The Saga of the Sore Hocks

[clarzoo]

I just thought I'd share with battle I've been waging against the rabbit that developed sore hocks while living on a solid bottom cage. Maybe some one could benefit from the trial and error I've been through- it's been pretty tough.

Chowder is a 16+ pound Checkered Giant rabbit. She is not my rabbit, but she lives with me because I have a cage large enough for her and for the litter she had back in February of 2007. She was around a year and a half old when I first noticed her sore hocks. She's not particularly friendly, has a tendency to growl, and doesn't like to be held- but she's beautiful!


June - July




June 2nd 2007- I took Chowder to a rabbit show this day, and when she was in the wire bottom carrier I noticed she was wiggling in a weird way on her back feet. With the help of her owner we managed to flip her over and saw a small sore developing on each of her hocks. (Not all the way back towards the heel, but in the middle- she has very large feet!) The sores were reddened, but not open or bleeding, the hair had been worn away where the sores were but everywhere else was healthy looking and well furred. Her owner and I clipped her nails and put her back in her carrier with a plastic resting mat and lined it with hay to make her more comfortable.

June 4th 2007- Chowder has been living in a solid bottom NIC cage since January '07. The bottom is made of Coroplast (plastic). She won't pee in a litter box, but usually does pee in the same corner. She poops anywhere and everywhere. I put shavings in the corner she uses and replace them every day. The rest of the bottom of her cage is bare, unless she has pulled her hay out. I hose the cage out weekly, but remove dirty shavings daily. I've had this routine since January. I decide something needs to change since she developed her sore hocks in this cage.

June 4th 2007- I move Chowder to the very large (giant rabbit sized) wire bottom cage I have. I line a third of the cage with plastic resting mats so she isn't sitting on the wire. She seems much more comfortable.

June 10th 2007- I have noticed Chowder's sores aren't getting any smaller. I soak her feet in a warm Epsom salt bath, let them dry and then spray the sores with a spray on wound sealer. (Like Nu-Skin, but in a pump spray) She’s a struggle to handle, but I hold her off her feet until the spray dries and put her back in her cage.

July 30[suP]th[/suP] 2007- After soaking her in Epson salt baths and spraying the Nu-Skin on her feet every other day for two weeks she seemed to be improving- or at least not worsening. She has decided that the side of the cage without the plastic foot protectors is her favorite side to spend time on, so I line the remainder of the cage with them. This cage is huge, it took a lot!

 

[clarzoo]

August

August 30[suP]th[/suP] 2007- This summer has been terribly hot, so I’ve been running the fans 24/7. Last night was abad lightning storm, so I had turned the fans off. I turned them back on in the morning and Chowder spooked. She ran circles in her cage and threw her self against the wire for what seemed like forever. She was running so hard in her cage that she broke her sore hocks open and started bleeding slightly. That evening I started the Epsom salt soaks with Nu-Skin spray again.

 

[clarzoo]

September

It seems like Chowder breaking her sores opened has introduced infection into them. They are getting worse overnight. She spends very little time sitting on her back feet. She is still eating/drinking/pooping/peeing normally.

September7 2007- I’ve been trying to handle Chowder every night so she gets better about being treated. She is so big, I have a hard timeholding and treating herby myself. I have asked my roommates for help in the past- but they always end up being busy. I couldn’t believe how quickly her feet were worsening. I showed my roommate, who is about to graduate from Veterinary school how bad her feet were and he said he’d make sure to help me treat them every evening. Thank Goodness! He actually ran to the vet school that night and picked up bandaging supplies to get her off her sores. We cleaned the worse of the two feet and bandaged it using a thick layer of padding. Chowder seemed immediately relieved. All my work handling her every night paid off- she was a star patient during the obviously painful work.

September8 2007- Picked up some 'silver sulfadiazine ointment' from the vets, saline and more bandaging equipment. She seemed to do well on her bandaged foot last night and didn't chew on it. Tonight my roomate and I cleaned and wrapped the other (better)foot, applying the antibiotic cream. We left the first bandage on and plan to alternate changing the bandages every night- she doesn't handle being messed with for much longer than it takes to do one foot.

September 9 2007- Tonight we unwrapped the first (worse) foot for the first time. The swelling and redness has gone down a lot. The bandage managed to stay fairly clean, nothing dirty got in to the inside. To give an idea what we are doing: First, clean entire affected area with saline and guaze. Try to remove as much dead tissue and dirty fur as possible. Dry foot. Apply antibiotic ointment. We are currently using baby diaper for the layer that contacts the skin. It doesn't stick to the wound, comes with it's own padding and doesn't wick any moisture (pee) from the ground to the wound. Then wrap in guaze, followed by vet wrap, followed by a layer of waterproof tape. It's pretty bulky- but she seems relieved.

