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Rexies and Sore Hocks

Lspacehopper

Wise Old Thumper
Hi, remember I posted a while ago about 2 rex does we had in. We had to have emergency spays done as the previous owner had let the male get to them (one was pregnant). http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=190676

Anyway....we've had them out on display today (now called Ruby and Sapphire), and I was talking to someone about them and checked their hocks and both have little bald pink bits on the back of their hocks. They're both only 5-6 months old :(
The skin was dry and pink, so not overly sore but it's not good at such a young age is it?

They were bedded on soft paper cat litter, but have now changed them to soft meadow hay.

Any advice?
 
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they sound quite normal to me to be honest, all bunnies have the bald patch i just think with a rex's fur you spot it more if that makes sense. unless the skin is broken or red it shouldnt be problem!

but continue as you are in regards to preventing it as they are prone to them. i would advise any potential owners not to keep them on carpet too :)
 
they sound quite normal to me to be honest, all bunnies have the bald patch i just think with a rex's fur you spot it more if that makes sense. unless the skin is broken or red it shouldnt be problem!

but continue as you are in regards to preventing it as they are prone to them. i would advise any potential owners not to keep them on carpet too :)

Ah... that doesn't sound quite so bad then.

Having read what I have on here previously and from talking to Amy I've recommended a soft hay base and runs on grass as opposed to concrete etc and no carpets.
Thanks x
 
Ah... that doesn't sound quite so bad then.

Having read what I have on here previously and from talking to Amy I've recommended a soft hay base and runs on grass as opposed to concrete etc and no carpets.
Thanks x

yeh pretty much! soft hay, and no hard surfaces. Obviously people should clean bunnies out regulary anyway but thats also a good thing to remember as if they do get a hock thats sore, if in dirty accomodation infection could set it. that isnt what happened with PB he was just unlucky, but in some cases it happens.

I use megazorb/carefresh as litter now because peanut used to be on wood shavings and it did irritate them a little bit in the beginning when they were just sore hocks not abcesses.

:)
 
checked their hocks and both have little bald pink bits on the back of their hocks.

Autumn's always look like this and touch wood she's never had a problem. The new owner will just need to get in the habit of checking them regularly for broken skin or signs of red irritation.
 
they sound quite normal to me to be honest, all bunnies have the bald patch i just think with a rex's fur you spot it more if that makes sense. unless the skin is broken or red it shouldnt be problem!

but continue as you are in regards to preventing it as they are prone to them. i would advise any potential owners not to keep them on carpet too :)

sorry to barge in on the thread:oops: but does no carpet mean that it would be best not to have a rex or mini rex as a house rabbit do you think?
 
I may be lucky but I don't think any of mine have bad patches on their feet. OK they may have small areas with less fur but usually the fluffyness of the other areas keeps them covered & protected.

If you are seeing bare patches that are slightly pink then you are catching it early which is good. To minimise sore hocks you need to:

Ensure that all bedding/litter is as clean as possible. Change it every day if possible or at least every 2 days.

Keep their nails short to encourage them to lean forward on to the front of their foot more

Choose a soft bedding/litter that buns can get their claws into. Meadow hay is probably better than paperbased. Poppymoon - carpet can be very abrasive and lino very hard so if you deliberately want a house rabbit then it might be better to look at different breeds. Vetbad could be another possibility.

Make sure that they are not overweight.

Keep an eye on their hocks and seek vet treatement if it seems to get any worse.
 
Poppymoon - carpet can be very abrasive and lino very hard so if you deliberately want a house rabbit then it might be better to look at different breeds. Vetbad could be another possibility.

Make sure that they are not overweight.

Keep an eye on their hocks and seek vet treatement if it seems to get any worse.

thank you very much for that. it would definitely be a house rabbit as a partner for eric.
 
sorry to barge in on the thread:oops: but does no carpet mean that it would be best not to have a rex or mini rex as a house rabbit do you think?

i dont think its bad to have them as house rabbits no, but i think you would need to be careful where carpet is concerned. :)
 
Well it totally depends really on the rabbit. We got rex who has very very bad feet and we were advised to put carpet into house as its softer for him to walk on! Where as woodshavings can dig into feet and cause sores. To be honest there is no getting away from it whatever you use as everything as pros and cons.
Rexes have very soft fur which easily rubs away leaving sore feet. If you think buns feet look dry try rubbing little bit of moisuriser into skin to stop cracking most bunnies do end up with little patch on heel area as its pressure sores same as dogs get on elbows.
keep check if they get worse def see vet asap as if not treated they get very bad and no going back afraid.
Our winnie is going for x-rays on his next week to see if his bones are infected from having sore feet, hes already on pain relief for the rest of his life because someone left him in a small cramped wet cage for about 18 months! so your well on top for no real problems:)
 
the best things for sore hocks are:

megazorb as litter not shavings as they can irritate
no carpet, sometimes an old blanket is just as good as vet bed sometimes even better as its softer.

no concrete

we used these kiddy tiles for peanut and they were great, thick but soft foam tiles. only good if your bunny doesnt chew.

ive never heard of being recommended to use carpet for sore hocks though, every vet i saw said stay away from it! :?
 
ive never heard of being recommended to use carpet for sore hocks though, every vet i saw said stay away from it! :?

I think it used to be though of as better than lino, concrete or similar because it is softer, but then obviously people then began to find that it was quite abrasive, especially in for example houses where bunnies might binky around.
 
The issues with carpet are normally 'friction' related as sore hocks are both pressure and friction sores. For normal buns not predisposed to this condition a thick pile natural carpet is less likely to be a problem than a polypropylene hard wearing one that produces a lot of static and friction.
I personally found vet beds better than blankets and fleeces (although these are also good) as the pile on veterinary bedding is designed to spread weight and pressure evenly and prevent pressure hot spots on weight bearing areas of the hock in contact with the ground. A similar material is used in human patients to prevent bed sores which are in essence the same thing.
Whatever you use it is about changing the angle of the foot, especially when bunny is at rest, as this is the time that the hock is in contact with the ground the most. Buns hop on their toes so unless susceptible to inflammation and sore hocks on the toe pads exercising on carpet isn't such an issue. The essential bit is somewhere soft and deeply padded for bun to rest up, however you achieve this be it deep hay or layers of blankets/vet beds.
 
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