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Sore Hocks

HouseOfRabbit

Warren Scout
Kind of a mix of a health and housing thread.

Just picked up my oldest bunny, Harley, today for a brush as he's currently moulting and it looks like he's got the start of sore hocks at the very tips of his heels. Obviously a visit to the vets is on the cards but I'd thought I'd ask if anyone had ideas for what to put underfoot to prevent his feet getting worse as well as treating them.

His setup is an outdoor run on the patio right next door to my pair so he still has some company. It's a small run and triangle shaped by necessity due to space and need for company but is hooked up by Runaround tunnels and a junction box to a large run on the grass. I'm currently leaving his litter tray outside and inside the hutch he's on fleece but I'm looking for ideas to put underfoot for the patio run and possibly the tunnels/junction box.

I could bring him inside and have him on fleece but he won't have any company during my workdays and as he has cataracts with not much sight a new environment probably isn't going to work. I'm also only able to cover part of the run over for protection against rain.

Any suggestions?
 
honestly in my experience rabbits that are poor sighted tend to adapt fairly well, my Luna is completely blind. while she struggles sometimes extra TLC and pet remedy always seems to do the trick. if anything, you wouldn't know she was blind! she adapts well without her sight, so I wouldn't rule off bringing him inside due to a new environment entirely.

sorehocks are usually caused via the weight not being distributed evenly, so all the weight goes onto the hock. arthritis and long nails can cause it, along with being in a hard surface where they cant sink their nails in (so your patio).

I think its really important to try to minimise the places of hardness. some people use turf, wood chips or even childrens foam interlocking mats, or vet bed. ideally everything needs to be covered in something that lets him sink his nails in as rabbits are idiots and will go in the place that will aggravate the issue :roll: so ideally everything needs to be done with something for him to stop the issue from being aggravated. wetness can also seem to aggravate sorehocks too in my experience.

the vet can advise on possible arthritis or his nails, arthritis would require medication along with something soft.

for treating the sore hocks..its difficult. getting a bandage to stay on is impossible and the cream tends to just get rubbed off instantly. some use savlon, sudacream, aloe vera or vaseline. I used sudocream & aloe vera most of the time but I don't really know how much it helped as I'm sure it just got wiped off instantly, so just try to rub it into the skin as much as possible. but prevention is better than cure and no matter how much cream you apply if the source issue isn't fixed it will be an uphill battle :(

its a tough one. he might be better off indoors for the sore hocks and getting some extra TLC from you. at the same time he wouldn't have the company of the other bonded pair but its also how much contact he actually gets from them.

it might be an idea to get some pet remedy and try him inside for a trail run, if he's happy maybe he'd be better off, if not then perhaps something else needs to be figured out!

sore hocks are a difficult one. Luna's had them most of her life and its like a constant tug of war with it.
 
Kind of a mix of a health and housing thread.

Just picked up my oldest bunny, Harley, today for a brush as he's currently moulting and it looks like he's got the start of sore hocks at the very tips of his heels. Obviously a visit to the vets is on the cards but I'd thought I'd ask if anyone had ideas for what to put underfoot to prevent his feet getting worse as well as treating them.

His setup is an outdoor run on the patio right next door to my pair so he still has some company. It's a small run and triangle shaped by necessity due to space and need for company but is hooked up by Runaround tunnels and a junction box to a large run on the grass. I'm currently leaving his litter tray outside and inside the hutch he's on fleece but I'm looking for ideas to put underfoot for the patio run and possibly the tunnels/junction box.

I could bring him inside and have him on fleece but he won't have any company during my workdays and as he has cataracts with not much sight a new environment probably isn't going to work. I'm also only able to cover part of the run over for protection against rain.

Any suggestions?

