Nail Trimming>>>

[Luluznewz]

My landlord is selling my house and the real estate agent is having an enormous open house. Tons of people will be coming in and out all day. My landlord doesnt way Lulu to be there for the open house and frankly I agree. I think she will be a big distraction from the house and I dont want her to be afraid.

So I've decided to send her to a small animal daycare. I have work/ class / midterms all day, so its really my best and only option. At the daycare they offer to groom your pet and trim their nails. The people said that they have experience with rabbits, but I've heard a few horror stories about pets breaking their backs.

Do you think I should allow them to groom / cut her nails? Or should I tell them to keep their hands off? I don't want Lulu to be hurt at all, but they are "professionals" and i've done it only a handful of times, so she might even be safer with them.

 

[elrohwen]

I trust vet techs to do it, but I don't know if I would trust these people. I would ask how often they do rabbits. If it's just a few times a year, I would pass.

 

[jcottonl02]

To be honest, I am very....odd about that sort of thing. I am incredibly OVER protective of my babies, which is sometimes not a great thing. I'm incredibly OCD as well. And I always have this thought in my head that I am the only one who can do it right, because I know my rabbit, and what they hate and what they will kick about, the best way to hold them in certain situations etc. etc. which obviously isn't always true.

Now. For some strange reason I trust unquestionably certain people. Again, I don't know why. My Dad for example. And my vet, Ben. That's it, really.

Also, I used to work with Ben, so whenever I take my bunnies to him, he always allows me to come out the back etc. and be the 'vet nurse' in that situation, because that's what I always did anyway. And I like that. Plus I trust him completely, because I've seen the way he handles my buns etc. and how capable, firm, yet gentle he is.

However, one time I got this new vet- she was very young, and was there because Ben was ill. She seemed nice, but didn't seem greatly confident about rabbits. You could just tell she hadn't been long out of vet school.
Benji needed his teeth trimming. Normally I hold Benji, which I like to do anyway because I know being with me calms him, and he doesn't like to be away from me at the vets etc. (scrambles into my arms, up my jumper, under my hands, and just leaning against me as much as he can etc. and also licks me and looks up at me as if to say 'mummy if you love me take me home now' LOL)

Anyway, I felt very uncomfortable when she wrapped him in a towell and took him out the back, leaving me wringing my hands in the room. Even though she's qualified!!! lol. I felt ridiculous, but just couldn't help it. I felt lost, and scared, and like I should be with him. My Dad knows I'm weird like that and just told me to stop it cos he'll be fine (in a nice way) lol, which did help the situation, because he seriously is always right.

So, anyway, as I am completely competent in grooming and nail clipping (and I know how not to hold them- what causes them to stress and kick etc. which is VERY different with each bunny sometimes), AND because I'm a completely weirdo with OCD (true), I wouldn't haha. I know I would worry too much.


Point is- you don't know who to trust. There are many qualified vets in this world who I would never trust with my rabbits, for many reasons- mostly from stories I have heard. Also the number of vets who don't know the basics about rabbits, and rabbit handling and care etc. If I ever have to change vets, I'm going to be very nosey lol at how rabbit savvy they really are, before I decide to bring my rabbits there haha. They'll hate me I am sure

What kind of 'experience' do they have with rabbits? 2 a day, or more like one every few months? Also, how is Lulu with handling? Is she very laid back etc? Or does she hate certain things?

I'd go on by how often they see rabbits, and how great Lulu is with handling/new people etc etc

Jen

 

[elrohwen]

I'm so not completely qualified in handling my rabbits (hangs head in shame) so I've had to trust vet techs. One place near our house sees some rabbits, but not a ton. I'll be honest - I don't completely trust them. It's 5 minutes away, but I often drive the 30 minutes to their regular vet because I trust the techs so much more. I've seen them hold Otto without issues, while at the closer place he's flailing all over (which is what it looks like when I try to hold him, unfortunately).

And I think you should never let a place clip their nails if they won't let you see it done! If we're seeing the vet, she'll trim the nails right in front of me while the tech holds the bun. Otherwise, they're fine with me coming back and watching and learning. Even the place I don't totally trust will let me watch and help if I want.

So maybe give them a chance and be there to watch them. Then you'll know if they're good or not. And if they won't let you watch, that will answer your question right there.

 

[jcottonl02]

elrohwen wrote:

And I think you should never let a place clip their nails if they won't let you see it done! If we're seeing the vet, she'll trim the nails right in front of me while the tech holds the bun. Otherwise, they're fine with me coming back and watching and learning. Even the place I don't totally trust will let me watch and help if I want.

TEETH!!!!! Lol. Not nails. They HAVE to take the rabbit out the back to trim teeth, because of the special tools they have to use. I would be shocked if they DIDN'T take them out the back, because that means they'd be just clipping them- not good lol!

It was only this new temporary vet that didn't invite me to join her, normally I do. But I think I will def ask next time that happens, because there should be no reason for her to say no.

Jen

 

[elrohwen]

Oh, sorry Jen! I wasn't responding to your teeth trimming - I just meant nail trims in general. I think they should let you come back and watch it being done. Teeth trimming is a whole 'nother beast ;-)

Both of my vets will just take the bunny away from you in the waiting room and take them back, so you do specifically have to ask to watch them, but they've been good about it. I wouldn't trust them if they said I couldn't watch for some reason.

 

[jcottonl02]

I'll just add, my vets 'inspect, approve, and recommend' one of the biggest rabbit rescues in Berkshire, which works with the rabbit welfare association and RSPCA. They are highly qualified and are very experienced in rabbit care, diet etc. They are the ones who work with the rescues to monitor the health etc. of all their rescue bunnys .

