bisc's heel was just bleeding

bisc was cleaning his foot and i was watching and he really tugged at it and then it started pouring with blood. i got up to have a look and he started running round thinking i was getting treats :roll:

just got him on the cage and used a wet cotton wool pad to dab the blood off and he has a worn away patch (small circle) on the heel.

it's stopped bleeding now and he's acting normally.

the vet noticed matt had one a while back and said many rabbits have them and we don't realise until it bleeds etc..

is there anything better i can clean it with for now?

do you mean a sore hock?

maybe cool boiled salty water to try to stop any infection getting in?

poppymoon said:

do you mean a sore hock?

maybe cool boiled salty water to try to stop any infection getting in?

Click to expand...

yes, i think it is. unless he's got something stuck in it and cut it but it looks like a sore hock, like a small inflammed patch of skin and there is no fur there either.

Oh dear, poor fellow. I hope it clears up soon.

Spenser had a bald patch on his foot once, but it cleared up without getting to the bleeding stage so we were quite lucky.

well after i cleaned the foot it looked like there was no fur but there is still fur covering the 'wound'. i was watching him and it looked like he pulled something out of it last night because that's when it started bleeding. so i don't know if it's sore hocks. i'm not sure.

he seems fine aswell and there is no more bleeding.

we are going to the vets in the next couple of days (when dad confirms what day!) so i'll get him checked over.

so much going on with these lot lately :roll: x

I'm dealing with this with one of my buns You need to put him on soft bedding immediately certainly until you see the vet. It sounds like the artery which runs under his foot is eroded due to the lack of fur on his feet hence all that scary bright red arterial blood. This is probably a chronic condition so you'll always need to monitor his feet and manage his surroundings. The vet should be able to discuss all this with you although sore hocks+bleeding is a fairly unusual condition so I hope he/she is an experienced rabbit vet. Jack's-Jane has a brilliant thread on food bandaging IF the vet thinks that is the right thing to try (my vet was very impressed as I showed him the thread). Feel free to pm me once you've been to the vet if I can help. I'm trying a cream recommended by the vet but it is a bit experimental and it is too early to say if it is making a difference. US army also in process of developing a spray which stops arterial bleeding when it is pumping out of injured soldiers- vet world is keeping an eye on it (amazing what my vet comes out with sometimes)

Hello there

If it's a sore hock, you can put Sudocrem on (baby nappy cream) to help. My bunny had a really bad infected sore hock last year and it was treated with Baytril, given twice daily orally to clear the infection and Vet Gold cream, which is quite good and totally natural (ask the vet for this).

The best way of preventing sore hocks (if it is that) is to get bunny on a thick bed of straw and off of any man-made materials, as these rub away at the hock, making it worse (difficult I know if bunny is a house rabbit on carpet!). Also, ensure that bunny's claws are kept short, so as their feet can sink into the straw, like they would in the wild. I also put a very soft gym mat under the straw first, to give a really soft base for bunny to be on, then loads of straw on top.

They do naturally get a bit of a baldish pink patch on their feet, as they get older, that comes sometimes become like hard skin - this is nothing to worry about. The other thing I did to try and help the sore to heal, was to put some Sudocrem on it and then cover the cream with a tiny bit of tissue (cut a tiny round patch and place over the cream - it will stick to it), so as the cream didn't rub off straight away. If the tissue is cut small enough (about 1cm round, or maybe a little smaller) bunny may not notice it is on his foot! To remove it, I just dabbed it with some warm water on cotton wool and it came away cleanly. Sore hocks can take a long time to get them under control and prevention is better than cure, so a big soft straw bed is the best idea!

Hope this helps.

Jo

Has he seen a vet yet? TBH I personally wouldn't put anything on it until I saw a vet, I'd be concerned that if I put something on it it might make it worse.

I would not administer anything to the hock unless it is unavoidable and the hock is then bandaged. Generally, the less you do to sore hocks the better, unless they are abcessed or have no fur covering, sometimes administering creams/lotions only weakens the skin and flattens the protective fur covering. Many rabbits do indeed have bare callouses on the hocks and these may at times crack/bleed but with good husbandary and careful management of weight, nails etc they can be managed. Obviously some cases are more serious and require different management.

If it is causing him pain - i.e. chewing it, you might want to talk to Aidan about a course of NSAID's if he's not having them already for his URTI?

I've used vaseline on things like this before but obviously I'm not 100% clear how safe this is with licking!!!
I have a mental image of him with slippers on to protect his 'ickle feet!!!!
Sorry it's been a long day!!! :lol:

bisc isn't bothered by it in the slightest. he's acting normally and i've been checking it and it's not a round wound, it's more of a scratch. i think he got something stuck in it, which is what i saw him pull out. and where the scratch is has actually healed well and there has been no more bleeding and it's looking fine.

i've just been checking it regularly and just dabbing with cooled boiled water to see if it's got any pus or blood but it's looking better.

bisc is already on metacam which might be why it's healed ok. we have increased his metacam slightly aswell.

the vet isn't in much this week typically. i'm waiting to speak to him about it, aswell as about ches aswell (it's all happening lately) and then we may be taking ches in aswell, so when we do, it's be a proper family outing! :roll: