Bunny's nails

[Chikky]

Ok, so long story short is: Years ago I got two bunnies, to keep each other company. Both the place I got them said they were both girls, AND the vet agreed.

And then came squiggling babies. Which was fine. I got two great babies, and found homes for the rest (some with cousins). As she was having the babies, she'd had three, and as it was a surprise, I found the one I deemed 'male' and removed him immediately. Apparently, they can breed whilst... Breeding? She had four more babies that day, and the male was never in the cage with her again. But, 30 days later, we had nine more squiggles. He must have gotten to her as she was having her babies! My poor girl. I really didn't know; she's a big girl and showed no signs. And especially when the vet told me they were both female, so I never knew!

Well, the second litter died. Poor things, it was just too soon for everything. My poor momma rabbit was NEVER the same. She still isn't. She was always a bit standoffish, but she was depressed now. And she is still so skitterish, always. She won't be held or anything.

My question is... She used to at least dig and play and chew her own nails so they weren't long. She won't do that anymore, either. She's not sick... But her nails are abhorrently long. I don't know what to do. I feel embarassed to take her to vet, but moreover, I know that I will never get her there. She'll probably have a heart attack in the car. She completely is just... wild. And has been since the day that second litter died.

I can't cut her nails myself, as I do with most of my other buns. She freaks out. I'm so sad, because I love my babies, and I take good care of them, but she refuses to let me DO anything to her. It's like she needs... tranquilized or something. I hate the idea, but at this point, it'd be a relief so that I could properly cut those nails!

 

[aurora369]

You could try wrapping her burrito style in a towel or blanket and only exposing one foot at a time.

I also find it helps to take the rabbit to an unfamiliar place to do nails, I find they squirm less because they are unsure of the surroundings.

And yes, rabbits can and almost always will breed immediately after giving birth and have a heightened fertility for three days after giving birth. So if the male is not separated before the babies are born, you are pretty much guaranteed to have a second litter 4 weeks after the first.

Have you considered having your girl spayed? It may help with her aggression, and if you get the boy neutered too, they can be bonded again. Unspayed females are notoriously grumpy and territorial.

--Dawn

 

[Little Bay Poo]

What if you had one person focusing on holding her still and another person focusing on cutting her nails? Billy used to freak out and kick really hard when being held, so cutting nails was a two person job. I'm not sure how big your bunny is, or how difficult she is to hold. But if you could find someone else to hold her, or if you feel comfortable holding her while someone else uses the nail clippers, I think it would work Unless she's a biter...then you might need gloves or something :?

Be prepared for a lot of kicking and having to wait for the opportunity to cut a nail. Sometimes it takes a long time this way because you'll cut a nail or two, and then have a round of kicking before you can cut another one.

The bunny burrito is also a good idea, if you can pull it off. I tried it once and I couldn't figure out how to make it work :?

Just make sure you don't use scissors (I had a breeder tell me to use sewing scissors and I was scared to death that it would result in an unintentional stabbing because my bunnies kick mid-cut.) I use toenail clippers and they work wonders. Hope this helps!

 

[Chikky]

You know, I have considered having her spayed... But she's just so skittish. I'm afraid she would die from stress on the way. And while he looks at her quite longingly, lol... She always has this wide eyed look of fear. I feel horribly, like I did something wrong, but I'm telling ya all... She was never like this until THE DAY that her babies died. After that, she kinda snapped and never came back.

I may try wrapping her up, though I did try it before and she scrambled away from me as fast as can be. And I worry about her hurting her back.

It's so sad. While she was never very affectionate, she's just so opposite the other bunnies. They all love people and to get out of their cages. She refuses.

 

[Chikky]

Little Bay Poo wrote:

What if you had one person focusing on holding her still and another person focusing on cutting her nails? Billy used to freak out and kick really hard when being held, so cutting nails was a two person job. I'm not sure how big your bunny is, or how difficult she is to hold. But if you could find someone else to hold her, or if you feel comfortable holding her while someone else uses the nail clippers, I think it would work Unless she's a biter...then you might need gloves or something :?

Be prepared for a lot of kicking and having to wait for the opportunity to cut a nail. Sometimes it takes a long time this way because you'll cut a nail or two, and then have a round of kicking before you can cut another one.

The bunny burrito is also a good idea, if you can pull it off. I tried it once and I couldn't figure out how to make it work :?

Just make sure you don't use scissors (I had a breeder tell me to use sewing scissors and I was scared to death that it would result in an unintentional stabbing because my bunnies kick mid-cut.) I use toenail clippers and they work wonders. Hope this helps!

Thanks. Yeah, I'd need to recruit someone, heh. She's a fairly big girl, but you know how they can MOVE t=when they wanna!!

And I do have bunny nail clippers, so I'm ok there! I think I'll try it this week sometime. Poor thing.

Has anyone heard of a rabbit just completely snapping after something like she went through? I can't imagine that they're all that different from humans in this respect. (I know they're very humanlike in many ways... But I mean as per the stress.)

 

[mouse_chalk]

Awww! That story about her losing her babies and then being so sad bought tears to my eyes!

I can't tell you anything on losing the babies and that making her aggressive, but I can tell you that I havea just-turned 2 year old female unspayed atm, and while she's lovely most of the time, if you show any signs of wanting to pick her up, or go in the cage and frighten her, she hits you with her paws! Our 2 spayed females however are absolutely fine...

If your rabbit doesn't like car rides, practice first. How far is your vet? Maybe put her in the carrier for short periods of time to get her used to it, then maybe take her for short car trips around the block, gettinga bit longer each time, until she isn't so scared, and you can take her to be spayed. You may have to wrap her in a towel to get her in the carrier in the first place though lol! Plus, spaying reduces health risks too...

Good luck!

Jen

 

[maherwoman]

I can't pick up my Flower (rescue bun) to save my soul! I have to lure her into a carrier that has a towel on the floor of it, with the sides of the towel bunched up, so one of the sides of the towel is on each side, next to her. I then take the top half off the carrier (leaving the door sitting there still), and take those sides and wrap her up real good, being sure to hide her face.

Once her face is hidden, I scoop her up, and sit down on the couch, and flip her gently over onto her back, where she trances IMMEDIATELY. I then can do whatever needs doing, and she stays tranced.

I have some buns that simply HATE their faces being covered...and have others still that just WILL NOT trance...all buns are different.

Hopefully you can get her to go into a carrier (lure with a favorite treat, or if she's scared of the carrier, put it with her in or nearby her cage...maybe in a play area so she sees other buns going in and out of it without meeting any danger)...because things are much easier from there.

Let me know if any of that works!