Sores on back feet

[petkeeper]

Hi guys

My rabbit has developed small sores on his back feet and the first toeof the back feet. It is really weird...they just came out ofno where. They rabbits do not have a wire bottom cage andwhen they are out for play time it is on cushion flooring.

I am using Bagbalm on the feet and polysporin for kids. Do you guys have any idea what would cause this??

Thank you

Shannon

I will take some pictures later and post them.

 

[Michaela]

Sounds like sore hocks to me. It's common inrexes I think. Look in the resource centre in health references formore information about this.

 

[Haley]

Michaela is correct, its common in Rexes because they dont have much hair or padding on their feet.

Good job on the bagbalm, Ive heard that helps. I also used Desitin Diaper rash cream and had good results.

Are they bleeding/open sores or more of a callus? If they are open, Iwould see the vet. They might want to give you some antibiotics orsomething.

Good Luck!

 

[tamsin]

Make sure his claws don't over grow as longclaws put more pressue on the feet. Surfaces that are slightly softhelp as well so for example putting a rug down over a wooden floor canhelp if he spends a lot of time running/resting on something hard.

Tam

 

[petkeeper]

Thank you guys I figured it was sore hocks...butwasn't sure what the cause was...but you letting me know it was commonin rex's helps a lot.

They are not bleeding but raw...not calloused yet. I wasgoing to call the vet in the morning...where it wasn't bleeding andreally big I didn't want to have to pay the emergency vetcost...holiday in Canada!!

I keep their nails trimmed...but I did it again this morning just tomake sure they were nice and short...so I am glad I did the right thingthere. I will keep the bag balm on.

Thanks again for your help!!

Shannon

 

[Haley]

Is that your rabbit in your avatar?

Gorgeous!!!

 

[naturestee]

What kind of flooring is he on? Carpetcan sometimes cause sore hocks too. It's soft to us, but it'sabrasive for a small animal. Also, how wet does his litterboxget? Try to keep it extra super clean, because that can be afactor in sore hocks too.

 

[RogerL]

Does your rabbit have a crock or a water bottle? It could

be a fungus if he has a crock and plays in it getting his feet wet.

I havea young mini-rex buck that developed sores on his feet

and he was constantly playing in his water until I gave him a

water bottle and treated his feet with white iodine.

Roger L

 

[petkeeper]

Hi

My rabbits are in a large tommy cage. The bottom is plastic,and I put blankets in there for them,which isjustin their bed not out on the floor.The litter box iscleaned every 2nd day, and I use wood stove pellets. Theyhave a water bottle. I have no carpet in my house for therabbits to play on. They have free run of my kitchen whenthey are out...which is about 6 hours a day sometimes more.

Yes that is one of my rabbits Miniin the avatar...I have twoand it is Rex who has the sore hocks. I unfortunately don'thave a rabbit savy vet in my area...so that is why I am getting moreinformation so I can go in informed.

Well thank you again for your help.

Shannon.

 

[sheridan]

My 2 rexes are out on concrete and have sorehocks. They started bleeding once or twice but I put nappy rash creamand plasters on them.

At the moment the sores are slightly red but hard. I feel bad but I cant let them out anywhere else.

I could send you a link if you want on how to bandage their back pawsto help if you want. Just let me know if you want the site

 

[Offspring2099]

After reading this thread, I checked out our bun's back paws and found out that Penny has calluseson her 'heels'.

I dont understand why.Her cage is coveredEVERYWHERE with carpet, except for the 'runways / stairs', which sheusese to hop from floor to floor. And why just the heel, andnot anywhere else on her foot. I mean she uses the 'runways /stairs', but I can't imagine that she uses it THAT much to put caluseson her feet.When we let her out its on the carpet also.

The callusesare covered by thickfur, but when youmove the fur away you can defenetly see them. They are about1/4 inch diameter. I'll take a picture.Onone callusyou can seea little bit of red.

Maybe they are not calluses at all, do heels suppose to have fur onthem, (Penny is a mini rex btw). I'll take a picture and postit here, so you can see better.

Thanks in advance.



EDIT: I just read this onhttp://www.houserabbit.co.uk/rwf/articles/sorehocks.htm

"Of course, not all rabbits develop sore hocks! If you take a closelook at the heels of an adult rabbit, you'll usually find a small,bare, pale pink callused area right at the tip of the heel, covered bya fold of fur. This is normal."

I think I'm freaking out over thing.

 

[Haley]

haha..yeah she should be fine. Youre like me...I freak out over the smallest things!

With rexes, the fur on their feet is so sparce in some areas, they caneasily develop hocks. Or it can just look like a sore hock bc youreseeing bald skin.

As long as theyre not open wounds, youre fine. Max gets them from timeto time. He is also always on carpet. My vet said sometimes carpet canact like sandpaper when theyre running around on it...