Nail Trimming at the Vets….

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Hey all

  Can anyone who has their rabbits nails trimmed at the vets tell me what you pay? We do mine at home, but if it’s a reasonable price, maybe Kokanee should have her’s done at the vets…Also are you present when they do it? Do you prefer to have the vet do it or you just aren’t able to because of the fight they put up?

 

Thanks!!!

[MarkBun]

I trim my own bun’s nails – although there is one nail (left hind foot ‘pinky’ nail) that she absolutely WON’T let me get near.  I had thought it might have been bad/infected or some such thing but the vet said that it’s fine.  Just her weirdness.

My GF brings her bun to a pet shop across the street that also does groomings.  They charge $20 for the trim.  It usually costs me $30 at a vet.  So I’d say anything over $40 is WAY too much.

[Bunnies4ever]

I’ll ususally do it myself, but once in a while I’ll take them to House Rabbit Society. I think they charge $10.00 per bun. If it’s time for their check-up at the vet, I’ll ask the vet to do it and they charge the same amount. I try not to wait too long to trim their nails. I was scared to death at first, but once you do it a few times, it becomes easier. Kahlua usually let me trim his nails without any squirming, Chloe’s a diferent story. I have to work fast because she wants to run and play.

[babybunsmum]

i’ve tried to keep up doing it myself… tried is the operative word here.  i think i leave them too long inbetween trimmings since i tend to procrastinate doing things like this.  theres always a struggle of course & i used to feel so bad to put baby through it when she was never that affectionate with me to begin with.  we’ve turned a new leave now though.  since i’ve had to give her meds she’s gotten quite used to me picking her up & is hardly even ticked at all when i let her down.  so i’m making a point to do this several times day which should make the nail trimming much less aggrevating.

the vet’s assistant trimmed her nails while she was ‘under’ for her surgery.  i noticed a $20 fee for it which was waived as they do nail trims complimentary when they charge you up the butt for surgery   (just kidding… i appreciate their abilities & fees)

[Sarita]

My vet charges $10 I think. I just have so many that I do it myself – not my favorite thing to do but I just make myself do it. I think having the right kind of nail trimmers makes it easier too. I think it’s almost more of a hassle to get the rabbit in the carrier, go the vet, get it done, etc…

[Deleted User]

I clipped my first buns nails myself and of course I made her bleed when I cut the quick. She recovered much more quickly than I did. But she did let me grovel and cry for forgiveness for a day before she stopped giving me bunny butt.

Shadow is nowhere as mellow as Fu was. When I hold him it feels like his heart is going to burst out of his chest, and I fear he will have a coronary.

I take him to the vet for a check up, she puts him on the table, clip clip clip, not a twitch. Takes her a minute for all four feet, takes me 5 attempts and a valium per nail.

[Carolyn]

I only had my rabbits nails trimed once at the vets and it cost me $16 plus tax. I was there when she trimed his nails. She showed me how to hold him since it was my first time, She was so quick scamper didn’t have a chance to fight her plus then he was a lot smaller then he is now.  I do my best to trim them myself. but as I’m sure many of you have the same issue, Scamper hates it and it more of a struggle then anything else.

[Beka27]

at my vet it costs $16 total (only 6 for the trim… but 10 for the lovely nurse to grace you with her presence… lol)

i like it b/c ( i said in my other thread too) it seems that the minimal stress from the ride there subdues her enough where it’s an effortless procedure.  at home she’ll go nuts!  it’s def. a two-person procedure.  at the vet, i hold her against my chest (belly facing out) and the nurse goes "snip snip snip snip…" and she’s done within seconds.  only one or two nails actually make her jump…

there’s a petstore near here that does grooming… they’ve quoted me the price of only 5 dollars total for the trim, but i’ve not taken her there… i don’t know how often they work with rabbits or how trained they are… so i’m a bit afraid… even tho it’s cheaper.  plus petstores often mean disease… i’m not sure how well they clean or sterilize.

[babybunsmum]

Posted By Bunzai on 11/30/2007 3:28 PM

takes me 5 attempts and a valium per nail.

lol!  i know how you feel! 

i was contemplating taking my dog to get groomed & nails trimmed at a local pet store… i took him in there & could see one of the girls working on another dog.  the poor dog was trembling in fear and she wasn’t doing a thing to offer any comfort.  she wasn’t being brutal, but was certainly NOT gentle.  i turned around & left.  i’d rather pay a premium & get some one with experience and love for animals instead of a place that hires people who couldn’t care less about what they’re doing.  i don’t even blame the girl.  she was young & probably just trying to make a few bucks… it angers me that an establishment wouldn’t have some one over-seeing to make sure this wouldn’t happen.  that poor dog.

[ScooterandAnnette]

Sometimes we do ours at home, but one has very dark nails and it’s difficult for me to see where the quick is. We have a PJ pet club card and that gives you free nail clipping service – we always call ahead to make sure that there will be someone in when we’ll be there who can do bunny nails.

[Lisa_43]

I haven’t even tried cutting my rabbits nails; she’s not to keen on being held.