The best substrate for Rabbits with sore hocks is deep soft hay. Some additional information here :

http://www.mayowvets.co.uk/pet-factsheets/Factsheets/Otherpets/24_295077.shtml

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/Ulcerative_pododermatitis_rabbits.htm

http://www.cunivetservice.com/docs/SoreHocks.2013.pdf
 
How about Auboise as a temporary alternative to play bark especially in the junction box? Been watching him closely today and on the grass he's sitting more on his heels and he also likes sitting a lot in the junction box which is on the patio.

Am beginning to wonder if he's got arthritis although he doesn't seem to be stiff but is starting to nap a lot more and has stopped jumping into the top of his hutch. His feet are moulting atm so I'm guessing that's not helping either and his cataracts would explain the non jumping bit.
 
How about Auboise as a temporary alternative to play bark especially in the junction box? Been watching him closely today and on the grass he's sitting more on his heels and he also likes sitting a lot in the junction box which is on the patio.

Am beginning to wonder if he's got arthritis although he doesn't seem to be stiff but is starting to nap a lot more and has stopped jumping into the top of his hutch. His feet are moulting atm so I'm guessing that's not helping either and his cataracts would explain the non jumping bit.

Sore hocks are very often a secondary symptom of another problem, arthritis being one. So I would suggest you get your Bunny checked over by a Rabbit Savvy Vet so any primary problem can be identified and treated. Aubiose would be OK to use in areas where he spends a lot of time resting. But as I mentioned in my previous post, I find deep soft hay to work best.

Are his toe nails short ? This is also an important thing to keep on top of when a Bunny has sore hocks x
 
Good news from the vets, it isn't sore hocks. So relieved but I'm still going to keep putting Auboise in the junction box as that's his 3rd favourite spot to sit.

In other news though, his cataracts are at the point where he can only see light and dark. The vet mentioned something about keeping an eye out for his iris contracting as he'll need drops if it happens. Anyone able to point me in the direction of some useful articles about this so I have a better idea of what I'm looking for?

Thanks
 
Good news from the vets, it isn't sore hocks. So relieved but I'm still going to keep putting Auboise in the junction box as that's his 3rd favourite spot to sit.

In other news though, his cataracts are at the point where he can only see light and dark. The vet mentioned something about keeping an eye out for his iris contracting as he'll need drops if it happens. Anyone able to point me in the direction of some useful articles about this so I have a better idea of what I'm looking for?

Thanks

I am glad that his hocks are OK.

Re the cataracts, has the Vet mentioned if they may be related to EC (Encephalitozoon Cuniculi) ?

Some further information on these links :

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Disorder/Cat/Cat_en.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/Cataract_Rabbit.htm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5918121/

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Parasitic/Encephalitozoonosis.htm
 
Kind of a mix of a health and housing thread.

Just picked up my oldest bunny, Harley, today for a brush as he's currently moulting and it looks like he's got the start of sore hocks at the very tips of his heels. Obviously a visit to the vets is on the cards but I'd thought I'd ask if anyone had ideas for what to put underfoot to prevent his feet getting worse as well as treating them.

His setup is an outdoor run on the patio right next door to my pair so he still has some company. It's a small run and triangle shaped by necessity due to space and need for company but is hooked up by Runaround tunnels and a junction box to a large run on the grass. I'm currently leaving his litter tray outside and inside the hutch he's on fleece but I'm looking for ideas to put underfoot for the patio run and possibly the tunnels/junction box.

I could bring him inside and have him on fleece but he won't have any company during my workdays and as he has cataracts with not much sight a new environment probably isn't going to work. I'm also only able to cover part of the run over for protection against rain.

Any suggestions?
dear houseofrabbit,-the foot/feet fur pad on some rabbits[rex,s]-is notoriously thin,-the pink wear spot is somewhat normal,however weight is a concern/ie.diet--lots of grasses,some quality pellets,lots of water.-a few treats..--now you can also make a bootie with [coban]-which is a self sticking,flexible wrap..--you may need to treat the feet with bactine,neoprorin. please visit this link http://www.medirabbit.com this will answer all your questions-very enlightening sincerely james waller from across the great pond-usa
 
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