My daughter once had a painful experience with one of our first homestead rabbits when she picked him up and got scratched by his long, sharp nails. Yikes! We had skipped one too many nail trimmings in a row, which made me think that we had to come up with a better way to to manage the length of our rabbits’ nails.
So, are there ways to keep rabbits’ nails short without cutting them? Yes, there are many different ways to trim and keep your rabbit’s nails short. In this post, we will go over a number of these while also touching on general rabbit nail health.
If You Want To Tend To Your Rabbits Nails Without Cutting Them,
Then Read On To Learn How!
How Can I Keep My Rabbit’s Nails Short Without Cutting Them?
Just like our nails, rabbits’ nails never stop growing! Within their nails is a pinkish colored area called the quick (also spelled kwik). The quick contains blood and nerves that help maintain nail health and ensures the constant growth of your rabbit’s nails.
If you do not trim your rabbits’ nails regularly, they will continue to grow. You may not think this is much of a problem, as you could always cut back long nail growth.
However, as the nails grow lower, so does the quick. If not trimmed, your rabbit’s quick will become very long and you will not be able to trim the nails to a short length again.
But if you don’t like the idea of constantly clipping your rabbit’s nails you can explore other options for trimming their nails that are passive but effective.
How To Trim A Rabbit’s Nails Without Force
Because rabbit nails are always growing, the only way to wear them down without holding your rabbits and using a clipper is to expose your bunny’s nails to harder surfaces for a bit each day.
This can look very different depending on your preferences, with all options including:
- Investing in a rabbit scratching post
- Allowing your rabbit to dig in earth each day
- Trying out a rabbit scratch pad
- Having an outdoor pen where your rabbit can hop and run among grass, rocks, and wood
Rabbit Scratching Post: Will Rabbits Use A Scratching Post?
Bunny rabbit will not only use a scratching post, but they will love it!
Scratching posts are great ways to naturally wear down your rabbit’s ever growing nails while giving them different textures and shapes to interact with. Posts are usually made of wood, natural fibers, or cardboard.
Rabbit Digging Box
If you don’t have outdoor space to offer your bunny, no worries. You can provide them with a digging box filled with rabbit-safe substrate (wood is a great secondary substrate to use!).
The digging box encourages natural behavior in your rabbit while helping to trim nails through use.
How Do You Naturally File A Rabbit’s Nails? With A Rabbit Scratch Pad!
Rabbit scratching pads are ideal if you have more than one rabbit. They are usually wooden or natural fiber blocks that multiple rabbits can use at once.
Wood naturally wears down nails and is ideal because it can also help control your rabbits’ constantly growing teeth.
That’s right, a rabbit’s teeth keep growing too. Check out our post on rabbit teeth problems to learn more about the importance of healthy teeth for rabbits!
Here’s a great video about a DIY Rabbit Digging Board!
What Happens If I Cut My Rabbit’s Nails Too Short?
If you’ve ever missed a few nail trimming sessions with your rabbits or don’t provide them with nail wearing toys you’ll notice that the quick grows along with the nail.
Now, if you go to trim your rabbit’s nails and cut them too short, you will cut into the quick. Because the quick contains blood and nerves, cutting your rabbit’s nails too short will be very painful for your bunny, causing bleeding from the nipped quick.
What To Do When You Cut Your Rabbit’s Nails Too Short?
If you accidentally nip your rabbit’s quick in the nail clippers, make sure the bleeding stops and that the area is cleaned gently.
Then, keep an eye on the nail as it heals, making sure no infection sets.
If it is just a little bit of the quick, it should generally heal without issue, but larger cuts into this sensitive skin with blood vessels and nerves should be looked at by a vet.
Where To Cut Rabbits’ Nails
If you decide to hand cut your rabbits’ nails, only trim off nail growth at the very tip of the nails. Constantly trimming or allowing your rabbit’s to wear their nails will discourage the quick from growing longer inside the nail.
For rabbits with white nails, you will be able to see the quick. It is a pink, live looking tissue within the otherwise creamy white nail. Avoid cutting the quick!
Can You Cut Rabbits’ Nails Yourself?
Yes, you can surely cut your bunny’s nails by yourself. It is important to use animal clippers, which are designed for the rounder and elongated nails that rabbits and other small pets have.
Do not cut your rabbit’s nails with a human nail clipper. Our nail clippers are designed for our flat, thin nails and cannot effectively or safely trim your rabbits’ nails.
How to Cut A Rabbit’s Nails Without Force
If your rabbit doesn’t enjoy you trimming their nails, it is understandable! Many rabbits don’t like to have their feet held because it takes away their mobility (which is a rabbit’s first line of defense!).
If you want to trim a rabbit’s nails without force, you can either slowly acclimate your pet or homestead bunny to you touching and holding their feet. They will learn that all is well and soon have no fear when nail clipping time comes around.
The other option is to try out one of the other forms of keeping your rabbit’s nails short, like a rabbit scratching post!
Frequently Asked Questions Related To How To Keep A Rabbit’s Nails Trimmed
Can You Cut Rabbit’s Nails With Nail Clippers?
Yes, you can cut rabbit’s nails with nail clippers as long as you use the correct type. Clippers for rabbits will be made for rounded and elongated nails and can be found at most pet and farm animal stores.
Human nail clippers are not for use with rabbits as they are only intended for thin and flat nails.
What Happens If A Rabbit’s Nails Get Too Long?
If your bunny’s nails get too long they will alter how your bunny stands and moves. Nails that are too long prevent your rabbit from placing their whole foot on the ground and can quickly lead to strained or pulled feet muscles.
Final Thoughts on How To Wear Down Rabbits’ Claws
Ensuring that you have a plan on how to keep your rabbits’ nails at a safe and healthy length is essential when it comes to raising homestead or pet rabbits.
We learned this early on in our rabbit raising experience and now never go without scheduled nail trims and a few well-placed scratching blocks!
Our best advice for How To Keep Your Rabbits’ Nails Short Without Cutting is to use scratching post or digging box.