Do kitten size of those plastic toenail covers fit and stay on a rabbit without them going nuts chewing them off? I was wondering if it would give Shimo more traction on our laminate floor and places like petco because she wanted to walk and not get put in the backpack ("NO! Not there again! Let me loose with the people!" *thrash* *wiggle*) but she can't figure out the floor and looks like someone on ice skates for the first time despite hours and hours of trying to run about. I'd also like to use her as a therapy animal and even filing down toenails with a grinder frequently still leaves them sharp enough for scratches should she wiggle while being moved somewhere. Although I'm thinking they'll get better as she gets older though because I've noticed on some of my 2 year old rabbits in the colony they can wear them down to a flat surface with more of the rough internal nail bed against the ground while the year or less rabbits have little talons for slicing open your flesh when you go to catch them.
Toenail covers
- Thread starter akane
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Our rabbits would slip on our laminate floor at first, but they have learned to hop around now. Cinnamon will run and throw his front paws out too silde.
I wonder if something like mushers wax for dogs would work?
I wonder if something like mushers wax for dogs would work?
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
Ooh- I like the paw wax idea! Rabbit nails are more narrow along their entire length than cat nails, so I don't know if the nail caps would work on a bun.
Softpaws faq suggests the small dog size for rabbits. I'm thinking though they mean big rabbits. I emailed them that I have much smaller rabbits in the 2-4lb range with nails so small the cat clippers are sometimes too big. We'll see what they say.
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
I suppose you could cut the base off so only the pointy part is there.
Hubs has something called "liquid electrical tape" and it is basically the same stuff they coat the handles of tools with. I asked him about it for this application, and he says the outside skins over quickly, but the inside takes a while to cure. You might be able to speed the drying process with a blow dryer though. Plus, states with less rigid environmental restrictions might have a faster curing version.
Hubs has something called "liquid electrical tape" and it is basically the same stuff they coat the handles of tools with. I asked him about it for this application, and he says the outside skins over quickly, but the inside takes a while to cure. You might be able to speed the drying process with a blow dryer though. Plus, states with less rigid environmental restrictions might have a faster curing version.
I would be very cautious trying to keep something on the rabbit's nails. Rabbits will chew and ingest just about anything they can get their teeth into, especially if it is on their own bodies. Even just grooming themselves they'll chew off any caps or dips.
Cats chew the caps off all the time too. From experience you spend the first 2 months putting several caps back on daily with about half being ingested enough you can't reuse them until the cat gets used to them. Softpaws still claim this is safe and there have been no incidents with ingestion on cats, dogs, ferrets, or rabbits causing health problems. :shrug: They said they'd send me samples of sizes if I wanted to try it but I haven't answered them back.
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
The caps are so small and soft that I doubt it would cause any issues- if swallowed they should just make their way through the digestive system. I put some on one of my cats when they first came out about 20 years ago, and they do tend to come off.
For traction I think the paw wax would be more helpful on a slick surface- the claws only really get involved when an animal is panicky because it is already slipping.
For traction I think the paw wax would be more helpful on a slick surface- the claws only really get involved when an animal is panicky because it is already slipping.
I haven't tried shimo because she just had kits but it seems the cat ones are a little narrow. The xsml dog ones fit the blue doe who is a little smaller but a little older so should have thicker nails compared to her size and are a bit big on the little sable buck but his nails were too thick for the cat (he's 2 years old) unless we try the medium cat size. They sent me the kitten, small cat, xsml dog, and sm dog. It might just work to trim his nails down well and use lots of glue on the xsml dog if we ever wanted to put some on him.
He loves attention and being a house bunny now but he was caged for so long I'm not sure he'd adjust to being a traveling rabbit. He has moments frequently where he just spins in circles unsure where to go next. "ooo I'll go see the red fluffy dog while it's not paying attention. AHHHH! It's looking at me!" *spin in circles in confusion* *back up a little* *hop away* "A person stood up over me!" *spin in circles and compress in to a ball waiting to be picked up* He is quite amusing but I think pet stores and therapy situations would give him a heart attack.
He loves attention and being a house bunny now but he was caged for so long I'm not sure he'd adjust to being a traveling rabbit. He has moments frequently where he just spins in circles unsure where to go next. "ooo I'll go see the red fluffy dog while it's not paying attention. AHHHH! It's looking at me!" *spin in circles in confusion* *back up a little* *hop away* "A person stood up over me!" *spin in circles and compress in to a ball waiting to be picked up* He is quite amusing but I think pet stores and therapy situations would give him a heart attack.
