Rabbit Nails

[Brenna]

My rabbit Roger is two and a half months old and his nails are very sharp, but they aren’t over grown. I wanted to trim them up so I wouldn’t be clawed to death when he climbed on me. However, when I went to trim his nails he was terrified and fought me tooth and nail. So I’m wondering if there are any “natural” alternatives to keep a rabbits nails from growing too long. I know my dogs never need their nails trimmed because they are able to walk on hard services like wood and tiled floor. Could this be true for my rabbit too?

[BanditCamp]

Your rabbit will eventually need their nails trimmed unless they have lots of time to dig holes in your yard. Rabbits naturally wear their nails by digging hard ground but indoor rabbits don’t have this luxury.

Baby rabbits nails tend to be sharper and longer cause their quick (vein inside nail) is super long and you can normally only take the tips off. Bandit only gets a milimeter or so removed and he’s 4.5 months old. This is just to remove super sharp points but his nails are not long at all.

When you should worry is if you can see the nails past the fur line and your bunny looks like wolverine starting to extend his pokey blades. For me I took my baby to the vet to get his nails trimmed first and they performed it. The next time I was holding him and my local shelter did it, and this time I’m going to do it by myself.

Your bunny might also not be used to you touching his paws, I countered this by giving him a few pets and when he relaxed and loafed I stroked his paws for as long as he would allow. It took time but now I can touch his front paws at will but he’s still sensitive about his hocks. In the habitat board here I also made a post about a fix box I made for him and he loves to dig around inside it this removes sharp points and dulls them down a bit. As for other surfaces you can get your bunny a seagrass mat to dig on as well as they are bunny safe if they have no rubber backing

[Brenna]

So it is normal for a baby rabbits quick to be long? I noticed this on Roger and it kind of worried me. 

[BanditCamp]

Quicks get shorter the more nails are trimmed. My vet told me that at first prepare for war wounds (scratches) cause of the longer nails. When their babies the nails are growing and the veins get super elongated and as you trim them by the tips near the quick the vein will recede. After a year my vet said the quick could be anywhere from 1/4 inch or smaller.

I clip bandit every 2 weeks and 8ts worked out for me.

[Brenna]

Since the quick is so close to the top of the nail could I start by filing it to get it shorter and then transition to clipping? I don’t want to accidentally get the quick and hurt him.

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