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Sore hocks...

So yesterday we took our rabbits the vet, and it would seem two of them have quite sore hocks:cry: . They're indoor rabbits, in quite a large pen on carpet with lots of toys. We have baytril for 10 days and metacam for that time also probably. Anyway, any ideas for bunny friendly flooring please? I've seen foam mats and fleece and stuff suggested on here but honestly they are a complete nightmare for chewing anything and everything (and eating:shock:) so i think we'd have gut problems then too:roll: . The vet just suggested thickening up the flooring a bit, so I was wondering about the children's interlocking foam mats with a thin-ish rug on top. Would this help at all? Any other suggestions please? Thank youuuu:)
 
About 6. Hay all over the floor indoors isn't awfully practical unfortunately! Thank you anyway for your reply! Any other ideas? Would the foam and rug on top be any good?:)
 
No idea about foam but what about vetbed, not sure that would be soft enough. If you do a search on here there's lots of discussions on sore hocks. I know I asked my specialist once about it for a friend and his advice is if they are bad the feet should be bandaged until they recover.

Good luck.
 
No idea about foam but what about vetbed, not sure that would be soft enough. If you do a search on here there's lots of discussions on sore hocks. I know I asked my specialist once about it for a friend and his advice is if they are bad the feet should be bandaged until they recover.

Good luck.

Hi, Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately they will chew anything and vetbed will be too tempting for them I think! This is the problem i face:? Thank you so much anyway for your suggestions! :) As for a bandage the vet didn't mention that but I think more of that would probably end up in their stomachs than on their feet:? Thank you for trying to help anyway and the good luck!
 
I think people have used baby socks and all other sorts of things. Apparently manuka honey has been good too. Like I say if you look in the advanced search and put in sore hocks I'm sure you'll find lots of useful tips for people who have struggled with it.
 
An enclosure taking up half the living room:lol:

Then I would suggest putting rubber stable matting down. If fitted correctly the Rabbits will not be able to chew the edges. Good quality stable matting provides a base that is non abrasive, (unlike carpet which is very abrasive) and it is not slippery, (unlike a lot of vinyl/lino etc).

An example here :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stable-Ma...208897?hash=item1a08686481:g:ZtEAAOSw9mFWMzPn

This is likely to be a lot more pricey

http://www.stablesofteurope.co.uk/our-systems/stable-turf/
 
Then I would suggest putting rubber stable matting down. If fitted correctly the Rabbits will not be able to chew the edges. Good quality stable matting provides a base that is non abrasive, (unlike carpet which is very abrasive) and it is not slippery, (unlike a lot of vinyl/lino etc).

An example here :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stable-Ma...208897?hash=item1a08686481:g:ZtEAAOSw9mFWMzPn

This is likely to be a lot more pricey

http://www.stablesofteurope.co.uk/our-systems/stable-turf/

Thank you for the suggestions. I've read so much on this and some conflicting information also, that rabbits need flooring that their feet can sink into like if they were on grass but something non abrasive. So for non abrasiveness those mats would be great but I wonder whether they'd be too hard to let their feet sink in properly? Sorry I'm not being critical, I do appreciate your help just trying to find the best solution:D:wave:
 
Thank you for the suggestions. I've read so much on this and some conflicting information also, that rabbits need flooring that their feet can sink into like if they were on grass but something non abrasive. So for non abrasiveness those mats would be great but I wonder whether they'd be too hard to let their feet sink in properly? Sorry I'm not being critical, I do appreciate your help just trying to find the best solution:D:wave:

I have kept Rex Rabbits for about 18 years and Rexes are very prone to sore hocks. Unfortunately I have found that no base can equate to soft deep hay. I was thinking that if you put stable matting down then soft hay could go on top. Base boards around the enclosure would prevent hay from spilling out. Stable matting is cushioned, how much will vary depending on which one you buy.

Cotton/brushed cotton sheets over carpet can work well. The cotton/brushed cotton sheet prevents the abrasive carpet fibres from coming into contact with the hocks. But as you said that your Rabbits are chewers I did not see any point in suggesting that :)

Did your Vet say what may be the primary cause of your Rabbits sore hocks ? Mobility problems caused by arthritis can be one condition to consider.
 
I have kept Rex Rabbits for about 18 years and Rexes are very prone to sore hocks. Unfortunately I have found that no base can equate to soft deep hay. I was thinking that if you put stable matting down then soft hay could go on top. Base boards around the enclosure would prevent hay from spilling out. Stable matting is cushioned, how much will vary depending on which one you buy.

Cotton/brushed cotton sheets over carpet can work well. The cotton/brushed cotton sheet prevents the abrasive carpet fibres from coming into contact with the hocks. But as you said that your Rabbits are chewers I did not see any point in suggesting that :)

Did your Vet say what may be the primary cause of your Rabbits sore hocks ? Mobility problems caused by arthritis can be one condition to consider.

Thank you - it is something to think about:) Yes unfortunately they like anything they can chew a little too much, when we first got them we used to put sheets on the floor which they chomped through:? We quickly stopped with the sheets after that!

Well, one of the rabbits is rather overweight so we are cutting back on their pellets, and she wasn't at all sure why the other one has them! Just unlucky maybe? She mentioned arthritis but said she couldn't see any signs of them being arthritic so didn't seem to think that was the case. Puzzling!:shock:
What about a viscose and cotton rug like this? https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
Or a regular rug like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A32J7G7NTR6F3N I know that isn't ideal as it's more carpet like, but it has a longer pile so their feet could sink more, hopefully it wouldn't be as abrasive if they could sink into it? I don't know:? Thank you in advance anyway - and for your help so far!
 
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Believe me I've searched the whole internet they're just the kind of rabbits that will eat anything and that makes life rather difficult:lol::oops:
On that note, has anyone used hemp mats at all like this : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kerbl-Hemp...=UTF8&qid=1489585463&sr=8-1&keywords=hemp+mat ? Are they actually safe to eat and would they be a softer flooring for sore bunny feet? Any other ideas are also welcome! Thanks!:)


Tonibun is right - a bed of deep hay is the best solution. I have kept rabbits with sore hocks over the past 25 years and it's not always easy to find a good solution, as you've discovered!

The mat you indicate might well work ... worth a try - at least they won't come to harm if they nibble a bit of it :)
 
Tonibun is right - a bed of deep hay is the best solution. I have kept rabbits with sore hocks over the past 25 years and it's not always easy to find a good solution, as you've discovered!

The mat you indicate might well work ... worth a try - at least they won't come to harm if they nibble a bit of it :)

Thanks, have you used hemp mats before? I couldn't find too much about how safe they are to eat. I know it says in the description they are but I couldn't find much else on the forum or anywhere:)
 
Thank you - it is something to think about:) Yes unfortunately they like anything they can chew a little too much, when we first got them we used to put sheets on the floor which they chomped through:? We quickly stopped with the sheets after that!

Well, one of the rabbits is rather overweight so we are cutting back on their pellets, and she wasn't at all sure why the other one has them! Just unlucky maybe? She mentioned arthritis but said she couldn't see any signs of them being arthritic so didn't seem to think that was the case. Puzzling!:shock:
What about a viscose and cotton rug like this? https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
Or a regular rug like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A32J7G7NTR6F3N I know that isn't ideal as it's more carpet like, but it has a longer pile so their feet could sink more, hopefully it wouldn't be as abrasive if they could sink into it? I don't know:? Thank you in advance anyway - and for your help so far!

Wouldn't they chew rugs ? Chewers tend to nibble the sides of rugs and/or pluck and dig the fibres out !!

Hemp rugs can be just as abrasive as carpet, so I am not sure they'd be of much use really.
 
Wouldn't they chew rugs ? Chewers tend to nibble the sides of rugs and/or pluck and dig the fibres out !!

Hemp rugs can be just as abrasive as carpet, so I am not sure they'd be of much use really.

Indeed! That's why I would have to keep the edges away and hope they don't take too much interest in the fibres of the actual rug:oops: They're on carpet at the minute which they don't try to bite too often, rarely they have a little nibble but I distract them and they won't try again for ages. I hope they would possibly be the same with rugs. Could either of the links be any help do you think? Thanks!
 
Thanks, have you used hemp mats before? I couldn't find too much about how safe they are to eat. I know it says in the description they are but I couldn't find much else on the forum or anywhere:)


I have used stuff like this before and so long as they don't sit and completely actually *devour* it (i.e. they should be eating hay instead of doing that!) then it's OK.
 
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