Rabbit claw advice please?

[BetweenDogandWolf]

Hi, one of my rabbits has got long claws that look like they need clipping, much longer than my other rabbit's. Maybe because he is a bit lazy and doesn't run around as much as the other one. He does seem a lot keener on sitting and eating!
It's pretty obvious I need to do something but the problem I have is this rabbit doesn't really trust me. He will let me pick him up etc but he's not very happy about it. DH can't even catch him to pick him up and last time I took him to the vets (vaccinations) he got in a mad panic. He is also aggressive with other rabbits despite being neutered. . How difficult is it to trim rabbit's claws? Am I crazy to be considering trying it myself? I'm thinking getting DH to hold him while I do it might be less traumatic than putting him in the car and taking him to the vets but not if I'm likely to mess it up. Any advice?

What colour are his claws? Black claws are much harder as you can't see the quick so it's difficult to know where to snip. If he's not had his claws clipped before the quick could be quite long. It is better to clip little and often really.

My boy hates being held so is also difficult to clip. I put him on my knee and hold him with one arm whilst clipping with the other. I tend to do one paw a day over 4 days. Take a small amount off the end of each claw - you can always take more later. If you do snip the quick then a bit of cornflour on the claw will help stop the bleeding.

Also get proper clippers.

Thanks. He's a black and white dutch rabbit and his claws are pale. That's a good idea about not doing it all at once. I'll buy some clippers and try just one claw and see how it goes I think.

I might also have a look at them holding him on one knee like you described to see if I think I could do it by myself as I think he'd find that less alarming than getting DH to hold him.

My rabbits don't like being held but I can do theirs by holding them on their back on my lap. They freeze when held like that. I watched some clips on YouTube the first time I did it.

Please don't lay your rabbit on his back. It's called 'trancing' and is very cruel.

If you wrap him in a towel or cover his eyes with your hand then you will be able to clip his claws. It's a two person job for most bunnies. Mine are all happy being held, but if they ever need their claws clipping then I always get DH to hold them, it just makes it easier.

If you can provide a digging box it can help keep claws short and blunt.

Thanks Midori, no I won't put him upside down! I hadn't thought about a digging box. My other rabbit likes digging in the lawn (if you can now call it that) but this one doesn't bother. However he does like making burrows in straw and causing chaos in the main part of his hutch so if I make an indoor digging box in the shed where the hutches are he may enjoy that. I've also googled and found some other ideas for toys because I think he could do with being more active.

Ooh (everydays a schoolday on MN ) I didn't know about "trancing" a rabbit but I did look at a few Rabbit Sites. Basically it's extremely vunerable and goes into Tonic Immobility (that was the phrase used)

Guineas are a much easier proposition, their claws aren't hidden under all the fur and they are generally smaller. Still need careful handling , but more to protect them than prevent risk to handler.

There were some clippers online, like a pair of scissors but the blades had a guillotine action rather than overlapping blades.
You definately need sharp clippers so as not to crush the claw, and the blades need to open wide enough to accomodate the claw.
(I'm a Podiatrist, I have an old but still excellant set of clippers -mine from colledge- that I keep for the GPs. They care not a fig that I'm caring and qualified, they still holler )

Thanks everyone. I'm going to try and buy some clippers in the morning and will have a go tomorrow when DH gets home. I'll make it up to Fluffy (the rabbit) by making him some things to play with out of some big cardboard boxes I've found in the attic!