Should I risk the trauma of nail cutting???!

[rachillchill]

So I got my bunny about two weeks ago, I am a new bunny mom, and he is a rescue. (My poor baby had been abandoned ) We are working on building trust. Recently, I have noticed that his nails are so long!! My bunny will let me pet him and hand feed him treats, but does NOT want me to pick him up. I’m taking him to the vet on Friday, which is 6 days away from now. Should I:

A) Try to forcibly hold him and cut his nails, which I have never done before and am terrified about? It would also break my heart to scare him and traumatize him and reverse any trust he has gained for me

B) Wait the six days and have the vet do it? 

I guess what I’m asking is, what are the risks of having long nails? Does it hurt him? Currently, he resides in a large fully-bedded cage, although he does try to dig and there are spots that he insists on having the bare plastic flooring of the cage. 

Thank you guys!

[Mm]

Long nail in a long run might result in sore hocks. But I would wait 6 days for the vet to trim his nails since it’s not a very long time and you don’t want to ruin your relationship with him. I’m not able to trim nails by myself. I need another person to hold my bun. If you could, get him one or more than one x-pen instead of a cage. He will be happier with a more spacious living place.

[JLH]

my bun hates being picked up, she lets me do anything but picking her up, she will sit in my lap etc. I used to cut her nails but when I finished she would ignore me for an entire day as she was mad. my vet trims her nails every 5 weeks for $17.00 which is worth it cause now she is mad at the vet and not me. although after over a year of this she is pretty much ok with it now.

[Bam]

Congratulations on your new bun – and congratulations to him for getting you!

The shortterm risk with long nails is that they can break. This can result in some minor bloodshed. A bad break can potentially require nail extraction by a vet. The longterm risk is that the bun’s gait can be negatively affected, the rabbit may put it’s weight wrong on their feet. Since you are feeling insecure about trimming his nails yourself, I think it’s reasonable to wait until his vet visit in 6 days. Maybe a vet tech can show you how to cut them. I always ask another human to hold my bun when I trim nails, it’s a lot less stressful for both the human and the rabbit.

Rabbits like to dig and many rabbits prefer lying on a bare spot on a cage floor or on any bare floor. Some even like to lie on ceramic tiles, especially in the summer. Most of us here don’t use bedding in our rabbits’ cages, just in their litterboxes. Fleece blankets, perhaps cut up into smaller pieces, can be used as bedding. I buy the cheepest fleece blankets I can find, because they get holes in them and have to be discarded after a while. Young rabbits often like to drag blankets around or dig in them. Wild rabbits live in warrens underground, and they don’t line their burrows with anything, except the mamabuns right before they give birth.

[sarahthegemini]

Long nails can be dangerous, not only due to potential sore hocks but also they can get caught on flooring and a bun can cut themselves when they scratch and groom themselves. Having said that, I’d probably wait for the vet appt in 6 days. Just keep an eye out.

I don’t cut my bunny’s claws – I get them done by a vet nurse every few months.

[rachillchill]

Okay, thank you guys so much for the input, really appreciate it. I’m going to be moving soon, and once I do I’m gonna get him a nice x-pen set up, and I’ll get him some fleece blankets for bedding. Again, I really appreciate the advice, and my sweet little Cookie does too!! <3

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