September 16 2007- We've continued the alternating wrapping the feet for almost a week now. I've added multiple layers of fleece filled with shavings to her cage. Our biggest issue is how dirty she is with her litter habbits. She pees and poops directly in front of where she eats/drink, and is always getting dirty. My roomate has been talking to his professors. The plan is to start her on systemic antibiotics and possibly pain control soon. In the meantime we need to increase the amount of padding in her cage, bandaging and try to give her more room to live in so her dirty habits aren't so critical.

September 17 2007- I managed to track down two bales of straw today and I rigged a way for her cage to attach to the run I let my rabbits exercise in. She now has quadruple the amount of space to move around. Everything was bedded very thick (~6 inches) with clean straw. She is so happy and loves the space. I did experience one setback today. Last night my roomate and I attempted a new way to wrap her foot to give more protection to the tip of her hock. It ended up being too tight when she sat in an upright position and her foot became very swollen. We took the bandage off as soon as the swelling was noticed- unfortunately that meant she spent the day (pre-straw) on her sore. The short amount of time formed a small ulcer.

September 18 2007- Chowder is really enjoying her new space and straw. Even if she is sitting on her back feet, the extra padding from the straw is really helping. I wish I had thought of it sooner. Tonight my roomate and I tried something new. We made a 'ski' out of wire mesh with a bent portion at the back. It sits under her wrapped foot to take pressure off her hock when she is sitting. It might not work- but it is worth a try. It adds some extra weight to the bandage- but she seems to be coping.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

clarzoo - I am at a loss. I have done whatever I can to keep Bo from developing sore hocks since I know it's common in mini-Rex. Well, he's got them. They are actually worse now but I am trying to work on it.

Here's what I don't get:

1. I've always heard NO WIRE.. well I cover everything in resting mats, grass mats, give him a blanket, etc.

2. I was about to get a new flooring and rebuild his cage to make it a solid bottom - now I wonder if that is a good idea!

3. Bo chews carpet, plastic, wood, anything so how can I accommodate his feet?

Here's my thoughts as of today - which I cannot implement for at least a couple of days - I have some sort of cold/flu and I can't even function much as it is - but I am going to work on it.

- Floor - big plastic drop pan, cage - NIC

- 1 small 2nd level with NIC covered in resting mats as they are now

- plastic to cover woodypet in litter box

- grass mats for covering the plastic floor but he will chew those up too.... I can replace them but he will go through a couple in a couple of days basically. :?He sort of becomes obcessed!

CURRENTLY his cage is long and skinny - Due to his wetting on the end of it where he jumps to the lower level, I had to put a litterbox there. I tried to rearrange things and he wouldn't change - he wanted to pee right at the place he has to jump down - conveniant potty I guess....

*sigh*



ps - I have not read your entire log yet - my head is pounding and I can't really concentrate that long right now.

 

[tundrakatiebean]

My Wash had sore hock for a short while in a solid bottomed NIC cage. He's on top of a table and the vet thought that the real problem was the wood. After I covered the table they seemed to clear up. I also used triple antibiotic ointment on his sore (just one foot had one) 2 times a day. I didn't use a bandage because I knew he would eat it right away.

I'm glad Chowder is starting to heal up

 

[clarzoo]

Bo B Bunny- I've had rabbits on wire for years with no problems. The first bunny I put on a solid bottom cage and, BAM! sore hocks. I thought that wouldn't be an issue at all.

I sure hope you get feeling better.

How does Bo do with fleece? It is something rabbits can chew on, but can't really chew it up and ingest long fibers. It is very cushiony- I've made a pillow of fleece with 3" thick layer of shavings between the folded layers of fleece. She loves this pillow. What I did the other day is to layer the whole bottom of her cage with straw. It has a lot of give, and will support the whole foot. Is there any way you could do this with Bo's cage? Maybe with shavings or hay? It's messy- but very helpful. The hardest part is once the sore develops, it will become irritated by scratchy bedding (like hay, shavings, straw). That is why I started using the fleece. Keep a close eye on the rest of his paws, they will often begin developing sore hocks as he shifts his weight off the first sore.



TundraKatieBean-

So glad to hear you got Wash's sore hock under control so fast! That is great!





I think the old addage of 'solid bottom' prevents sore hocks isn't always true, unless there is a thick layer of bedding on top of the solid layer. Think of how a rabbit's foot is designed and watch how it sits on a hard floor, or even thin carpet, versus grass, straw or shavings. Those front nails can't go into the hard surface causing the rabbits weight to rock back on it's hocks!

 

[tundrakatiebean]

clarzoo wrote:

TundraKatieBean-

So glad to hear you got Wash's sore hock under control so fast! That is great!





