Sore paws

Does anyone have any tips on what to do for sore paws?
Sasuke has almost no fur on his front paws and his back feet are sore:? I've already gotten a few tips on another forum but just wanted to know what you think.
I'm having a bit of a problem that I don't have much to cover the cage with.
Currently I have put in lots of hay, and a small pillow (came with an Atlas 10 transport cage:roll: He tends to sit on it all day) I've also cleaned his scars with aloe vera (directly from the plant, very useful when you have pets with sharp claws and big teeth) once a day. (Since yesterday...so twice)
He doesn't seem to want to move around too much, occasinally I see him standing on his toes.

Has he been to a vet? I'd imagine he needs some sort of painkiller (if you can get painkillers for sore feet)and investigation into why it's happening.

When I had a guinea pig with sore feet, I was told that shredded paper under lots of soft hay makes a really comfortable bed.

I've considered giving them a call, problem is most clinics around are only open while I'm at school So it would probably have to wait untill the weekend.
His hutch is almost covered in hay now (unless he's eaten it since yesterday:roll: and he has his pillow which is frequently used (and I'm proud to say he hasn't peed on it if he keeps that up he might be allowed to keep it))

He's not on a mesh floor is he? Not sure what hutches in Norway are like but the USA ones are always mesh

It sounds like he will need painkillers and antibiotic cream from a vet, as if infection sets in it will be very bad. I believe you can put the nappy cream or vaseline on sore feet, and put baby socks over the sore bit (cut the toe off the sock to make like a bandage). He will probably chew this though and really it's just till he gets to a vet for proper treatment.

Do you know what could have caused it? If it's from sitting on bedding wet with urine then you need to put something much more absorbent under the hay, such as several layers of newspaper, and clean the areas of the hutch that get wet more often. I ask people to give me old newspapers for my guinea pig hutches as I use tons, and they are free

He's on wooden floor. The cause I beileve was that his cage hadn't been cleaned out as often as it used to be, as the weather had been so bad. He's usually on wood shavings, but now I've put hay over it to protect his paws.
I've almost considered putting socks on him but I don't think it would work. I don't have anything that fits and I'd rather not have him get stuck in all kinds of things.

He's a rex isn't he?Rexes are prone to this condition as they have very little protective hair on their pads and hocks. I noticed in one of your pictures that the wooden base of the hutch is visible, so it may be that the litter bedding needs to be deeper. Floss had terrible hocks and paws until I covered the hutch floor with vetbed and made sure she was out on grass during daylight hours. A fine covering of a nappyrash cream helps with the inflammation (I used a cream , recommended by my vet, called Flamazine which is actually one used for burns patients(human ones!).She was also prescribed metacam to help with the pain. Her hocks cleared up beautifully(there's a before and after thread somewhere), but I have to keep an eye on them just in case. When she was indoors during the coldest part of winter the problem began to recur because of the abrasive quality of the carpet. When the skin is inflammed you must be even more diligent about hutch cleaning as the area is so much more exposed to bacteria invasion especially if the skin is broken. I hope you manage to get him sorted quickly.

capel said:

He's a rex isn't he?Rexes are prone to this condition as they have very little protective hair on their pads and hocks. I noticed in one of your pictures that the wooden base of the hutch is visible, so it may be that the litter bedding needs to be deeper. Floss had terrible hocks and paws until I covered the hutch floor with vetbed and made sure she was out on grass during daylight hours. A fine covering of a nappyrash cream helps with the inflammation (I used a cream , recommended by my vet, called Flamazine which is actually one used for burns patients(human ones!).She was also prescribed metacam to help with the pain. Her hocks cleared up beautifully(there's a before and after thread somewhere), but I have to keep an eye on them just in case. When she was indoors during the coldest part of winter the problem began to recur because of the abrasive quality of the carpet. When the skin is inflammed you must be even more diligent about hutch cleaning as the area is so much more exposed to bacteria invasion especially if the skin is broken. I hope you manage to get him sorted quickly.

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I....I didn't get all of that what is nappyrash cream?

