Clipping claws: Rabbit's nails grow continuously, and so they must be clipped on a regular basis. The length of time in between clippings can vary greatly, depending on what breed of rabbit you have, and the environment in which your bunny lives. Rex rabbits tend to need their claws clipped more frequently than other types of rabbits. As a general guide, most rabbits will need their claws clipped about once a month. If a rabbit's claws are not clipped often enough, they will put extra pressure on the foot, and will grow so long that they get caught in cracks, and break off, causing a lot of unnecessary bleeding and pain to your bunny.
Below are some pictures showing the correct technique for clipping a rabbit's claws. If you have not yet read about how to handle your rabbit, we recommend you do so before learning how to clip claws. The most important thing when clipping is to properly restrain the rabbit and keep it still while you clip the claws.
This is what I use to clip my rabbits' claws. As you can see, just an ordinary pair of human nail clippers. The smaller sizes of clippers are best for dwarf breeds. For rabbits with thicker or longer claws, you will need to use a slightly larger pair of clippers.
To get started, you will need you hold your rabbit in the Cradle position as pictured above. Click here to read about this handling method in detail. It is best to sit down when clipping so that the rabbit's backside can rest on your lap, leaving both hands free to do the clipping. The main thing is to keep the head tucked firmly under your elbow to keep the rabbit from struggling.
Starting with the back legs, use your left hand* to expose the claws by pulling back the fur.
Hold the foot with your left hand*, and with your right hand clip off the tip of the claw. Make sure you do not cut past the quick. The quick is the blood vessel in each claw, and if cut through, it will bleed and cause a considerable amout of pain to the rabbit. In rabbits with light coloured nails, it is easy to see the quick, which appears as a pinkish coloured line starting from the base of the claw. In darker coloured claws, it is easier to view by looking at the underside of the claw, where the colour is lighter.
There are 4 claws on each of the back feet. Clip each claw systematically, counting as you go along to make sure you don't miss any.
*Opposite for left-handers.
To clip the front claws, hold your rabbit using the Clamp Method. Keep the ears firmly clamped between your knees at all times, and clip as quickly as you can, because the rabbit will not enjoy this part of the clipping process!
Again, expose the claws by pulling back the fur with your left hand.* Hold the foot firmly, and with your right hand clip back the nails, again taking care not to cut past the quick. It is better to cut off less nail and clip more often than to accidentally cut the claw too short and bring pain to your pet.
There are 5 claws on each of the front feet. 4 of them are in the normal place at the tip of the foot, but the 5'th claws are the dewclaws on the inside of the legs.
Picture showing position of the dewclaw in relation to other claws. A rabbit's dewclaw's are only present on the front legs, and are in a very similar position to dogs' and cats' dewclaws.