[wendyzski]

I learned to do it myself – when I adopted Pepper they clipped half her nails for me before she came home with me and then watched me do the rest.  Neither of us likes it very much, but we do it.  Sometimes the shelter has Spa Days where they do groomings and nail trims to raise funds for the shelter, and if I can I go there – less stress on both of us and I like to support them.  She has VERY long quicks from when she was neglected, so I usually trim a little off every month.

I was doing Pepper’s nails last night – about 2 weeks late because I;m convinced that she hid the clippers from me – and I found a wierd thing on her toe – part of it is all pink and swollen but doesn’t seem to bother her when I poke it.  Consensus from the various bunny groups is that she probably caught the nail on something and broke the toe and it’s not healed a little funny   I have a vet appt for her next weekend to make sure, and I’ll keep checking it every day to see if anything changes.

Point is that if I didn’t do her nails myself I’d never have known anything was wrong.  It’s probably nothing much but I’m glad I know about it.

[Beka27]

very good point about checking to make sure nothing is wrong.  even if you don’t trim nails yourself, you do want to be continuously checking your rabbit… "disguise" the bunny check as pets and it should (hopefully) go over pretty well…  i try to give Meadow a total once over at least once a week, sometimes twice if she’ll let me.

[Frostyleo8]

I have my husband be the bad guy and pick up/hold each bun while I trim their nails.  Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to do it myself.  I only trim them about once every few months, but it’s really important to do so, mainly so they don’t get them caught on something and injure themselves.

 

[osprey]

I’m like you, Frostyleo8.  I have one of my daughters hold the bunny in a blanket while I do the nails.  My guys refuse to go on their backs, so I need a second set of hands to keep them still while I clip.

[mapaloda]

So, I’m new to bunnies and I wasn’t sure if trimming the nails was really needed.  I’m guessing by the number of people responding to your question that it is a good thing to do.  I guess I’ll have that adventure to look forward to this weekend!  How often do you have to trim them?

[wendyzski]

I do Pepper’s more often than a lot of people because I can only take a tiny bit off at a time.  I can tell when they are getting too long because I start to hear her nails clicking on the wood floor when she is casually hopping around.

 

And BTW I canceled Pepper’s vet appt – whatever was on her toe is gone now and all the toes look the same now.  Guess she just twisted it or something.

[babybunsmum]

Posted By mapaloda on 12/07/2007 6:16 PM

So, I’m new to bunnies and I wasn’t sure if trimming the nails was really needed.  I’m guessing by the number of people responding to your question that it is a good thing to do.  I guess I’ll have that adventure to look forward to this weekend!  How often do you have to trim them?

i usually check once every 3 or 4 weeks… sometimes a little longer.  but if you leave it too long i think it becomes uncomfortable for them to hop around and keep themselves clean.  its def worth checking out the ‘monthly maintenance’ page under bunny info on this site.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Mapaloda, babybunsmum is correct, yes it is definately a good thing to do and be sure that if your buns nails have grown very long, not to cut the quick.  The quick can extend out further than normal if nails are allowed to grow too long. It is uncomfortable for the rabbit and can be painful as well, especially if they curl around (especially on their front "false toes&quot and start to dig into their skin. A tip to seeing the quick if your rabbit has dark nails is to use a flashlight to shine through them. I also recommend using the bunny burrito method to secure the rabbit first and if you are a novice, have someone help you and do it sitting on the floor so if your rabbit squirms, you do not need to worry about your rabbit falling from a certain height if they were on your lap and you were sitting in a chair.

Here are specific instructions from Binky Bunny:

Monthly Maintenance

Check it out and let us know how it goes!

[BinkyBunny]

Mapaloda, in addition, keeping bunnies nails trimmed helps prevent sore hocks. Overgrown nails can make a bunny lean too much on the hocks and cause sores. Also, long nails are more apt to get caught, and rip out or even dislocate a toe. So keeping nails trim is a good idea. I advise checking your bunny’s nails once a month. The link that Scarlet gave you has a section that shows exactly how close to the quick you should cut (the quick is the flesh in the nail – you don’t want to cut that)

[Beka27]

i was going to mention the sore hocks too.  Meadow has sore hocks, but apparently there’s not a whole lot i can do about it except put cream on her feet.  the rex breeds are more prone to them, plus they have longer quicks in general.  even tho i do everything "right" for her, they just don’t go away.  i think i remember you saying you had lops, i’m not sure if they’re probably less likely to get the sore hocks… but you still want to keep the nails trim.  i would suggest going to the vet the first time if you’re entirely unsure what to do… they’ll show you.

[mapaloda]

Success!!!!  That was easier than I tought It would be!  It only took about 10 minutes top to do the both of them.  Wrapping them in the towel really helped.  I’m so glad their nails are clear so I could see the quick no problem; I thought for sure I’d end up making one of my darlings bleed.  I was even able to hold Kazi, my little spastic one, for a little bit after I was done.  Ive never been able to hold him!  Well, I do believe they both have nice manicures now.  I’m sure they’ll thank me once they’re done hiding from me under the couch! 

[babybunsmum]

lol… yes as soon as they come out they’ll thank you for your service.  i wish i’d known about the ‘bunny burrito’ a lot earlier.  makes those tasks sooo much easier.  glad it went well!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Great job! Yes, having white/opaque nails does make it easier doesn’t it?

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