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Sore Feet

Thumps

Alpha Buck
Im not sure what he's done but my little Harley has got very sore feet. Its on both his back feet and he has sores on them. He has plucked all the fur from round it as well, and has plucked all the fur off his toes on one foot which he did overnight Monday into Tuesday and Tuesday morning. We've been to the vet and we have some hibiscrub, dermisol and metacam. I would take a piccie but its a bit diffcult to hold him and try to do it :lol: hes not very good at being handled. One sore is about the size of a 20p, anybody got any ideas as to what happened? I can't think whats happened. Could it be stress from being on his own all day?


Angela
 
Hi,
This can happen when rabbits have continual ecposure to carpeted surfaces I read somewhere...Putting Vaseline over the wounds will help them to heal, in the mean time keep him on soft bedding :)
Rachel
 
Hi

What breed is Harley? the reason I ask is that Rex's are very prone to sore hocks, and my girl Pippa is a Rex and she has sore hocks. It can be caused by rough surfaces, poor hygiene (which I'm sure doesn't apply to you!!) among other things. My bunny isn't kept on rough surfaces but she does have sore feet (but they don't seem to bother her). What did your vet say? I have also read somewhere that constant bathing can soften the skin and you really want it to harden up so it is ok for bun to stand on.

Is Harley in any pain or discomfort? Also is he a house bunny? Carpet can also cause sore hocks, just because some carpets are quite abrasive to bunnies feet.

My nun recently had an op for an abcess on her foot, the vet said because she has sore hocks it might cause problems with healing but everything was fine! Another possibility is maybe an allergy if it has happened suddenly?

Obviously you want to check on what your vet thinks but as long as he isn't in any discomfort the best you can do is keep him on a thick bed of hay or straw, or if he is indoors vetbed is very good as it is nice and soft. I keep Pip outside and she has a thick bed of hay and straw but she also has a wooden ladder which I don't think helps her feet but I don't think she would want me to get rid of it as she wouldn't want to jump up and down into her hutch lol :) I was thinking of lining it with vet bed to make it softer, but she has run of garden anyway for few hours a day so her feet will always come into contact with patio and harder surfaces etc.

Hope that has helped, let me know what your vet thinks it is and hope they heal up soon.

Nicola
 
Hello thanks for your replies. The vets not sure whats caused it but is certain he's in pain which is why hes plucked the fur. He is definately in pain I can see him lift his feet a little when he puts presure on them and he hops about on his tippie toes now. He is in a play pen during the day which has a sheet of new lino under it, at night he has been running free in the hall which is floorboards and in the evening he is in the living room on the carpet.
He's not a rex. Just an ordinary Harley bunny, one with agouti fur and a white smudge nose and helicopter ears. It wouldn't surprise me if it's down to bad breeding, he seems to have some real problems, malocluded front teeth, snuffles and now this.
He now has a nice soft blanket is his bed as well which he likes.

Angela
 
Ahhh bless him, poor bunny. I hope it clears up soon. Prob sore hocks, not nice for him to be in pain. I'd say keep him off carpet until it's healed, maybe you can put soft blanket down when he is in the lounge? I expect he likes the soft bedding as it is easier on his feet.

Sounds like he is having a bit of a time, with funny teeth, snuffles and now sore feet! Bet he is getting lots of cuddles to make up for it all!

Hope he feels better soon

Nicola
 
I read somewhere that part of the problem is floor that doesn't have much give in it. This means the claws which would usually sink into the ground slightly don't and the bun ends up putting too much weight on his hocks rather than his toes. Have you checked his nails aren't a little too long?

Carpet, wooden floors and lino all seem to cause some rabbits problems. I'd suggest putting vet bed in the ages he uses most often.

Tam
 
Ok dumb question lol, hocks that the opposite end to toes isn't it? Its actually the middle of his feet that are sore, if that helps anyone? His hocks are fine not even red.


Angela
 
Yeah they are opposite end, but I guess if his claws are slightly too long then pressure would still be on middle of his feet. Vet bed is prob best way to go as it enables the bun to be sitting on a thicker surface.

Nicola
 
I dont think a blanket is enough support if hes to be sat on it all day while you are not there . You need somthing more substansol like a bean bag with a removable cover. Whot ever you use its got to be very thick, as you say its very painfull. Our homes are getting worse in respect of our pets , cut his claws nice and short so hes walking evenly on the floor. Sadly this is not going to go away and they may well develope into ulsers. It is caused by breeding but not intensionaly of course the hair thined under the feet to such an extent that it was worn away easily, this has been a problem for a long time and most resposable breeders are trying to reverse it, but it is going to take time. As you know its most common with the rex rabbit as they have only a fine covering of hair under the feet. Best of luck with your bun . val
 
It might be a long shot, but allergies to carpet/floor cleaning products for example are not uncommon. Could it be that he is allergic to any of the cleaning products you use? Might be worth just using water to mop and just hoover the carpet for a while to see whether there is an improvement.

