Bunny has sore hocks!

[user 18188]

Jamie had been off his food for a while and just sitting around not doing very much. Initially he was treated for GI stasis (twice!), then they thought it might be his teeth so he had them filed, now the latest discovery is that he has sore hocks! My Vets recommendation was.. can you believe this?.. keep him on Metacam for the rest of his life! Aside from the shocking amount of money it would cost to keep him on painkillers for the next six years or so, surely it would be better to actually treat them?! At any rate I tried giving him a couple of doses and he didn't improve any, so I've stopped. The only other advice they offered me was putting a bit of vaseline on it..

At this point I trust you guys a lot more than I trust them so would love your advice on what to do next. He is in a large hutch with wood shavings but kicks his back legs soo much! I gave him a thick layer of hay, but he pushes it aside and sits on the hard floor. I have seen some suggestions of memory foam mats online as a cheaper alternative to vet bed - would you recommend this? He's not much of a chewer so I think he can be trusted. How can I treat his actual hocks? I also see consistent suggestions for sudocrem - opinions? I have self-adhesive bandages so could potentially wrap his hocks if anyone could tell me how? Thanks

 

[A & B]

I've heard of people using Clorhexidine solution on their rabbit's sore hocks. You would soak the hocks in it for about 10 minutes at least once a day. Putting neosporin on a bandage and wrapping that around the hock wouldn't hurt. I heard this from 101 Rabbits (on youtube).

If you don't trust your vet, it may be time for another. Your vet telling you giving medication for the rest of your bun's life doesn't seem like the first thing you should try. If you choose to stick with that vet, be cautious of anything they tell you.

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

Make it tight but not too tight where it will cut off circulation. And if you can't afford Preparation H, the generic version works just as well.

 

[thelaurelcrowned]

As A former vet tech...I really recommend going to a feed store and getting vet wrap. It’s a self adhering bandage but it doesn’t adhere to fur, skin, or anything but itself. I had a horse basically try to rip off his hoof, and I used that wrap to make it so he could walk on it, after four or five surgeries, and to give him some cushion as well as to keep bandages on. I would recommend using the preparation H or Vetricyn, Vetricyn Is amazing and I would use it to clean the wound before you put the antibiotic cream on it, with a non-stick TeFla pad, and then wrapping it with the vet wrap to keep it on and give a little more cushion.

The vet wrap is basically the same As a self adhering sports wrap, it’s just a heck of a lot cheaper

 

[Watermelons]

Please do not use peroxide to clean simple wounds.

How you treat his hocks will entirely depend on how bad they actually are. Perhaps some photos will help.
What are his back nails like? Is he a true rex? Sitting on a solid floor alone should not be enough to cause it unless something else is going on.

 

[user 18188]

I have read about the Chlorhexidine solution, but I am nervous to self-medicate Jamie with something I don't understand. Could I use soap or an antibacterial soap as an alternative to the Vetricyn? Currently I am just putting vaseline on his sore spots. I will try to get a picture for you guys. I don't have an antibiotic cream or anything, was literally given nothing by the vet at all and we are going on holiday for a few days leaving him with my partner's mother who has kept rabbits in the past, but she has never heard of sore hocks. I also bought Jamie a memory foam bathmat which he now spends all his time sat on so I guess it's more comfortable than the hard wood..

 

[thelaurelcrowned]

Vetricyn is completely safe and non toxic — it’s not an actual medication...it’s water that has been ‘ionized’ which just helps to promote healing (and is AMAZING to wash wounds with! UC Davis recommended it for my horse after he had a wound go Septic/had to be in the ICU at Davis for two weeks and have 4 surgeries for wound debridement). It’s kind of pricey but is completely worth it and 100% non toxic . I’ve used it before cleaning a DILUTED chlorhexidine solution when I had another horse get caught on a t-post and get a nasty infection thanks to a freak accident

 

[thelaurelcrowned]

I’ve also managed to heal up and get rid of an antibiotic resistant abscess in a dog before