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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Sore Hocks: Infected & Bleeding

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    • Moon_Bunny
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        My 8 year old Himalayan Dwarf Mix named Dunkin has a pretty bad case of sore hocks.  He’s pretty much always been missing hair on his hocks and they always look pink. Sometimes there will be a callus. There was an incident back in 2012 with his hocks bleeding. I actually posted about it on this forum here (side note- I made a new account because I lost access to my old one). Anyway, I followed the advice given and bought a Precision Pet SnooZZy mat. Didn’t have anymore problems. This year I changed the bunny cage and had to toss out the SnooZZy mat since it was gross looking. I’ve been using layers of blankets over the linoleum. Everything has been fine until about a week or two ago I noticed his hocks looked a bit irritated. I put bag balm on them to be safe.

        Today I was cleaning out the bunny pen when I noticed this where Dunkin likes to sit and sleep. It was partially covered so I missed seeing it until now:

        Yes, those are blood stains and I majorly freaked when I saw them!  I was ready to rush him to an emergency vet thinking something truly awful must be wrong, but then I remembered his history of sore hocks. I picked him up and looked at his feet. Sure enough, they looked very inflamed with varying shades of red, some spots light and some very dark. I was a bit relieved he wasn’t in immediate peril, but I knew it was still dangerous and of course painful. I applied some Bag Balm as a protective layer and to help soothe, then I got on the phone.



        I immediately contacted the owner of the rabbit rescue I volunteer with for advice. She said to bring him to the rescue so I did. It turns out his hocks were even worst than I thought. Each foot had a pocket of pus that we were able to get out. We cleaned up his feet and disinfected. One of them started bleeding very badly, but we were able to get it to stop. That foot had to be wrapped to prevent further bleeding. Dunkin was given some Metacam for the pain. When I got home I made their cage smaller since he needs to not move around as much.



        First thing in the morning I will be calling the vet. Hopefully he can be seen tomorrow. Fingers crossed the infection hasn’t gotten into the bone. That is truly my worst fear at this moment. I’m amazed and horrified at how quickly it got this bad. It was only a week or two ago that I noticed his hocks looked a bit irritated. Dunkin hyperventilates when you pick him up so I try to avoid it except for grooming. 

        I feel incredibly guilty that I didn’t catch this sooner… My poor baby! 


      • Bam
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          I’m so sorry, how awful for you both! I’m glad you could get help at the rescue! Bleeding is actually not so bad, it cleanses a wound and blood has factors in it that helps with the healing-process. I too hope the vet can see him right away, he could need oral or i.m. antibiotics. But you obviously know all that, I read through your old thread.

          Memory foam bath mats can be good for a bun with sore hocks. One of our leaders here, LPT (she wrote in your thread of 2012) used memory foam bathmats with her bun who had sore hock-tendencies.

          If you want access to your old account, I think BB can see to that. I’ll ask her if you want to. 


        • Moon_Bunny
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            Posted By bam on 11/07/2016 1:21 AM

            I’m so sorry, how awful for you both! I’m glad you could get help at the rescue! Bleeding is actually not so bad, it cleanses a wound and blood has factors in it that helps with the healing-process. I too hope the vet can see him right away, he could need oral or i.m. antibiotics. But you obviously know all that, I read through your old thread.

            Memory foam bath mats can be good for a bun with sore hocks. One of our leaders here, LPT (she wrote in your thread of 2012) used memory foam bathmats with her bun who had sore hock-tendencies.

            If you want access to your old account, I think BB can see to that. I’ll ask her if you want to. 

            Thank you for easing my mind a bit about the bleeding. More concerning is the pus and infection though. 

            Dunkin saw a vet today. Not one I usually use but supposedly experienced with rabbits. I was very disappointed and feel it was practically a waste of $67. The vet barely even looked at Dunkin’s feet even after I told him about the pus and bleeding. He prescribed TMS which was good, but wouldn’t prescribe Metacam due to Dunkin’s age. He’s only 8! Hardly a super old bunny  Does a senior age mean he should be just left in pain? I sure wouldn’t want sores and infection on my feet without some pain meds. They didn’t even clean his feet any or apply anything to them. He prescribed Mupirocin but they didn’t have any so I would have to pick it up. Seriously, it was terrible.

