How to Cut Rabbit Nails

1. Buy a pair of cat nail clippers or nail clippers made for rabbits and put these in the area where you’ll be clipping your rabbit’s toenails. You may also want to buy some styptic powder (often found near shavers in the grocery store because it’s used on shaving nicks and cuts) to apply to your rabbit’s nail if you accidently cut a nail too short.

2. Get your rabbit in a comfortable and supported position and sit down, so if if suddenly squirms you won’t drop it and the rabbit won’t injure itself trying to get away. It’s best not to hold it on its back because many rabbits don’t like this. Have a bright light on or do this by a bright window so you’ll be able to see the quick in your rabbit’s nails.

3. Hold the rabbit’s foot in one hand and the clippers in another. It may be helpful to have someone else hold the rabbit while you cut the nails, especially if your rabbit is very unwilling or is large. Clear the fur away from your rabbit’s nail so you can see it clearly.

4. Before you cut any of your rabbit’s nails, look for the quick. You will see a pinkish part inside of your rabbit’s toenail if the nail is light colored. Cut off the nail slightly above the quick so that it won’t bleed.

5. If you rabbit has dark nails or is very difficult, you may want to have a groomer or veterinarian show you the best way to do it.

6. Your rabbit’s nails will probably need cut every six to eight weeks, depending on how much they naturally wear them down.

Bathing a Guinea Pig

Video showing how to bathe a guinea pig.

How to Litter Train Your Rabbit

Litter training your rabbit is really very easy. First, buy your rabbit a rabbit sized litter box. Rabbits, even in the wild, have a specific they go to the bathroom in, so look in your rabbit’s cage to see which corner of it yourbunny goes to the bathroom in. Place the litter box in this corner. Put a littlebit of hay in the litter box, because rabbits like to eat hay while they relieve themselves. Don’t worry – your rabbit is not going to eat any hay that they’ve soiled on.

After your rabbit is reliably going to the bathroom in his cage litter box, put your rabbit in a bathroom, hallway, or other small area (be sure that you shut the toilet lid if you’re putting it in the bathroom, because it could jump into the toilet and drown). When your rabbit goes to the bathroom, make note of which corner he goes to the bathroom in and place the litter box there. It can be helpful if you soak up your rabbit’s urine on a piece of napkin and place this in the rabbit’s litter box or place several of his feces in the litter box to give him the idea of what he’s supposed to do in it. When you rabbit is using his litter box fairly consistently (most rabbits will never be completely litter trained, such as a cat might be, so expect a few accidents), move it to a larger area and so forth.

Tips

If you rabbit does go to the bathroom on the floor, never punish it because it won’t understand why you’re angry at it and may even start to fear you. If you see your rabbit use its litter box, you can give it a treat or praise it to reinforce the behavior, because praise (and food) is the way to any animal’s heart.

Pet Care Tip of the Day

If your dog goes walking or lives in a wooded area, you may find ticks to be a common problem. Ticks are small, crab shaped parasites that suck your dog’s blood. They latch on with their mouth parts and drop off when they are full. Ticks can also carry diseases, most notably Lyme Disease. If you find a flea on your dog, here’s what you do.

Pet Care Tip of the Day

If you’ve got a pet land hermit crab, make sure that you let any water that you will bathe it in or give it to drink sit out at least overnight. This will allow any chlorine to evaporate, which is important because chlorine can cause blisters on the gills of land hermit crabs (yes, they do have gills, but these are for breathing air. They still must be kept moist, which is why your land hermit crab should be bathed once a week.) The blisters can eventually kill the hermit crab if the chlorine exposure is not corrected. Basically, don’t use any water for your hermit crab that you wouldn’t use for a tropical fish tank.

Which Pet is Right for You?

Here are a few questions to ask yourself before choosing a pet. If you get a pet that fits what you are wanting in the pet, there is a much larger chance that your experience in pet ownership will be a happy and fulfilling one.

(1) Do I want an active pet? Some pets, such as horses and most dogs, require a lot of exercise. Do you have enough time to exercise the pet every day? If pets don’t get enough exercise, they can become obese and destructive.
(2) Am I or anyone else that will be living with the pet allergic? You and any others who will be living with the pet should go meet the type of animal you might get as a pet, unless the pet doesn’t have fur or feathers.

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How To Remove a Tick from a Pet

I know it’s winter, but for some of us in warmer climates, it’s always tick season. I hadn’t seen many ticks in my life, and had never removed one from anybody or any animal prior to a few months ago. But when my dog, Spud had a tick on him, I had to find a good way to remove it. I used the method below and got the tick out in tact and without even making Spud flinch. Now, it could be harder or easier for you to do it. This seems to be the way that most places online say to remove them. Good luck!

Read The Steps →