Persistent sore hocks, rabbit seems to be fine

[pani]

Hi guys, when I took the buns in for their vaccinations a few months ago, my vet noticed that Clementine (mini lop) had sore hocks underneath the fur on her hind legs. She lives in a two-level cage and has access to the living room/kitchen when we're home. Their cage has a thick carpet underneath it, and a thick blanket on the upper level. Our home is tiled, but the areas she spends time on primarily both are carpeted.

The sore hocks don't seem to be causing her any pain (or she's not displaying any visual symptoms, at least), but they don't seem to be going away. Is it worth looking into some form of treatment, or should I try to keep letting them heal naturally?

 

[jschreiner4569]

Preparation H works very well (strange as it sounds).

 

[cloutier39]

One of my rabbits used to have them. Vet gave me an ointment to put on them, but it never really helped. The thing that works best is fleece. I bought some custom ones (piggy bedspreads) and they worked great for her. My vet mentioned laser therapy too, but my girl passed away before we could try it.

 

[doodlebugger]

Our vet recommended a little bit of coconut oil (organic) to put on the sore hocks and that seemed to help. Is she overweight or does she have any limps or walk abnormally? We have one rescued bunny who has a back foot injury, and he is more prone to sore hocks no matter what we do because of the injury and how he walks (he carries his weight differently).

 

[JBun]

How severe is it? Is the skin inflamed and red, are there any open sores, or is there just normal pink skin with some fur rubbed off? Any callused skin? What is their carpet like- dense, hard, rough, soft, plush, etc? You don't want to be putting anything on it quite yet, and may not need to at all depending on what's going on.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Mechanical/Pod/Podo.htm

 

[pani]

One of my rabbits used to have them. Vet gave me an ointment to put on them, but it never really helped. The thing that works best is fleece. I bought some custom ones (piggy bedspreads) and they worked great for her. My vet mentioned laser therapy too, but my girl passed away before we could try it.

Might look into making some fleece covers for them. Thank you.

Our vet recommended a little bit of coconut oil (organic) to put on the sore hocks and that seemed to help. Is she overweight or does she have any limps or walk abnormally? We have one rescued bunny who has a back foot injury, and he is more prone to sore hocks no matter what we do because of the injury and how he walks (he carries his weight differently).

She's on the high end of the healthy weight range for a mini lop, and doesn't seem to limp or have any other issues walking.

How severe is it? Is the skin inflamed and red, are there any open sores, or is there just normal pink skin with some fur rubbed off? Any callused skin? What is their carpet like- dense, hard, rough, soft, plush, etc? You don't want to be putting anything on it quite yet, and may not need to at all depending on what's going on.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Mechanical/Pod/Podo.htm

It doesn't look particularly severe. It's definitely pink, not red, and there are no open sores. I need to part the fur on her foot to be able to see the affected areas. Their carpet isn't particularly thick, but it is a short plush carpet.

This isn't Clementine, but this is probably the closest picture to how hers look, although you can't see hers without pushing some fur aside:

 

[JBun]

Normal pink skin with a bit of fur missing doesn't mean a rabbit has sore hocks. In fact it is fairly normal for this to occur, and as long as it doesn't progress past this, the rabbit is fine. You will just need to keep an eye on her feet and regularly inspect them to make sure they don't start looking red, inflamed, or develop sores. Definitely don't apply anything as this can actually make it worse, as creams can mat the fur down there so it won't protect the foot as well.

You can take preventative measures if you feel you need to, and replace or cover any flooring that you think is too rough.

 

[pani]

Thanks JBun! I'll just keep an eye on them for now.

 

[ravenmoore36]

Hi guys, when I took the buns in for their vaccinations a few months ago, my vet noticed that Clementine (mini lop) had sore hocks underneath the fur on her hind legs. She lives in a two-level cage and has access to the living room/kitchen when we're home. Their cage has a thick carpet underneath it, and a thick blanket on the upper level. Our home is tiled, but the areas she spends time on primarily both are carpeted.

The sore hocks don't seem to be causing her any pain (or she's not displaying any visual symptoms, at least), but they don't seem to be going away. Is it worth looking into some form of treatment, or should I try to keep letting them heal naturally?

Ask your vet about flamazine cream. My luna suffers sore hocks and this stuff was amazing at reducing redness, inflamation and soreness.

 

[ravenmoore36]

Flamazine cream available from your vet is fantastic. My luna has healed ip using this