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Need to confess my guilt :(

Rex's_Mummy

Young Bun
HI guys,

I have just signed up.

I have a 10 month old Rex male called Rex.

He is totally gorgeous! but i feel so bad right now.

Since we have had him i have kept him as a house bunny, he is litter trained so we let him have full run of the kitchen and utility room. both have hard tiled flooring. He had his own Dog crate which i put his toys food water etc in, he used to hop in and out when he wanted.

I thought he was happy, he is very friendly and easy to handle.

The past 2 weeks i have noticed his back legs have been getting sore and yesterday they started to bleed. After much research online i have discovered he has sore hocks, a condition that is prone to Rex rabbits. From what i have read hard flooring and incorrect bedding has caused this, namely my hard floors!

So today, after feeling so bad, i took the advise on the internet, bathed his feet in antiseptic solution, put cream on and bandaged them up, i also put him in a large chicken coop out in my back garden, on soft grass, i put lots of sawdust and straw/hay in the sleeping/enclosed part for him so he has soft flooring.

But now i feel so guilty that he is living outdoors in the dark and cold on his own!! i dont know what to do :(

I caused him this by keeping him indoors and now i have possibly made him sad by putting him outdoors.

If his heals dont get any better by the weekend then i will be taking him to the vets.

Sorry for the long post, esp as its my first, but i feel so guilty for him :(

From all your experience, will he be ok living outdoors after being inside for so long? will be get lonely?

Thanks

x
 
HI guys, From all your experience, will he be ok living outdoors after being inside for so long? will be get lonely?

Thanks

x

Hello and welcome to the forum.

So if I've got this right.... he's been living indoors until very recently and you've moved him outside? That's not a good decision - the temperature change will be very bad for him - if he's been living inside he won't have a winter coat and he *needs* to stay indoors until the frosts are over and the weather is much milder!

Also; no - I wouldn't have a rabbit outside on his own. He will be very lonely and confused. I know what you did was for the best but he needs to be inside for the time being. Is he neutered? Whatever treatment you get for his feet if he's neutered (or if he isn't, and he gets neutered!) you could adopt a rescue spayed girly for him so that he can then move outdoors when the weather is better and he won't be lonely. x
 
Hello

Firstly you cannot put him outdoors in this cold weather if he has been indoors all winter. He wont have grown a winter coat and he will become very, very poorly :cry:

Please bring him indoors tonight.

You could make up in indoor enclosure, covering the floor with a sheet/duvet cover then hay for tonight. A longer term solution to flooring could be rubber stable matting.

He needs to see a Vet tomorrow. If his hocks were bleeding the skin is obviously broken meaning he is at high risk of the hocks becoming infected. Once this happens the prognosis is poor. So he may need antibiotics and he will most definately need anti-inflammatory pain relief.
 
hi,

yes he is neutered, he is very dominate, he is the boss of my two cats, would he take well to another rabbit in his space?

x
 
I have tried to put a fluffy rug down for him to sleep on but anything soft and he wees all over it.

I will get him in tonight, but i dont know what to do about the bedding?

x
 
ETA sorry for repeating what others have said - they all posted while i was writing! :shock:





Hello :wave:

Please don't feel bad about the floors - you couldn't have known, and in any case, it's not guaranteed that rexes will suffer sore hocks if kept indoors...just one of those unpredictable things.

Whereabouts are you, and what's your climate like at the moment? I'm a bit worried that he's gone outside in the middle of winter after living in (presumably) a warm house, as he won't have grown a winter coat and the sudden temperature shock could be stressful for him - it would be like if you went camping in winter and didn't take a coat or any warm clothes. i would be tempted to keep him inside till the warmer weather, and to improvise some softer flooring in at least part of the house - maybe put a couple of rugs down temporarily, or some big trays of hay, or some rubber matting.

My rex rabbit Poppy had some problems with sore hocks and the vet prescribed a cream called Dermisol which seemed to work - I believe other people on here have had success with a different one called Flammazine although I may have remembered that wrong so it's worth checking out.

A crucial thing is to keep his living quarters super clean so there's no chance of the open wounds getting infected.

Some people will be along in a bit with more advice, as it's quite a common problem. Hope he's ok :)
 
hi,

yes he is neutered, he is very dominate, he is the boss of my two cats, would he take well to another rabbit in his space?

x

The priority is to move him indoors as right now the issue for him isn't loneliness but danger of illness from the extreme change in temperature.

