Sore hock?

Mazzy · Nov 26, 2014

Help please,
Buck has a patch of exposed skin on his paw which I can only assume is a sore hock. It wasn't there 2/3 days ago but I noticed it last night. He is moving absolutely fine on it with lots of binkys last night and it was only when he flopped after the mad binky dash that I noticed. We have no idea of his age so not sure if it is age or weight related, I think Buck is over weight but the nurse at the vets last time we took him said he was fine at 3.8kg ( he's crossed with a giant bunny)

He lives in the living room with tile, carpet and vet bed for walking on but spends the largest part of his time on the vet bed and his claws are still quite short.
Should I take him to the vets or should I see how he goes on? Was planning to get some dermagel as I read it is good for healing hocks.

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Miss Binky Bunny · Nov 27, 2014

I can't comment on whether to make an appointment with your vet for this. If you have some Sudocream around the house, you could dab on some of that until you get the Dermagel however. It's what we were advised to do daily and does help.

JemimaH · Nov 27, 2014

My rabbit has that - we mentioned it to the vets when we took him, but didn't take him just for that. She just said to apply Sudocrem and it cleared up (although he's on carpet at the moment, so it's come back). I wouldn't, personally, take him unless it gets worse or it seems to bother him.

Jack's-Jane · Nov 27, 2014

Whilst the hock is not too bad at the moment it is an indication that there may be a problem with how he is weight baring on his back feet. This often occurs when the surface the Rabbit spends most time on is either lino/tiles/wood flooring etc. Carpet can also cause problems as it is very abrasive. Also, have you made sure that his toenails are short.?If they become too long this effects the positioning of the foot on the floor forcing the Rabbit to take weight too far back on the plantar region leading to fur loss and hyperkeratosis (thickening of the outer layer of the skin)

As he is a large breed Rabbit this too adds to the risk factor of sore hocks developing.

Personally at this stage I would not start applying creams etc, certainly not every day as that can actually make things worse by flattening the remaining protective fur on the foot. I'd then look at what could be done to change the type of flooring he spends most time on.

Here is some straightforward information and advice about Sore Hocks

https://www.vetstream.com/watkinsandtasker/html/Factsheets/Otherpets/24_295077.asp

Sarah1991 · Nov 27, 2014

I had this exact same issue when Milo was running around on the carpet a lot, here is what his looked like. (if you just scroll down a bit)

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?424624-Help!-Milo-has-the-start-of-sore-hocks!

Jane gave me the same advice she has given you, I changed the surface they were walking on i.e. from abrasive carpet to lino flooring with a cotton rug down and Milo hasn't had any problems since :thumb:

Sore hock?

Mazzy

Young Bun

Miss Binky Bunny

Alpha Buck

JemimaH

Warren Veteran

Jack's-Jane

Wise Old Thumper

Sarah1991

Warren Veteran

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