Yes he is rex, I do know they are esier to get this condition, perhaps the oddest thing is that he's been living in this cage since last summer and never had this problem. So it may well have been caused by the dirt in her cage+it had been raining a lot lately so the grass was pretty wet all the time. :?
I've written down the number to the vet now and planned to call tomorrow (as it's closing early) However his feet seem to be doing a bit better now
Another problem I have with my bunnies is that they like to push the bedding out of the way:roll: I've looked at the vetbed-mats many people in here have but I have no idea where to get those things here, if it's possible at all. Also I'm worried they'll get vet as none of my rexes are litter trained (Aroma seems to prefer peeing at anything soft, like cusions or stuffed toys)

Hi:wave: Nappy rash cream is what is sometimes put on babies' bottoms when they get red and sore(or to prevent them from getting red and sore) as a result of wet nappies(diapers?). Bournville also tends to move the bedding around a bit as well..it must be a boy-thing!! Is he neutered? If so you could start to try to get him used to using a litter tray. Meanwhile, just try using several layers of newspaper, then woodshavings(or whatever you normally use) and then really deep hay to try to cushion his pads.

IS HE A REX RABBIT? if so im afraid this problem is very very common in them the only thing you can do is easy the pain from the vets you can fucaderm or from a pet shop johnsons tea tree cream

:wave: never mind about the rex rabbit question.

Once again, not very good with medisin brands or any other english brand of anything whatsoever I live in Norway, not even sure if that's stuff's even available here. At least not in pet stores...
I've known a whole bunch of rex rabbits but this is the first time I've ever experienced one with sore feet. I feel like a bad bunny-mom.
But we'll see what the vet says.

No he's not neutered. And I don't intend to do it either. He's halfway litter trained in that he usually goes to one corner to pe, but he refuses to use the litter box:roll: If I put one in he throws it away.

Hi :wave:

My sister puts fleece blankets in her bunnies hutch and run, so it's soft on her bunny's paws. She has a rex bun, and it works very well. Tilly's paws are absolutely fine.

Carol x

My Rex Rosie currently has the same problem and i've tried most beddings to help ease it for her but she is determined to dig down to the wooden floor of the hutch. My next attempt's going to be rubber stable floor matitng for horses, it's pretty cushioned and is also easy to clean which is good because Rosie isn't litter trained despite many attempts and neutering, she's far to stubborn for that. Asside from that i did try fleece and that seemed to help for as long as i managed to fasten it down to the cage floor.

From what i've read it's caused by a lack of even weight distribution on the paws as bunnys are built to run on soft ground such as grass. Normally there claws would dig into the soil and so the foot pad would lie flat on the floor and support the weight evenly. When they have a hard floor it stops the anils digging in and so puts more weight on the heel and back of the foot. Check your buns nails, over long nails make the problem worse apparently though Rosie's are as short as they can be and she still has it. Anything padded where he can get his anils in should help though and if he's sitting on the cushion most of the time then he's helping himself a lot more than my stubborn bun does.

Would suggest as well that you try to ensure the floor of the hutch is as dry as it can be every day; maybe if rain is getting in put a cover over the front? i hate cleaning mine out in the rain because i get soaked, but then feel so much better because I know they are clean, dry and safe! and with the weather in the uk at the moment i am getting wet virtually every time i clean them out - ie every other day! :roll: :lol:

Sasuke's claws were cut not too long ago so I don't think that's what caused it.
I've been to the vet now and gotten advice on what to give for his feet, haven't gotten it yet though as the store that sold the medisine was closed, so it'll have to wait untill tomorrow.
Now his cage is covered in newspaper and some hay (ran out...need to get more of that too) and his trusted pillow (which now has suffered some holes:roll: this bun will try to eat anything!)
I have some fleeze blankets....but now I'm worried he's going to eat those as well:roll: (He's already nibbled at his hutch, his house, his plastic food bowl and now the pillow. You'd think he wasn't fed well enough already with free access to hay, a whole bunch of greens and pellets every day.)

It might be a good idea to cover the hutch when it's raining. I did that during the winter cause snow got into their cages. I used a towel:lol: but it worked.:wave:

How big are their hutches too? with my old rex, if he sat in the same spot all day he seemed to be worse, despite having a whole shed he insisted on sitting in the same spot :roll: also do they have room to move away from their droppings and wee? sometimes that can make it worse?

buttons&thumper said:

How big are their hutches too? with my old rex, if he sat in the same spot all day he seemed to be worse, despite having a whole shed he insisted on sitting in the same spot :roll: also do they have room to move away from their droppings and wee? sometimes that can make it worse?

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How big? No idea. He does have place to move around and seems to prefer pooing in certain corners, the pillow is in the middle, it sometimes has a few droppins on it but it's easy to take of.

I guess if he is sitting on the pillow he obviously knows what's best for him, and probably that's more comfy too!