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Callus or beginning of sore hocks?

fettylop

New Kit
Hello,

I adopted a neutered 2 year old mini lop (holland lop in the U.S.) from a breeder that kept him in a hutch covered in hay. He has been with me for 2 months and yesterday I noticed his feet had pink spots https://imgur.com/a/7851vjp (I apologise for the piece of poop but since we are still working on bonding I am keeping handling to a minimum. I will remove it today when I’m brushing him)

He is running around and eating the same but I’m very worried that it’s the beginning of sore hocks. I have wooden flooring but he stays in a 3x8 playpen that has foam grids covered with fleece. I let him out a couple of hours every day to run around and even though I do have a carpet the rest of the floor is smooth wood. His litter is rabbit friendly wood shavings which is changed over every 2 days and I trim his nails once a month. I bought some memory foam mats and fleece blanket to add around the living room for when he runs around and I want to add a mattress protector under the fleece for extra softness in his playpen. I’m thinking of adding some moisturiser (Vaseline or coconut oil) to help it heal. Is that a good idea? Is there anything else I can do?

I apologise for the long post but I’m very concerned since I know how fragile rabbits can be!

Thanks
 
Hello :)

The calloused area is not uncommon, but it is a good idea to monitor it. Personally I would not apply any creams or vaseline etc at this stage. Keeping him on a non abrasive surface that offers good traction (ie not hard wood flooring or carpet) will also help. It sounds as though you are already doing things to make this possible.

If you pull the fur aside on his other hock you may also see a calloused area, it is just that the fur has not, as yet, been worn off. This may indicate that he is taking more weight on the hind leg that does have fur loss over the hocks which could potentially indicate early signs of an arthritic problem. But this is certainly not inevitable, just something to bear in mind. Sore hocks are often a secondary symptom of another mobility problem as opposed to a primary condition. There is some additional information on these links :

http://www.cunivetservice.com/docs/SoreHocks.2013.pdf

https://www.hallamvets.co.uk/2018/08/06/pododermatitis-in-rabbits-sore-hocks/

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Mechanical/Pod/Podo.htm
 
I will keep an eye on it and will take him to the vets once they open again to see if it’s arthritic. Really hope all the changes I’m making help. Thank you so much for your reply and the links!
 
I will keep an eye on it and will take him to the vets once they open again to see if it’s arthritic. Really hope all the changes I’m making help. Thank you so much for your reply and the links!

Hopefully now he is in a better environment the fur over his hock will eventually regrow :)
 
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