Sore Hocks? Maybe?

NetherlandBuns · Mar 29, 2019

Hi everyone, yesterday I just realized my 12 week old Netherland dwarf has a tiny bald spot on the very back of her hind legs. She is not overweight, she’s actually a bit underweight. It doesn’t look extremely red, and it’s right at the side of the back heel so not even on the bottom. She has always had a bit of trouble binky-ing, in a sense that she doesn’t land on her feet when she twists midair so she ends up landing on her side or back. She also loses balance quite often when cleaning herself or sometimes when walking she would suddenly fall or back legs would look like it gives out. I’m not sure if the bald spot can be the reason for this?

Her cage has a corrugated plastic bottom with majority of it covered with 2 large woven Timothy hay mats. I’m not sure how she got the sore if it is indeed sore hocks. Also, if it doesn’t look Extremely red or blistered, is there anything I need to do or apply to help it? Is there any way I can help it heal? I’m looking into a foam mat or cat bed for her cage as well so it is softer. I’m hoping this will help keep the sore from getting worse (if it is a sore), but is there anything I can do to help that mini bald spot heal as well?

Opal · Mar 29, 2019

NetherlandBuns said:
Hi everyone, yesterday I just realized my 12 week old Netherland dwarf has a tiny bald spot on the very back of her hind legs. She is not overweight, she’s actually a bit underweight. It doesn’t look extremely red, and it’s right at the side of the back heel so not even on the bottom. She has always had a bit of trouble binky-ing, in a sense that she doesn’t land on her feet when she twists midair so she ends up landing on her side or back. She also loses balance quite often when cleaning herself or sometimes when walking she would suddenly fall or back legs would look like it gives out. I’m not sure if the bald spot can be the reason for this?

Her cage has a corrugated plastic bottom with majority of it covered with 2 large woven Timothy hay mats. I’m not sure how she got the sore if it is indeed sore hocks. Also, if it doesn’t look Extremely red or blistered, is there anything I need to do or apply to help it? Is there any way I can help it heal? I’m looking into a foam mat or cat bed for her cage as well so it is softer. I’m hoping this will help keep the sore from getting worse (if it is a sore), but is there anything I can do to help that mini bald spot heal as well?

The timothy hay mats tend to be rough on the fur, so if you have spare towels that no one uses you could line the floor with those instead. The balding is a sign of forming sore hocks. You should check her ears to see any signs of a possible ear infection as her bad balance may be a symptom of one.

majorv · Mar 29, 2019

She’s pretty young to be getting sore hocks, so she may have a developmental abnormality that causes her to not sit correctly. Wouldn’t hurt to get her checked by a vet, for that and the balance issue.

Opal · Mar 29, 2019

majorv said:
She’s pretty young to be getting sore hocks, so she may have a developmental abnormality that causes her to not sit correctly. Wouldn’t hurt to get her checked by a vet, for that and the balance issue.

Of my understanding, rabbits can get sore hocks at any age mostly due to insufficient flooring and long nails

Sunshine's Fine · Mar 30, 2019

My girls have both had a bald spot on one foot. I put Bag Balm right on that spot. It worked really quickly, the hair began to grow back right away. I think my girls just got it from hopping on the carpet on the floor. https://www.amazon.com/Bag-Balm®-Me...54&s=gateway&sprefix=bag+balm,aps,178&sr=8-13

zuppa · Mar 30, 2019

One of my lop girls is nearly 10 months old and she was an outdoor rabbit before I adopted her about 3 weeks ago. She has an incredible thick and perfect silky fur but I found also something like bald spots on the inner sides of her hind legs, a bit of irritation too. She was a bit overweight but now is all good, I think them spots were from she was staying in her hutch without much exercise for too long. I've noticed them last week and checked again yesterday, they are not getting worse but not healing either, I was thinking of making a compress with warm herbal tea and adding some treatment after that, this Bag Balm looks good thanks for suggestion.