Ripped Out Nail?

[JamieM]

Hey, I haven’t been here for a while….  Really trying to avoid what feels like an inevitable vet visit, but since my vet thinks I’m crazy for going in so often, I figured I’d ask here first to get another perspective.  I was inspecting Layla’s nails the other day, as they are long and I can’t seem to find a trimmer that will cut them without cracking them and hurting her, and it seems that a nail on one of her back feet was torn off.  It was bloody so I cleaned it up a bit and decided to keep an eye on it.  Well, it’s been two days now, and her toe seems slightly red and maybe a little swollen?  I really can’t tell, and I’m worried that I’m overreacting so I figured I’d ask what to look for.  She has no puss or anything like that.  She does have a history of tooth root abcesses (last a year ago) which makes me even more worried.  I am sure that the suggestion is going to be to take her to the vet.  I’ve just been to the vet’s twice a week for the past month, and before that twice a week for a year when she had abcesses.  My vet has literally told me that I overreact and worry too much.  Am I worrying too much now?  Also, does anybody have a suggestion for a good clipper for a rabbit who is large (she is 10 pounds and not overweight, just large).  Thanks!

[FluffyBunny]

My bunnies have had this problem a few times. If you’re worried about a potential infection, you can put some Neosporin without pain reliever on the nail. Otherwise, unless there’s visible swelling/infection or she starts walking on that foot strangely, she’s probably fine.

As for the nail clippers, I’d suggest looking for nail clippers made for smaller dogs.

[JamieM]

She’s walking on it ok, so that’s good.  I still have some antibacterial soap that the vet prescribed for her incision when she had her teeth removed last year from her abcess so I’m about to wash it with that…  Neosporin is a good idea, thank you!  Has anybody ever tired one of those electrical trimmers on their rabbits?  Are they pretty loud?  if not, that might definitely be worth a try, but I think it’d scare her if it were too loud…

[jerseygirl]

Hi, long time no see!  I hope Layla’s been alright…

What type of clippers have you used before? I use and like the guillotine style clippers.  You can test where you want to cut with a bit of pressue and if the rabbit doesn’t react to that, you can fully clip.

 

Do you do tip trims or just a full trim near the quick when needed. Regular tip trims would be an idea if her nails tend to split.

By electric trimmers, do you mean something like Pedi-Paws?

 

[JamieM]

Hey!  Layla has been pretty good, overall.  Once she got past the abcess, it’s really been smooth sailing.  And she has some kitty friends now, as I took in two in the past year.  One was severely neglected and I tried taking him from his owner for several months before I finally got him, and the second quickly became the first’s best friend when at the vet for a check up.  Both seem to do great with Layla, as she doesn’t put up with much guff from anybody, so they know their place and like to play with her.  Judging by the binkying she does with the second kitty (who is only 4 months old) Layla enjoys his company and play time.  

I hardly ever get online anymore.  Between work and the boyfriend, I just have little free time.  Sorry I’ve disappeared and only come back when I have a problem!

Ok, so the trimmers I’ve tried are not really like that.  They are actual trimmers, similar to what humans use but curved like a bunny’s nail.  I don’t know what company put it out but it was developed for rabbits, supposedly.  It was dull and all it did was crack her nail.  The others I’ve tried have had the same effect, so as of right now, I only trim when they are long because it hurts her so much.  When I get a trimmer that works better, I plan on doing it more frequently but right now, I hate to say, she looks like a cokehead.  Poor little girl.  I took her to a local pet store for a while but now they aren’t open anymore, and my vet’s office charges $40 each time I bring her in, so I need to be able to do them myself. 

Yeah, I mean something like Pedi Paws.  I have a friend who used them on her dearly departed bunny, but I’m worried about how they would work for bunnies and if they are too loud….  She is very jumpy with loud sounds, so I don’t want to make it a traumatic experience for her.  Trimmings already have been pretty traumatic with the trouble we’ve had with cracking, so I don’t want to make that worse.  I think rabbit trimmers just don’t work well because she’s so big, maybe…  I don’t know.  Maybe the style you posted would work though.  Worth a shot!  Is that for dogs? 

[Michelle&Lolli]

The guillotine style picture can be found for cats or dogs. Basically the cat ones are the same as the small dog ones. I have tried the Pedi Paws on Lolli and it’s not powerful enough to work properly.

[jerseygirl]

I have a battery operated trimmer. I’ve used it on Jersey with not much fuss but it doesn’t remove much, more for smoothing over. To tell the truth, I haven’t used it much. Lucky it was cheap.
The guillotine style takes a bit of gettiing used to where to cut. You can make a little half cut to mark the nail and check the position.

Great to hear she got over that dental abscess so well!

[Beka27]

I would also recommend a higher quality trimmer. They will be sharper and should work better. Look in the cat or small dog section as Bunbuns said.

[JamieM]

Thanks! I bought a guillotine type trimmer for small dogs today and will try it when I get home from work. I’ll be sure to let you know how it works! It’d be so nice to finally have a solution to this problem.

[KatnipCrzy]

It is personal preference as to which type of clipper- I like the scissor style as opposed to the guillitine.  But what is most important is that they are a good quality and are sharp.  Trimmers do dull over time and they then “crush” the nail before they clip it- which can hurt.

I have not bothered to try the Pedipaws or Dremel on my bunnies- I just clip them- it is faster (but I am a vet assistant- and I have trimmed TONS of pet nails).  For my English Lop- Griffin- I use an emery board (99 cent human nail file) after I trim his nails- he steps on his ears so that helps him to avoid scratching the inside of his ears with fresh-cut sharp nails.

[MirBear]

I trim bunny nails on the side, usually like $5 CA per visit, try posting an add on craigslist or kijiji depending on where you are. I prefer the guillotine style clippers and then i file them afterwards and if their cracked put some mineral oil on them.

I’ve use people nail clippers before on my girls ( just for touch ups ) and they worked alright bit i dont recomend them if you can get proper clippers.

[BunnymomKS]

This is weird that I should see this topic and then shortly after, on the same day (today), my Clover had her entire dewclaw split off at the root! Poor baby! I’ve already been nursing her through a stasis and she was struggling a bit when I was getting ready to give her her Critical Care. Then I saw a spot of blood on my shirt, and saw her claw with blood on it. She must have caught it on my shirt or something. It was still attached by the tiniest bit so I maneuvered it veeerry gently, not wanting to hurt her, and it fell into my hand. Clover actually seemed less distressed without it. And it didn’t bleed much from the “socket” or whatever you’d call it. Ew, though, kind of a cringe thing.

This happened once to my boy, Shamrock, but not right when I was holding him. He must have hit it on something and I noticed it when I went to do his regular nail trim. For some months it grew back in kind of deformed, then it got back to normal. Hopefully Clovie’s will do the same. Of all the times for it to happen, though, when she was already feeling under the weather. (She is pooping better now so we’re making progress.)

I have used my guillotine clipper successfully for many years with a number of bunnies, including foster bunnies that I help with and friends’ bunnies. But I think mine does need some sharpening and oiling, because we’ve had accidental bleeds here lately. I was thinking it was the bunnies’ nails getting flaky and brittle as they got older, and part of it probably is. They’re 8-1/2 and 6-1/2. I had thought of the putting oil on to soften the nails too. We’ll try those things; they should help. I have a Dremel tool so I might be able to sharpen the clipper with that.

[MirBear]

cat nail clippers are what i use, dogs were much too big.

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