Long hair and sore bits!

I have a semi-long haired male mini lop X who lives outside all the time. Hes white so keeping him clean is a nightmare anyway. His long hair matts and I groom him weekly to keep it in check. Being an outside bunny, his white feet are pretty much always brown tinged. When I groomed him today his back feet and legs were brown and wet after all of the rain we'd had this week so I set about cutting off all the bits that were too matted to comb out. However, I've noticed two sore areas on the back of his legs where his legs bend. The skin was red and sore and the surrounding hair was very wet. The skin hasn't broken or anything so I must have caught it early. I guess this area got wet and couldn't dry out because its where his legs bend. So I've cut down all the hair surrounding the areas and dried them best I could. I'm worried these little areas could become bigger sores and then be a potential place for fly strike when the flies come out!

Any advice to what to put on them or do to dry the area out would be much appreciated! Hes an outdoor bunny and it rains alot so I don't know how to stop his legs getting wet! He has plenty of indoor space but he choses to hop around outside when the grounds still wet!

Thank you! xxx

It sounds as though he has Pododermatitis (Sore Hocks)

Cutting the fur from the area is not really a good idea, but it's a bit late to advise you about that !!

Can you post a photo of the sore areas so we can see just how advanced the problem is. It is an issue that can become serious, so it does need prompt attention

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Mechanical/Pod/Podo.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/s/00dis/Miscellaneous/Ulcerative_pododermatitis_rabbits.htm

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171347.htm

I think the most important thing is to keep him matt free. Cutting the fur is a great idea and if you can keep it short it will be much easier to brush. The area might just be sore from the matted fur pulling on the skin. It can do this and it's quite painful.
You can't stop him getting wet but if he can clean himself he should be able to dry off properly.

Other things to think about are is he able to clean himself there. Sometimes obesity or arthritis can stop a rabbit being able to clean their back end. So it might be worth a trip to the vets if you're worried about any of those things. You might want to go anyway to see if they can suggest anything to put on. I would just make sure he's dry and clean at home, it's not really wise to put anything on without speaking to a vet just in case it makes it worse. :wave:

Jack's-Jane said:

It sounds as though he has Pododermatitis (Sore Hocks)

Cutting the fur from the area is not really a good idea, but it's a bit late to advise you about that !!

Can you post a photo of the sore areas so we can see just how advanced the problem is. It is an issue that can become serious, so it does need prompt attention

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Mechanical/Pod/Podo.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/s/00dis/Miscellaneous/Ulcerative_pododermatitis_rabbits.htm

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/171347.htm

Click to expand...

Oh, I got from the description that is was sort of the back of the knees.
If the red sore area is on the feet/heel then it's sore hocks.

Sorry, I didn't describe the location very well! It is the back of his knees not his hocks.

Thanks for the advice, I'll keep clipping and grooming him. My main worry is if the skin breaks and he gets fly strike! Do you think its worth investing in some RearGuard?

Sudocream!

My Benji got something similar when he was about 5 months and it was urine scald because he was spraying and cleared up about a month after he was neutered.