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Sore Hocks - running out of ideas - update - not going well

F

FurryBeasties

Young Bun
My rex Rosie has had sore hocks for a while now, it's only currently on one foot (it was on both but it seems to have improved) but often leads to disturbing bloody foot prints in the garden. Currently we've tried;

1, Plasters on her feet - these last around 2 days even with additional bandages and plaster stuff to keep it on.
2, Exercise mat on the hutch floor - so far lasting well and not chewed been down for 3 weeks +
3, Stable matting on the run floor - been down for a few weeks now

Despite this she's still got sore hocks, it's not as bad as it was but she has opened her foot sore up a couple of times since and i'm running out of ideas. Do you think it would help taking her to the vets, i've tried once but the vet i saw (unfortunatly not my rabbit expert) asked me what to do as she didn't know. I've also been tempted to get some Dermgel which is meant to help wounds heal really quickly but i'm not sure if it'll help.

As far as i can tell she's hurting her feet when she's out running in the garden rather than in her hutch (the gardens gravel and decking with a bit of grass) but i don't want to confine her to her hutch and run combo as she loves to be out and about and the ony other alternative is in the house which is dodgy with her being an outdoor bun and the weather drawing in, not to mention the dog that's currently staying with us who'd have to be shifted out of the room for a bit.

Incidentally her rexy brother humphrey has lovely sore free paws, why she couldn't just copy him i don't know.

Jem:cry:
 
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I have this problem too - Harry and Mac keep getting sore hocks and Macs bled once too. I have invested in some cream and pet wrap and they have been wearing socks for the last few weeks. This is great for the time they are wearing them and they heal up nicely but then as soon as I take them off they seem to get sore again. Lenny has had no probs at all. I have stable matting down which seems to be making no difference and is just harder to clean! :rolleyes:

I have decided to stick with the cream and wraps beyond them just healing and hoping that by keeping them on for longer the fur might also grow back significantly enough to protect the base of the foot too.

The boys modelling their socks - Mac in blue, Harry in red :D
CIMG8674.jpg
 
FurryBeasties said:
My rex Rosie has had sore hocks for a while now, it's only currently on one foot (it was on both but it seems to have improved) but often leads to disturbing bloody foot prints in the garden. Currently we've tried;

1, Plasters on her feet - these last around 2 days even with additional bandages and plaster stuff to keep it on.
2, Exercise mat on the hutch floor - so far lasting well and not chewed been down for 3 weeks +
3, Stable matting on the run floor - been down for a few weeks now

Despite this she's still got sore hocks, it's not as bad as it was but she has opened her foot sore up a couple of times since and i'm running out of ideas. Do you think it would help taking her to the vets, i've tried once but the vet i saw (unfortunatly not my rabbit expert) asked me what to do as she didn't know. I've also been tempted to get some Dermgel which is meant to help wounds heal really quickly but i'm not sure if it'll help.

As far as i can tell she's hurting her feet when she's out running in the garden rather than in her hutch (the gardens gravel and decking with a bit of grass) but i don't want to confine her to her hutch and run combo as she loves to be out and about and the ony other alternative is in the house which is dodgy with her being an outdoor bun and the weather drawing in, not to mention the dog that's currently staying with us who'd have to be shifted out of the room for a bit.

Incidentally her rexy brother humphrey has lovely sore free paws, why she couldn't just copy him i don't know.

Jem
Click to expand...

I do think it is essential to take Rosie to a Vet. If the skin has broken down she is at risk of infection and if infection gets into the joint/tendons it can be extremely serious :cry:
I have several Rexes and some Velveteens. Many have chronic sore hocks due to poor breeding :cry:

I use FLAMAZINE CREAM, a prescription only med, on the sore area. In severe cases I dress the affected limb with an *anti-pressure* dressing. A sort of large cornplaster held in place with a cohesive banadage. Systemic antibiotics AND anti-inflammatory pain relief is also necessary in severe cases.

Good luck and I hope the Vet can help Rosie feel more comfortable

Janex
 
chloaster said:
I have this problem too - Harry and Mac keep getting sore hocks and Macs bled once too. I have invested in some cream and pet wrap and they have been wearing socks for the last few weeks. This is great for the time they are wearing them and they heal up nicely but then as soon as I take them off they seem to get sore again. Lenny has had no probs at all. I have stable matting down which seems to be making no difference and is just harder to clean! :rolleyes:

I have decided to stick with the cream and wraps beyond them just healing and hoping that by keeping them on for longer the fur might also grow back significantly enough to protect the base of the foot too.

The boys modelling their socks - Mac in blue, Harry in red :D
CIMG8674.jpg
Click to expand...

Hi - where do you get the cream and wraps from?
 
The cohesive bandage socks are what comes off in about 2 days maximum so the sock idea doesn't work for her, she's a very determined bunny. I'll take her in to the vet as i am worried about it getting infected and take note of what you get in case i get the inexperienced vet again (though i'll ask for my rabbit expert). Is there anything else i can do in the meantime as it takes a couple of days to get into our vets if it's not an emergency. Will something like germolene help temporarely until i can get the special cream?

I find the stable mattings so much easier to clean, but then it was uneven concrete slabs before. Now i just sweep it, spray it and wipe it and it's done
 
The bandages should be taken off and reapplied every two days or so anyway, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I have almost perfected the art of wrapping them on and they do stay on longer now - it helps if you wrap them around the back of the leg too.

This is the place I got my pet wrap from

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BANDAGE-PET-D...ryZ20751QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

Will just have a look see if I can find some bumph for the cream - it's not a prescription one so you can just order it.
 
chloaster said:
The bandages should be taken off and reapplied every two days or so anyway, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I have almost perfected the art of wrapping them on and they do stay on longer now - it helps if you wrap them around the back of the leg too.

This is the place I got my pet wrap from

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BANDAGE-PET-D...ryZ20751QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

Will just have a look see if I can find some bumph for the cream - it's not a prescription one so you can just order it.
Click to expand...

Tt looks like there is enough for 400 bunnies for £13.99 - do you gets loads and loads?? Ps is so weird looking at the pics fo your 2 black rexes - look identical to Barney!:D
 
I swear by flammazine cream as well, though sudo cream(nappyrash stuff which you can get from supermarkets, boots etc) will be ok as a soother until you can get the pukka stuff from the vet.:lol: I think the main problem is obviously the gravel and decking which are abrasive, and the decking is an unforgiving surface. How big is the grassy area? Is it too small to confine her to that for the time being?
 
Yep the grassy area is pretty tiny, it's really a corner flower bed i sowed grass on for them, it's only rouhgly equal to a 1m x1m triangle. They do have a run they're in all day (it's one of those happy hutch 6ft x4ft with a hutch on top jobs) but it seems too small to confine her in all the time. I am trialing limiting her out time a bit to get her foot to heal over.

We have grass out the front but it's completely open and we get a lot of people walking there dogs passed. We do have an extra run if needed (6x2ft) though it's currently at my parents down in manchester as it doubles as the travel hutch. I can get it for the front lawn if required though it doesn't give them any mure space than there hutch.

I'll try some germolene and bandage it back up until i can get her in the vets. I'm dubiose about how long the bandage will stay on for though as it's coming off quicker every time, the 2 days is an average. Despite wrapping it partially round her heel too, adding some extra tape and having a plaster underneat it was completely off in nearer 1.5 days last time.

You can also get cohesive bandages from some big pet shops, my pets@home does is (we have an equine section) though we are a bit in the sticks so that might help. I actually got mine with a rat first aid box, my bunnies have so far used the box far more than my thankfully healthy rats.

Jem
 
forgot to ask do you put a pad on as well? Ie cream then padding of some sort and then tape/petfelx or just cream and petflex?
 
Apparently the best thing to use is rabbit fur so I put the cream directly onto the foot, then put the rabbit fur between the cream and the bandage. You might be grooming for a while tho, I have other furrier buns and tend to enlist them for this process!:D
 
Dennis has bad ones now too :roll: .

He came to me with bald heels but these weirdly healed up and then he developed big bald patches in the middle of his foot - between the hocks and the toes? Seems a very odd place to get sores... And hes only been housed on MegaZorb and hay in his tray then VetBed in his cage. I let him out for exercise for about 2 hours each night so I am assuming the problem is the carpet?:rolleyes:

Hes off to the vets tomorrow morning for his jab so going to show Fiona then...:cry:
 
owww poor little bunnies.. what a horrible thing to get :(

i met the most adorable rex last night when i went to collect Alvin.. ive never felt such amazing fur and curley whiskers awwwwwwwww....
but i opted not to attempt to adopt her as the house is fully carpeted and i didnt want to cause her pain.....
 
well i now swear by the johnsons tea tree ceam to get any soreness away but if the hocks and scabed or open with no hair i use the dermagel i have have some excellent results with hair appearing with in 2 days of useing it i am taking pics of a wound one of my little orange rexs sustained by his bro to show the results dont worry they have been separated!

Oh and another thing it was a old breeders trick to use vetsovate on sore hocks but sadly my vet has informed me they are no longer able to get it but its ment to be like gold for sore hock probs
 
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