Clipping Your Bunny's Nails

As a bunny parent, there comes a time when you must clip your pet's nails. Many pet owners who are uncomfortable with clipping their pet rabbit's nails will often have their vet perform this task. It is possible for you to do the trimming yourself, if you want to save the time and money. The only tools you will need for this process are nail clippers (available at any pet store or T.R.W. store), a blanket, and a good source of light.

Much like a fingernail of a human, a rabbit’s nail has a pink flesh-color that runs down the middle of the nail that should not be cut. This flesh-color part of the nail is called the "quick" and it actually is a vein. As the nail grows longer, so will the quick. Be sure to trim just past the end of the quick. Having a good source of light is crucial to seeing where the quick is on your bun. If you have a rabbit with dark nails, it sometimes helps to have a flashlight handy as well as a helper to aid you in where you should cut.

If you have a rabbit that doesn't like to sit still, you can use your towel to swaddle him/her up. This is actually a really nice method to practice, for it helps you to pull out and concentrate on one foot at a time.

Even the most skilled nail trimmers make mistakes and accidentally cut the quick. In this case it is a really good idea to use cotton/bandages and apply small pressure to the wound. Make sure the bleeding stops before you leave your rabbit unattended in its cage.

It is usually a good idea to trim your bunny's nails every 3 weeks. The more you trim your pet's nails, the more you and your pet will become comfortable with this procedure.

Beating the Bunny Blues: Ways To Interact With Your Rabbit

Chances are if you're a bunny owner, you're going to notice that your rabbit most likely displays signs of boredom and frustration. Rabbits can demand a lot of attention and it is important that you give it to them. Your frustrated bored bunny will soon start acting like a naughty bunny. Rabbits need to chew constantly, but a misbehaving rabbit will chew objects he/she knows he/she is not supposed to chew. I have received many emails regarding this issue and decided to address it in this post. I've heard people telling me that they've tried everything from scolding their bunny, spraying their bunny with water, rubbing or spraying vinegar on objects, and giving chew toys to their bun. They know that their rabbit is not sick, so what's going on? Firstly, Many of those methods will only prove to be temporary solutions and secondly, your rabbit is trying to communicate to you that he/she wants YOU!

It is a fact that rabbits are more active during the dawn and dusk hours but that doesn't mean you have to wait for those times to come around to start engaging with your rabbit. As a rule of thumb, I don't recommend having your rabbit out at night. I believe your bun needs a lot of supervision if he/she isn't fully trained. Free reign at night means that more of your belongings will be damaged. Instead, play with your rabbit as much as possible during the day. When it comes time for everyone to go to sleep, make sure your rabbit goes back to his/her cage. This way your rabbit isn't upset that you're not playing with him/her and that it is time for you to go to sleep.

My other suggestion to you is to get down on your hands and knees and start acting like a rabbit. This is not a joke! If you haven't already, read up on the "Rabbit Talk 101" page. Once you know how to listen to your bunny, you can talk back to your bunny imitating the same postures he displays to you. If my bunny is doing something I don't want him to do, I simply "tell" him that I'm offended. He then runs up to me and nuzzles me, which pretty much means "I'm sorry."

There are other ways to really give your bunny a good exercise, besides just letting him hang outside of his cage. This is an exercise I initiate with my rabbit: we play a game of chase. I start crawling around the floor very fast, my bun then gets the idea to run. We go around in circles for awhile and if he gets too scared, he stomps his foot and the game has ended for awhile, ( I can tell if he wants to play again, when he runs a little away from me and looks behind to see if I'm going to chase him). Be sure to pet him on the head once the game is over, just to settle him down.

So remember, if your bunny is bored, frustrated, misbehaving, and you know for a fact that he/she is not sick, then your rabbit most likely wants your attention. Address to your rabbit that you are offended by what he/she did immediately after they misbehaved. Supervise and play with your rabbit during the day and make sure he/she is in his/her cage at night.

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House Training and Setting Boundaries

As most of you experienced bunny owners know, once you give your rabbit freedom outside its cage, it wants more! For the less experienced pet owners, it is pretty crucial to give your rabbit some time outside of the cage for the sake of its happiness and health. I'm going to offer some tips as to what measures you should take to prevent any bunny "accidents" (urinating, pooping, chewing wires, digging up carpet, etc).

• If you have a cage that can open so that your rabbit can hop out on its own, you will be making your job and your rabbit's job a lot easier. Rabbits, by nature, don't like to be picked up, so having easy access to and from their cage is extremely helpful to house training your pet.

• Fence off areas where you don't want your rabbit heading.

• Bunny proof areas where your rabbit could get hurt, or vice versa, where your rabbit could do harm to! Make sure any cable wires are either out of sight or neatly pushed to the side. Like roots in a dirt hole, rabbits usually chew wires because they are in their way. Make sure there are things for your rabbit to chew on, such as building blocks, chew blocks, and hay balls. A small scratch post isn't such a bad idea to have for your rabbit to dig into either.

• Supervise your rabbit's time out of the cage! Start with short 10 minute sessions of "outside" time. Let your rabbit become comfortable with its surroundings gradually.

• You'll notice your rabbit will be brushing its chin on objects and even you! Don't worry, your rabbit is leaving a scent, so that it can detect where its already been and determine that this is its territory.

• Unfortunately, the more comfortable your rabbit becomes the more its going to want to mark its surroundings with urine and feces. That's why it is important for you to supervise and discipline your rabbit when it does behave in that nature. If you provide consistent supervision your rabbit will get the idea that it can't just leave urine and scattered poop deposits everywhere.

• After a while, you might decide to grant your rabbit free reign of the majority of your house. It is a good idea though to provide an extra litter box in this case. Put some of your rabbit's turds in the litter box so that your rabbit knows it can relieve itself in that area.

Looking for a topic or have a question? Check my blog archive on the white sidebar for past posts and the F.A.Q. page!