I actually find the hind paws easier and the front paws harder! It’s good you took a break and you’ll brave another try!

You could try wrapping them up and flipping them over into a trance? Good thing hubby is helping!

[Cassi&Charlie]

I always have this trouble. We can just trance Charlie and it’s all good, he stays tranced but Layla chucks a fit! So we burrito her, trance her and then pull a foot out of the burrito, clip the nails and then push it back in before we get the other one. The only problem with this method it that she wakes up half way through and gets out of the burrito so we tend to cut her nails in steps ie one foot one week, the other the next week. I hope it doesn’t affect her balance….anyway she’s caught on and as soon as she sees the ‘bunny towel’ she runs away and hides. Poor thing.

What happened to Lizzy? Did she fall over and go all floppy? Charlie does that in the car. I thought he was dead once, I couldn’t wake him up! Crazy bunny.

[Crayon]

I have trouble with getting my bunnies back feet. I do not have a helper either. I also have yet to put my bunny in a trance. He does not go for it. Mybe I am not doing it right. The best way I can clip the backs is to laydown with Bunny with one arm around/on him and that pets his face to distract and relax him. Then I coax a back foot out gradually, slip the nail in the clippers and do it quick. This method only works well for one of the feet though!

He is very good about the front ones though and even lets me file them.

[RabbitPam]

I haven’t tried to trance Sammy yet. It’s going to be tough, since she’s getting more phoebic about my hands in general.

I used to have someone hold the burrito next to their chest on their lap, then fish out the back foot. Since he wasn’t tranced, we’d turn the burrito around facing the opposite way, then fish out the other foot. The front feet were both accessible at once.

Of course, it generally took me about 4 days to catch him just to get him in a buritto, and my brother stopped helping because he didn’t want Spockie to hate him. Good grief. Sammy is a boxer. I just can’t wait…

[Lightchick]

Cassi, I don’t know what the deal was with Lizzy…My BF was watching the two of them while I was at my parents’ for a week, and I was driving on the freeway to take them home. It’s a pretty long ride, 1.5 hours. It was at night, and half-way home, there was this thrashing noise from Lizzy’s box. I couldn’t really see what was going on because it was so dark, so I pulled off the side of the freeway, and she was flat on one side. I was on the phone-headset with BF, who was following in his car, and at this point I was basically hyperventilating that Lizzy was dead, and freaking out! She was still breathing, though, and after a moment, she got up, but was breathing really hard… When her breathing slowed down a little, I continued home (TERRIFIED!), and she hasn’t shown any signs of anything since…

So I don’t know if she lost her footing and freaked out, or what…

What’s the deal with Charlie in the car? He just goes over on his sides? (Maybe Lizzy’s not the only freak!)

Thanks for the hints on nails, guys… I don’t get a really solid trance (ie, if I move, they’re up!), but enough to get through the front paws with only a couple struggles. I just know the back paws will be harder. I guess we’ll try my holding them in my arms rather than on my lap to do it…

Poor Pam! Is Miss Samantha a little stinker? How are things going? (I feel like I haven’t heard much about how you two are doing…maybe I missed some posts in “Behavior”? Or have you been silent about your boxing-bunny?)

[Sarita]

I don’t usually trance my rabbits even to do nails. I just kind of sit with them in my lap – put there back to my stomach where they are kind of sitting up and I can cradle them. Most of my rabbits are way to large to trance anyway.

[Lightchick]

Hmmm, Sarita, that’s an idea…do you have them wrapped up in a bunny-burrito while you do it?

Maybe we’ll try both ways and see if one works better than the other for any of the buns…

[Sarita]

No, just a firm hold. I think it’s easier to do it this way for the medium size to larger rabbits than the trance. It takes a little practice but it works for me. I usually do it in the bathroom – a small space and sit with my back against the wall. I like the small space too because if they try to get away there is no where to run – except behind the toilet of course but I try to catch them before that happens or you could probably block that part off.

[Lightchick]

Hmm, mine are all pretty little. Robbie’s the biggest and he’s only 5.5lb. Lizzy is just under 5lb. Thumper is probably just over 5lb. I’ll give it a try and see what happens…Thumper seems to mind being picked up with all 4 legs straight out much MORE than the traditional bunny-football, so maybe he’ll like that position?!

[Cassi&Charlie]

Yeah that’s what Charlie does, he falls flat onto his side and then when I panic and try to pick him up, cause I think he’s had a heart attack and died, he’s all limp. The first time it happened was right after an injection and I thought the injection had killed him but after I shook him (crying hysterically btw) he ran up my arm and perched on my shoulder and bit me hard on my neck, then scratched me badly all on my neck. Since then, when he falls over in the car, I’m careful not to let him anywhere near my throat.
Actually they went to the vet yesterday for a check up and I put him and Layla in a carrier together, and on the way back he bit her ear hard. Now I have to take her back to the vet today. Little sh*t!

[RabbitPam]

C&C – I know it’s not funny, but, I can just picture him all limp and flat, then zooming in for the kill like Bunicula.

Lighchick – I actually have been trying not to be the new mother bore that has a story every day. But since you asked…I’ll start a new post in Behavior. I have a story from this past week.

[Lightchick]

OH, but Pam, you’d have to know we’d be desperate to hear all about your new furbaby when you had to wait so long to get her! I was afraid she was a pain, with her boxing and whatnot, and that maybe you two didn’t get along! I can’t wait to hear ALL about her!

[RabbitPam]

I started to write about being boxed last week, when I realized I told this story somewhere else on another thread. So will start fresh with new tales (tails) later this week, I promise.

Suffice to say she is frequently sweet, and sometimes her own evil twin. I will have to rename her Mohammad Ali if she keeps boxing so well!

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