            The rabbit rescue called a different vet for me after I told them about this bad experience. This other vet has treated sore hocks with great success and done it properly from the sounds of it. I tried going there first but they didn’t have space. Thankfully the rescue owner was able to get them to squeeze Dunkin in tomorrow morning. They even said they would help me with costs if I need assistance in paying, which is wonderful.

            I bought a huge polyester fleece mat for the bunny cage. Very soft and cushioned. I’m confident it should help with arthritis and sore hocks! 

            P.S. ~ Yes, please do ask BB about accessing my old account. I’ve actually been a member for a long time and would love to have it back. Thank you very much.


          • Bam
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            16838 posts Send Private Message

              I’m glad the rescue helped you get an appt with another vet. Metacam is actually quite commonly prescribed to senior and geriatric rabbits that have arthritis/joint problems, age-related stiffness with associated pain etc. Long-term use seems to cause few adverse effects in rabbits according to Medirabbit, but it mustn’t be given to bunnies that have poor kidney function.

              The pus is of course way more worrisome than blood. As you know it often needs to be cleaned out completely because it won’t drain of its own, rabbit’s pus is thick like toothpaste. If there’s lots of pus in an abscess, the antibiotics often can’t access the bacteria like they should. TMS and muciprocin are bunny safe, so he did that right, at least. I hope this other vet will be more helpful.

              I’ve asked BB to look into the possibility of accessing your old account.


            • Moon_Bunny
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                The other vet was very glad I brought Dunkin in. I had to drop him off because there wasn’t enough space for an actual appointment, but the vet wrote very detailed notes which were great! 

                He said I caught it early, which is a relief. Despite that, his hocks are not in good shape. They treated his feet, put some ointment on them then wrapped them. He said wrapping was important because it would promote better healing, scar tissue and protect the granulation. I need to change his bandages weekly. The vet also said to not use the TMS and he put Dunkin on Baytril. He wanted him on something stronger. He said I can use the Metcam the rescue gave me. He also said how Dunkin will be very prone to this problem from now on, so it’s something I will have to constantly be watching for. 

                Dunkin’s foot wraps:

                Last night Dunkin’s foot looked a quite bit swollen.  This morning I brought him to the rescue to get the owner’s opinion. She agreed and we rewrapped the bandage on that foot to not be as tight. She instructed me to rub his feet now and then to promote good circulation as well. She also gave Dunkin some sub-q fluids because he has been drinking very minimally.

                We are all very committed to seeing Dunkin recover and feel better 


              • Bam
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                16838 posts Send Private Message

                  I’m glad you got to a better vet – it sounds like a much better vet too. The rescue seems like a wonderful resource. It’s not altogether easy to apply a bandage exactly right regarding tightness. You can try and smell the bandaged hocks daily, infected wounds have a foul smell.

                  Many healing-vibes for (((((Dunkin)))))

                  We’d really appreciate updates!


                • LittlePuffyTail
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                    Poor little bub….. (((((Healing Vibes)))))

                    While I’ve never dealt with such severe sore hocks, I have found that very cushy memory foam bath mats are very helpful as flooring. I splurged and bought some really nice ones at Bed, Bath & Beyond.


                  • jerseygirl
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                    22338 posts Send Private Message

                      Cute little feet!  I hope he’s been leaving the wrapping alone.  Ive been looking into different things for hock also as one of my rabbits has some little sores. His are a healed scab, that dark brown colour.  Ive put sudocrem on them and bandaids

                       on for the moment to get an extra layer of protection. Online, I saw some manuka band aids which would be good. 

                      Watch that area above the foot where the bandages can pinch. I was reading about that on HRS site. You can cut out that area if it becomes an issue. 

                      If you are still seeing those spots in his cage, despite the hock being wrapped, then maybe it’s pee?  That’s what I thought it was when I first saw the photo. 

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                  Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Sore Hocks: Infected & Bleeding