How do I clip my rabbit’s nails? Like humans, rabbits require body grooming from time to time, to stay clean, and well kept. Clipping your rabbit’s nails is a necessary form of grooming needed for your pet rabbit. Rabbit nails can grow to as long as two inches or more. This is hazardous to the domestic environment and bad for the rabbit in the long run.
Little kids enjoy playing with rabbits a lot. When you have pet rabbits with very long nails, you put these kids at risk of getting clawed by them. Although rabbits are relatively peaceful animals, there is still a small chance of their claws hurting people. Asides from this, they can also use their long nails to claw on and ruin things around the house like carpets, furniture, and upholstery, etc.
Funny enough, rabbits can equally cause damage to themselves if their nails get very long. They can injure themselves or can have their nails stuck in crooked, tiny spaces.
It, therefore, becomes imperative to keep your pet bunny’s nails trim and neat at all times.
In this article, we will be covering the topics relating to why clipping your rabbit’s nails is necessary, such as:
- Is it necessary to cut my rabbit’s nails?
- What happens if you don’t cut your rabbit’s nails?
- Can you cut a rabbit’s nails yourself?
- Can I cut my rabbit’s nails with human Clippers?
Follow along now and learn all you need about clipping your rabbit’s nails.
Is It Necessary To Cut My Rabbit’s Nails?
So how do you clip your rabbit’s nails? Rabbit nails can grow long and out of control. How rabbit nails grow may differ from rabbit to rabbit. Some rabbits have a hard time growing nails to a noticeable length, while others grow wild to two inches or more.
Long nails are potentially hazardous to your environment and humans. Rabbits can cause considerable damage to items around the house just by clawing on them. Their claws can also hurt humans when you play with them.
Whatever the case may be, it is always important that they are kept short and trim as frequently as possible. Trimming a rabbit’s nails is not a very easy process. It requires patience and some level of stealth to get through the process. This is because rabbits are very anxious animals and one suspicious move can send them into a fix.
Rabbits can be fidgety and can react erratically which will require you to stop for a while and continue later. Getting your pet rabbit to sit still while you trim its whole nails can stretch for days before you can get the work done. Nonetheless, there are ways to speed up the clipping process that will reduce their anxiety, relieve you of stress, and generally make the experience a lot more seamless.
What to do before you begin
So now that you are familiar with how to cut your pet rabbit’s nails, you first need to ensure they are first comfortable. You can start by cuddling them on your lap to make sure they are relaxed. Then you can introduce the clipper and put it in line of sight of the rabbit. Once the rabbit spots the clipper, its first reaction may be to get away. But you should not let it. Hold onto your rabbit and continue petting it to calm it down.
This would be the perfect time to introduce a treat. A piece of carrot top is a great choice. Put the carrot top in front of the rabbit as if to bribe it and watch as his interest picks. A smart rabbit will behave itself at this point. Start by taking one of the nails and clipping it gradually. It may get a little jittery at first, but you shouldn’t stop. Make sure you completely get rid of the nail before pausing for a while.
You can then offer it the carrot top as a reward for being a good boy. As it munches on the treat, go for the second nail. Gradually you will be able to cover some of not all the nails depending on how the rabbit reacts.
Be Patient
Remember, the watchword here is patience. Don’t try to force the rabbit into submission as you could complicate issues. Make sure to stop immediately the rabbit starts to get very uncomfortable and then you can continue at a later time.
Before you consider clipping your rabbit’s nails, consult with your vet doctor to learn the safest way to do it. There is a minimum length you are not supposed to go beyond as this can severely hurt the rabbit and cause it to bleed.
It is also good practice to introduce start clipping your pet rabbits’ nails early enough so they get used to it as they get older.
What Happens If You Don’t Cut Them?
Looking closely at the base of a rabbit’s nail, you will spot a pink pigment called a kwik. In very layman’s terms, a kwik is a small vein that acts as a supply chain for blood to flow to the nail. Cutting below the kwik line can cause your pet rabbit to bleed out.
The unfortunate thing about the kwik is that it can be less visible in some rabbits than others. So trimming can prove pretty difficult in scenarios like this. Now, why you need to understand how a kwik works is that if a rabbit’s nails are left untrimmed for a long time, it can cause the kwik to get bigger making it hard to trace an exact baseline. When you decide to cut the nails eventually, it can be a painful experience for the rabbit.
There are other downsides to leaving your pet rabbit’s nail unattended. Highlighted below are a few of them:
- As stated above, failure to trim a pet rabbit’s nails frequently can cause pain which can lead to irreparable damages to the animal.
- Long nails can cause damage to furniture, carpet, or upholstery within the house.
- An untrimmed nail can cause reduced traction, making it difficult for the rabbit to walk or run.
- Long nails can also lead to deformed feet in your pet rabbit which can cause wear and tear to tissues in the joints.
- Wear and tear in the joints can cause sore muscles, backache, and can even lead to serious arthritis.
- Nails can get stuck in a trap and can snap when the rabbit forcefully tries to remove them. This can leave open injuries that can lead to serious infections.
Can You Clip Your Rabbit’s Nails Yourself?
As a pet bunny owner, nail trimming should be one of your top priorities when grooming your rabbit. Their long nails may make them damage your property and may affect the general wellbeing of your rabbit. Most times, rabbit owners are scared of trimming their pet’s nails by themselves for fear of causing harm to the poor animal. They are sometimes forced to let the nails grow wild which is not good for the rabbit in the long run.
The question however remains: Can you cut your rabbit’s nail yourself? Absolutely yes! You can cut your pet bunny’s nails at home by yourself without the help of a vet doctor. Nonetheless, cutting a rabbit’s nails isn’t the easiest job in the world. You will need to be very careful and exercise a lot of patience to get the job done.
Rabbits are jittery animals and one wrong move can cause lifelong damage to your pet bunny. To be on the safe side, it is always best to consult first with a trained vet doctor to guide you through the process.
Better yet, let him or her do the trimming the first time so you can watch and learn how to do it. After you must have gotten the trick, then you can start trimming the subsequent ones yourself.
Remember that rabbit nails are very delicate and structured in a particular way that allows for blood flow from the body to the nails. Learning the right way to cut the nails becomes very important so you don’t hurt your pet bunny and cause it to bleed.
Can I Clip a Rabbit’s Nails With Human Clippers?
Not only do you wonder how do you clip your rabbit’s nails, but also what do I cut them with? Using human clippers to trim your rabbit’s nails is not a good idea. This is because human and rabbit nails are shaped differently. Also, there are instances where a rabbit’s nails have been left to grow wild for too long. The nails at this point become roundish and crooked. Human nail clippers are built for flat, thin nails and not anything bulky.
Rabbit nails, on the other hand, are very thick in girth. Using a human clipper will not only be a fruitless exercise, you will end hurting the rabbit when you try to forcefully try to use a human nail clipper.
There are specially designed nail clippers for animals. You can find them at any local pet shop around you. A typical animal nail clipper has a round edge on both sides that clamps down on the rabbit’s nail and then clips it neatly. It is never a good practice to use a human nail clipper on your rabbit or any other sharp object for that matter.
Hopefully, you now know why clipping your rabbit’s nails is important. We are sure the tips in this article will help you in grooming yur rabbits for good health.