Mini Rex and sore hocks...

Hello.

My mini rex doe came to me with small bald patches on the heels of her hind legs.
I know this is a common problem for rexes because of their lack of guard hairs (think thats right ?) but when should I treat them and how ?
They look red with intact skin but she is also now getting bald patches further down on the pads of her feet.
I know sometimes you can bandage them, but I live on my own and would need help to do this. I dont mind taking her to the vets if they would do this but do the bandages need changing everyday?
Also, she is a house rabbit with free run of the whole flat, everywere is carpeted and she sits on hay in her litter tray and sleeps on my bed. Could the carpet be adding to the problem ?
Are there any barrier creams that could help reduced the friction ?

Sorry lots of questions, any advice greatly appreciated

Carpeted surfaces can make Rex sore hocks worse unfortunately.

Without being able to see the exact extent of your Rex's hock problems it is not really possible to give you appropriate advice. It is not always beneficial to use creams and bandaging can cause other problems if not done correctly. Bandages would need to be changed daily at the least.

Could you post pictures of your Rex's hocks ?

Sorry for late reply.
I cant upload photos as i havent worked out how to do that or if its even possible on my old, packed out computer.
If they dont seem to be bothering her , shes still whizzing around the room, climbing up on the sofa and into everything, should I just leave it ?
I keep a very close eye on them, so if they start looing cracked or blistered or infected then ill take her to the vets ...

What Jane said, down to the button.

If she were to need bandaging it is possible to do it on your own, as Jane above does it on a regular basis for her bun Lydia (although she is very experienced) and I have done it alone with my very fiesty bun! It does take a lot of time and patience though.

Often the best thing to do with minor sore hocks is to leave them with no treatment and change the environment. In the best case scenario, the hocks callous over and protect the delicate skin underneath. Because your flat is carpeted they are likely to make the problem worse sadly as you are already seeing with the front pads becoming bald too You could either rip the carpet up (I know) or cover it with something else. I kept my bun in one linoed room and put fleece down for padding. Other people have used foam mats on the floor which can be made to fit perfectly and are much easier to clean. It also depends on what type of carpet you have - short fibre carpets are far more abrasive than long ones.

How often does she sit in her litter tray or on your bed? If it's a lot, it would suggest that the carpet is bothering her. If you can't do anything about the flooring (and I fully appreciate how difficult it is to change a carpeted flat!) just make sure she has a good space for her to retreat to - a nice fleecy corner with a huge box of thick hay perhaps? Or, dependant on how big her litter tray is, you could enlarge it as a lot of buns like to flop in there.

Hocks can go bad pretty quickly too - we were initially to keep an eye on our girl's feet and within a day of me noticing a slight abrasion and phoning the vets, it had turned into a cracked lump oozing pus. It astonished me how quick it was.

There is a thread about how to upload photos here. Your computer may take a little longer to upload but if it can run RU, you shouldn't have a problem. Or I could give you my email address and I'll upload it for you if you have problems.

'Scuse the long post