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House rabbit with sore hocks - HELP??

Blackyrabbit

New Kit
I have a 4 yr old English house rabbit, who was neutered approx 3 1/2 yrs ago. He is fully house trained and has the whole run of the house...which is carpeted. For the past yr he has suffered with very sore hocks, which bleed if left untreated. His vet prescribed Fucithalmic eye drops, which do help but are very expensive.

I understand his sores have been caused by running around on the carpet. He spends his evenings in the kitchen which has lino and I have given him a blanket to sit on when resting, to try to ease his sore feet.

I really would appreciate any helpful hints and tips from other house rabbit owners who have this problem.

Many thanks
 
Fleecy blankets are good and soft for sore hocks. Wesley did used to suffer with this as he was on half carpet and half vet bed. I have since covered the area with a big fleecy blanket.
 
Hi there, yeah we fostered a bunny with very sore hocks on all four of his feet (front and back) last summer. They are notoriously difficult to treat but we had great success with very little intervention, more environment change instead. The first thing you need to do is get your vet to examine his feet properly to check for any bony deformities or tendon problems as prolonged sore hocks can cause anatomical changes to the bones/tendons of the feet. Also deep sores on the feet as you describe can pose a risk of Osteomyelitis (bone infection), if any infection spreads up through the foot, not to worry you or anything but this, if it takes hold, can then be incredibly difficult to treat so you need to prevent his happening. I don't know how good with bunnies your vet is but most vets would consider this risk and if felt appropriate would give antibiotics prophylatically just incase to get rid of any infection. We actually just used Baytril oral but you can also use depocillin I understand (which is penicillin but injectable that makes it safe for buns) for this condition.
Sore hocks are also incredibly painful for a rabbit who weight bears through his feet and so a course of painkillers, and particularly a NSAID which is an anti-inflammatory as well is in my mind mandatory. Ideal for this would be a course of Metcam oral. Our foster bun had them so bad he couldn't stand properly on any of his feet and couldn't sit down at all. He was given a course of Metacam oral for 1-2 weeks but at a lower maintenance dose as of course NSAID's do cause gut irritation.
I think these are certainly things you need to discuss with your vet, and maybe even find a more sympathetic and rabbit friendly vet if necessary.

The only other thing we did was completely change his living environment - we padded the whole thing out with layers of veterinary bedding and blankets, about 3 blankets deep and folded many times to give as much cushioning as possible to start with so that all he exercised on was padded flooring and grass, which is naturally soft. As they got better we reduced the amount of padded flooring to just where he rested up. Vet beds are AMAZING there is nothing better for this condition - they spread the weight of the feet and for humans we use them to prevent bed sores in hospital - which is basically what sore hocks are - friction sores. Some buns are just more prone to them either through weight or breed or other factors. In the wild buns live on soft earth/sand and the angle of the foot allows the toes to sink in and little weight on the hock. In our homes of carpet and lino this just doesn't happen and a lot of weight goes on the heel and carpets can cause friction too. As long as bunny has somewhere padded to rest up this allows the sores time to heal, along with the anti-inflammatories/pain relief and antibiotic (you must use a probiotic as well to prevent caecal dysbiosis) it all helps. Our vet advised against using ANY creams/lotions and we agreed with this, as the surrounding fur actually provides cushioning and protection from further friction. Creams/lotions wet and squash the surrounding fur and keep the wound wet which can make the condition worse. I understand some people bandage and this can help but we never bothered as after just 6 weeks of no fur at all on any of his four bleeding feet pads we had fur regrowth over 50% almost and a much happier bunny:) after this he continued to improve steadily. You must keep the nails trimmed very short as well as long nails can also tip the foot back onto the heel.
 
Can't offer any help, just sending good vibes your way.

Will be following this thread, hope the sore hocks clear up :wave:
 
Many thanks for your advice. It has been really helpful. Blacky is continuing his course of treatment from the vet and will let you know what they advise when I take him for his next check up. I have given him a fleece blanket to sit on (he loves it under the kitchen table) and it must be very comfy because he's been spending so much more time in there.

Will keep you all posted.

Thanks once again :wave:
 
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