I think the old addage of 'solid bottom' prevents sore hocks isn't always true, unless there is a thick layer of bedding on top of the solid layer. Think of how a rabbit's foot is designed and watch how it sits on a hard floor, or even thin carpet, versus grass, straw or shavings. Those front nails can't go into the hard surface causing the rabbits weight to rock back on it's hocks!

I saw the sore just after it started to lose hair, it never got a chance to open. I was really lucky to catch it as early as I did.


Exactly! The vet (Dr. Seeba, he's great) gave me a copy of the 'sore hock' section of a rabbit medical text, it has diagrams of how the foot should lay and how it does when it would cause sore hock.



Another thing people miss a lot is that sore hock happens on front feet too.

 

[clarzoo]

Yes, very true. Poor Chowder has developed sore hocks on her front feet from trying to take weight off her back feet. Thank goodness they haven't opened and we've got her on some nice soft bedding now. Hopefully they will heal up quickly.

tundrakatiebean wrote:

Another thing people miss a lot is that sore hock happens on front feet too.

 

[NZminilops]

I'm really sorry about Chowder, but I just had to say thank you! I never thought before about how un-natural a hard surface is for a rabbit to be standing on, it's really made me think. In nature they would be on soil and soft grass or snow so that makes a lot of sense.

 

[clarzoo]

I am glad that you have learned something from my post. That's exactly why I took the time to write it up!

NZminilops wrote:

I'm really sorry about Chowder, but I just had to say thank you! I never thought before about how un-natural a hard surface is for a rabbit to be standing on, it's really made me think. In nature they would be on soil and soft grass or snow so that makes a lot of sense.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Bo does ok with fleece - I'll get some and work on a bedding for him.

I wish he wouldn't pee on it - I'd give him a pillow to walk on

 

[RAL Rabbitry]

Try putting pieces of drywall down for them to sit on. It cushions their feet

has a drying effect and is cheap so it can be changed often and it won't

hurt them if they chew it.

I use Preparation H on sore hocks. It reduces swelling and has an astringent

effect on the wound.

Roger

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I would think the drywall would be bad if they ate it..... :?

 

[RAL Rabbitry]

Drywall doesn't hurt them at all. It is just Gypsum with paper over it.

Roger

 

[Pipp]

RAL Rabbitry wrote:

Drywall doesn't hurt them at all. It is just Gypsum with paper over it.

Considering the state of my walls, I'm very happy to hear this, Roger! :biggrin2:

Clarzoo, how is Chowder doing?



sas :?

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Pipp wrote:

RAL Rabbitry wrote:

Drywall doesn't hurt them at all. It is just Gypsum with paper over it.

Considering the state of my walls, I'm very happy to hear this, Roger! :biggrin2:

Clarzoo, how is Chowder doing?



sas :?

:roflmao:

 

[clarzoo]

Thanks for asking!



Chowder seems to be improving! Every time we take the bandages off, we see improvement. I think the biggest help has been to get her into a bigger enclosure with the really, really thick bedding. Up until Friday we've had to keep her wrapped in very thick, cumbersome bandages for her to have any relief. But when my roomate and I unwrapped her Friday evening we were treated to pink, shiny, healthy skin and very little ooziness. She only has one very small spot that is still slightly ulcerated. Woohoo!! So that evening we took her bandages, soaked her in an Epsom salt bath and let her dry out for a while with no bandages (she was on fleece bedding). When we re-wrapped her we used the antibiotic cream and a much thinner padded bandage. She loves it and is still comfortable! She's able to move around much more comfortably now and is able to sit flat on her hocks without rocking back! YIPEEE!!



I know we still have a ways to go, and the biggest thing will be to see if she grows and fur back on the bottoms of her feet. But we think that in the next week or two she probably won't have to be wrapped anymore- as long as we keep her on the super thick bedding.



Oh, also- The drywall idea is great. Thanks! I will get a hold of some and also tell my friend to put some in her Checkered cages as a preventative.

 

[ratmom]

So fleece is ok to use then? I just noticed a couple days ago our holland is getting it on both back feet and he's been in a flat bottom cage for 3 years now so I was shocked to learn this. I always thought wire was bad. I'm so glad Chowder is improving we are all pulling for her

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Bo has new fleece I got in the reminant bin at walmart! It's CARS theme! LOL!

He loves it cause he has LOTS of blankies now and makes a big nest. I also have the plastic in his box which makes his potty time less harsh on his feet!

I'll be keeping a close eye on his sores..... I'll let you know how he does!

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

Try using vet bed - I use it with Millie and it is so soft and cushioned (sort of like a very thick fleece blanket), it'sthe next best thing to natural soft earth (but much easier to clean!) Many owners use it for their sore hocks rabbits - or just as a comfy flooring.

Here is the USA website:

http://vetbedusa.com/