Sore hocks or normal?

[InkyPookie]

Hi, we have two rabbits. We noticed something odd under the fur of their feet. It looks like sore hocks but we are not sure. Anyone could shed a light if this is sore hocks or not? Veterinarys in the country we live are very poor so if we can figure out we can treat them ourselves or ask a Veterinary in our home country for a medication. View media item 9850View media item 9851

 

[Imbrium]

Definitely not normal... could be sore hocks... what kind of flooring do you have? You can put neosporin (without pain reliever added) on the affected area, but the main thing you need to do is to change whatever in the rabbit's environment is causing the sore hocks in the first place.

 

[InkyPookie]

Our flooring is mostly plastic with some parts carpet would you suggest to put carpet all over?

 

[Imbrium]

Before going straight to all-over carpet, you might try adding some cheap, softer area rugs to reduce the amount of harder flooring.

Sore hocks are almost always caused by wire and/or mesh flooring, so I'm a bit perplexed and I feel like there may be a deeper issue than flooring at play. What weight/breed is your rabbit? Is it overweight or an appropriate weight for the breed? If you don't have a way to weigh your rabbit, a picture of their size (ie one with a hand or something in it to provide a scale) and a detailed description of your rabbit's diet would allow us to give an educated guess as to whether the rabbit is overweight.

 

[majorv]

Sore hocks can happen on just about any type of flooring. If the rabbits are running over carpet the friction can cause hair loss on the hocks. The rabbits might also have a structural problem or be overweight and that makes it worse. Also, some breeds are more prone to getting sore hocks than others.

 

[InkyPookie]

I attached a picture of our rabbit and cage (plastic floor). Shes 2.7kg 4 years old. You can not see the part that we think is sore hocks unless you move her fur aside so its not that bad she still has plenty of fur on her feet. View media item 9853View media item 9852

 

[Preitler]

Hard floor can be a problem, my vet recommended to cover it with cardboard. It depends on the kind of carpet, there are some types that are quite abrasive, like those needle felt types. I covered my house with cardboard and rugs, fenced off the asphalt areas in the yard, and it got better quite fast.

 

[Imbrium]

Californians were bred to be meat rabbits, so they gain weight readily and can easily become obese on the wrong diet... but 2.7 kg is just shy of 6 lbs, which is actually quite low for a Californian, so obesity isn't the cause. Here's a good article on sore hocks from HRS. @Preitler's suggestion to use cardboard sounds like it would be both effective and budget-friendly (plus who cares if the rabbit chews it).

 

[InkyPookie]

Thank you very much all the replies! We will try with carton boxes on the floor then.