Jacks-Jane has a *lot* of experience in Rex's and sore hocks so her advice is well worth taking.

But to answer your question; a lot of rescues will bond for you. I'm too much of a coward to attempt it myself lol so the rescue I got my rabbit from will be bonding him for me. I've reserved a girly for him but if all goes wrong I can just keep looking for another suitable rescue rabbit for him.
 
Definitely worth attempting to bond him at least - I adopted a rabbit who I was told "hated all other rabbits" yet she accepted the first companion we put her with. :)
 
HI,

Sorry for teh late reply, i have just been moving Rex indoors, He is now in his run (which is quite big) in my utility room, in the indoors part i have put massives of straw to make it soft, in the open part i have put my bathroom mat (which is dry) and a big thick blanket down on top, altho i have put his litter tray in there with him, i know he will pee all over the blankets lol


For treatment i got savalon aniteptic wash which i bathed his feet in for 5 mins (with warm water) then i dried them and put on germoline anticeptic cream, then i put a cushioned dressing pad (im a nurse) over the sore on each foot to give him for padding on that area and then put a bandage over that.
From what i have read on the net that 'should' be ok but if its no better in a couple of days i will take him to the vets, the sore areas are tiny but they are very red.

Rex does go outside during the days in his run, but always comes in over night, so i didnt like the thought of him being out there, im glad i have got him in now.

When the summer comes, i plan on letting him live outdoors in the coop, if i left him there, would he get a coat ready for next winter?

Thanks for all your help, sorry to be a pain

x
 
Hello again.

If it were me I'd still take him to the vets a.s.a.p - I've read so many 'horror' stories on here of rabbits with sore hocks and though what you've done sounds brilliant it won't stop any internal infection which was Jane's point about him needing antibiotics.

If he (and hopefully a wifebun' as it would be a lonely life otherwise) live outdoors once the weather's nice and stays outdoors throughout the summer and autumn he will develop a winter coat for next winter, yes. My rabbit (soon to be a pair hopefully!) is currently indoors but I plan to move them outdoors once the weather is nicer and they'll probably stay out there. I say probably because we're so soft we might bring them in for winter but it wouldn't be necessary really so long as their accommodation is dry and snug.

When you say a chicken coop how big is it? Rabbits need a fair amount of space - a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft hutch with attached run of 6ft x 4ft being about the minimum recommended. :) x

You sound as though you really care about him - hope his feet get better soon xx
 
Thanks guys,

you have been a big help, I will take Rex to the vets in the morning, should have done it today really but i thought this internet advice might of worked.

I will take his bandages off now and let the sores breathe a bit overnight ready for the vet to see in the morning.

x
 
Here is my baby :)

9adcade3bea41b818d3ecb7e6ceb0e239ec.jpg


x
 
Here is my baby :)

9adcade3bea41b818d3ecb7e6ceb0e239ec.jpg


x

He's gorgeous! :love:

Sending vibes for a speedy recovery for his feet xxx

I fell in love with the Rex breed years and years ago at White Post Farm but little did I then know of the inherent problems with this breed. It's such a shame. I hope he will soon be more comfortable.
 
If i do try to bond him with another rabbit, are there any breed better than others?

x

Bear in mind I'm relatively new to this myself.... but mini lops / lops in general and 'flat faced' rabbits can be more prone to dental problems. Giants generally live shorter lives for various reasons. Netherland Dwarf rabbits are also prone to dental difficulties. I'm sure other people will have more to say on this though.

But there are tons and tons of lovely cross-breeds or specific breeds who are very healthy in rescue just waiting to steal your heart.... if you care to have a glance through the (( Rabbits In Need )) section or the sister site to this website - (( Rabbit Rehome )) you will see just how many rabbits there are looking for a home. Whereabouts are you based? :D x
 
I don't think any particular breed is more appropriate than another to bond with your rex, temperament is usually the most important but as you will be set up for a rex why not go for another rex?

Sorry if someone else has said the following, haven't had time to read everything, but please avoid woodshavings - they're not that soft anyway and they can cause respiratory problems, Megazorb could be an alternative also Vetbed is often used for rexes as it is soft but wicks away the wee so the top is always dry like a nappy!

Hope it goes well at the vets :wave:
 
wow he is so beautiful :love::love: I absolutely love rexes but can't have them any more as I don't have suitable floors, and no garden either! one day though. :lol:


good luck at the vets :wave:
 
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