So I'm very lucky to have found such a brilliant vets, with two 'exotic' specialists, and 2 very rabbit savvy vets (one treats me a little bit like I don't know anything about bunnies by lecturing me things I know, without giving me a chance to say 'yes I know that', so I tend to avoid her hahahahaah).

Jen

 

[jcottonl02]

elrohwen wrote:

Oh, sorry Jen! I wasn't responding to your teeth trimming - I just meant nail trims in general. I think they should let you come back and watch it being done. Teeth trimming is a whole 'nother beast ;-)

Both of my vets will just take the bunny away from you in the waiting room and take them back, so you do specifically have to ask to watch them, but they've been good about it. I wouldn't trust them if they said I couldn't watch for some reason.

Ooohhh sorry my bad lol!!! I did think it was rather a strange reply LOL!

Yeah, I reckon if that does happen again I'll just ask- I was so taken aback though cos I'm not used to not coming round the back lol!!

Jen

 

[jcottonl02]

elrohwen wrote:

Teeth trimming is a whole 'nother beast ;-)

And yes...I have to agree with that one.

I was SO mad the other day.

Benji needs his incisors trimmed quite a lot, and it's always done how I described- me and Ben go out the back, I hold Benji, Ben does the teeth trimming. Perhaps 20 seconds- Benji is always very very good. Doesn't even flinch. Once it's done, Ben checks the teeth, and makes sure it's all alright and then off we go. Benji is always absolutely fine afterwards, and relishes his newly-trimmed teeth by going straight for a bowl of pellets and veggies with gusto lol.

Anyywaayy!! Long story short (because I like my long stories ), it was Easter Sunday. And I checked his teeth, and realised I was going to away for a few weeks, and thought- well, as I'm here, I'll get his teeth done before I go, because I want to be there with him.

Kynoch isn't open on Sundays (or bank holidays), so we went to this other place that we sometimes take the dogs to, which always seemed 'fine'. Especially for the dogs and cats for something simple like vaccinations.

Anyway. Took him to this place to get his teeth trimmed. Thought it would be a 20minute jobby as normal, but the vet decided to keep him in. I was very confused. Then he said he was going to give him a general anasthetic. I said no. I said that for a simple tooth trim, I didn't want him to be under anasthetic due to the unnecessary risks. He said okay. I was still a bit confused as to why he wanted to keep him there to do it, but I just thought they were being over-cautious.

Now, whether they always do that for trimming bun's teeth who they haven't seen before and don't know the temperment a different matter entirely, but my Dad collected Benji a few hours later (once I had gone- I wasn't a happy bunny at all!), and texted me to say that the cost was £120 (even though this is a 24 hour vet and doesn't charge more for sundays), and that he had been put under general, and had three different painkillers.

I was utterly fuming.

Never taking him there again. And if I ever see the vet again he will get a piece of my mind. He is NOT allowed to do something like that without my permission!!!! Forms need to be signed!!!

I wish I had done something at the time. I wish I had been there to collect him, because he would have heard my wrath :X.

Jen

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

I would let them trim nails bunnies do not need baths. Maybe they could brush him for you but no water and make that clear.

I would let them personally as a company they would not offer if they where not comfortable. Thats a law suite waiting to happen. So I would go ahead just make sure they only do nails and maybe a brushing.

 

[kirbyultra]

Luckily it's just a day care and Lulu won't have to be there too long, and not too often either Personally, I would ask how often they handle rabbits. If they don't have a rabbit once a week at least, I wouldn't really trust them to do much with my rabbit. Rabbits are difficult to handle if you don't know what you're doing. They are not like picking up a dog or a cat and a bunny will get hurt if they don't know what they're doing.

I've seen how Petco does cat and dog grooming and if they plan on doing anything of the sort with a rabbit, I would tell them a big no thanks (although they do just fine for dog and cat grooming, albeit expensive)! Rabbit care is totally different territory.

Another you can try is, when you do bring Lulu there, ask them to pick up Lulu and see how they handle her. It's a really good indication of their experience by watching the way they pick her up. If they nab her by the front legs, ears, or ribs, I would tell them no thanks, and please don't touch my rabbit unless there's a fire and you need to get the animals out... for a day care as a place to watch over her and make sure she's fed and watered, it's fine. But for any heavy duty grooming and care, I would really want to gauge their experience closely first.

 

[Luluznewz]

I think i've decided that unless I see a bunch of other rabbits there I will ask that Lulu be left in the cage (which are very large by the way ). They would not be actually bathing her or anything like that. Grooming is just included in the fee so they said I if I wanted her nails trimmed and her brushed they would do that.

I don't think its necessary. She will be much happier if shes left alone in her cage. I dont want to scare her any more than being in a new place will. I'm going to bring her pink bunny bed and litter box with me so she should be comfortable for the short time she will be there. Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[missyscove]

I think that if they see rabbits regularly, sure let them trim the nails. I work at an animal hospital over the summer. We're not allowed to handle any of the exotics until we've had training to work with them. That said, I basically got special permission for the buns my second week of work when the guy training me was trying to clean a bun's cage and move him over to the next one and the bun kept trying to kick him. He looked around for someone else free, then said, wait, you have rabbits, you try and I had no problems. From then on everyone knew I loved buns and called on me to help with rabbits when they came in.

I've found that a lot of animals are better behaved in that sort of setting for a nail trim. I know a lot of owners just aren't confident about doing it and will really drag the process out whereas someone who trims nails every day can get it over with much faster and in the end it may be less stressful for the bun.

 

[elrohwen]

So true that bunnies are better behaved at the vets' office. Otto is horrible at home, but a total doll for the vet. Today the tech brought him out and was kissing and snuggling him while she held him. Wish he'd let me do that! I need to get the fear of the vets' into him for him to stay still.