Vera
 
I did think of that Vera but I can't think of anything that changed recently, I always stick to the same products. I will have a look about again and see if there is anything thats changed that I missed first time.
Val, Harley is actually pulling his fur out of his feet and toes. It could be stress for either being hormonal or it could be he's lonely. He will be getting castrated at then end of this month then I will start to look for a snuffler girlfriend for him. He pulls and licks away even when I am there watching him do it, I shout his name and he will stop for a moment. I will have to go get a pair of baby sockies for him tomorrow although Im not sure how on earth Im going to get them to stay on :lol:
Since yesterday his 3 toes are now more bald and red and he has also pulled the fur from the top of one of his toes. He also sits and nibbles at the scab. The metacam doesn't seem to be helping much.

Angela
 
I did think of that Vera but I can't think of anything that changed recently, I always stick to the same products. I will have a look about again and see if there is anything thats changed that I missed first time.

Allergies can develop over time against previously problemfree products!

It could well be stress, a companion should help in that case.

Vera
 
There is somthing rearly bothering him for him to be pulling the fur out and licking, it reminds me very much of one of my dogs she would periodicley start licking one particular toe or pad on one of her feet . She would make it very bad and it was a nightmare trying to stop her doing it. The vet could never find a reason for it. Any way after a couple of wks she used to stop and then a few months later start on another toe. This went on for a couple of yrs, then the last time it got so bad that she almost chewed the whole pad of, the vet even xrayed the paw but found nothing. She had the biggest colour they made but she still would not stop, a muzzle was put on when i could not watch her but she always got the bandage of and would lick continuley so it could not heal. In the end after a 1mth period the only option left was to amputate the toe that was bothering her. Directly she came out of the op she left it alone and never even tried to get the bandage off. This of course does not help you but i think it must be very sore on the bald patch and it is agravating her making her pull at it, i hope you find a solution to it soon. val
 
Haven't found a solution yet but theres been a development and its not a good one :( While cleaning his feet last night he had a bit of a struggle and when i got him settled back down I noticed a while glob, fearing the worst grabbed some cotton wool and attempted to wipe it off, it was being akward so had a squeeze about and sure enough got a small amount of pus out :shock: I squeezed gently until I couldn't get any more out put on his cream and then put on some gauze and tape it on (otherwise he licks the cream off) the gauze stopped him from picking at his feet for a while, long enough for the cream to be absorbed. I will phone the vets for an appointment later but has anyone else been through this? How long does it take to heal, whats going to happen, any chance it will clear without an op?

Sorry to hear you had to take such drastic action for your dog Val, was it some sort of nervous habit do you think?
Angela
 
Sounds like there is an abcess there possibly from a small injury at some point. Two of my rabbits had abcesses and they cleared very well and fast with antibiotics! So there is hope... :)
 
Hi

My bunny Pip has just recently got over an abcess on her foot. We did try antibiotics but it didn't work as it was quite a big abcess so she had to go in for an op. All was fine, she is 5 and a bit years but sailed through the op and recovered very quickly!! Vet was worried that it might not heal well as she has sore feet so might not have been enough skin there to stitch up, but it is perfect, healed within a few days and back to normal in just over a week! I was very worried before the op because of anaesthetic etc but my vet was great, said I could take time to think bout it etc. She had it done a few days later and I have nothing but praise for the vets, I visited her that evening and she was bright and alert sitting on a heat pad :)

I think if you have a good vet then they will be able to do the op easily and sew it well so there is no infection and so it heals well. They should flush it out too. She was also on a 12 day course of Baytril afterwards (with 2 5 day breaks in between). I think this protocol really helped as if there was say infection remaining after a week it zapped it. My vet also said that if the abcess is small it can clear up with antibiotics only. There is the possibility of it coming back but so far so good!

Good luck with it, what did the vets say today? I'm back off 2 the vet tomorrow as Pip has snuffly nose and sneezes now, I think it's cos her immune system was low after the op and she picked something up. Gonna get them to have good look at her foot too, from what I can see though it is as good as new!!

Nicola
 
We have the vets tomorrow night but his feet are looking better he seems to have stopped picking at one of them although it is still swollen, Im thinking theres still some pus in there cause its squidgy. The other foot is still swollen as well but theres also still quite a bit of scabs there too. Will just have to wait and see what vet says. His attitude is terrible just now as well and handling him is like a fight, he will not tolerate it.
Thanks for your help.
Angela
 
I hate abcesses!!

I'm just a bit concerned if you think there is still pus under the scab, I was always advised to take the scab off and clean the wound not to allow any pus to develope under a scab. Unfortunately I was given this advice too late.

If you can't get to the vets earlier than Friday why don't you phone them and check.

I don't want to alarm you but better to be safe than sorry.


Hope all is well

Maureen
 
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