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Forum DIET & CARE Painful recurring sore hocks- Rex Rabbit. Long term solutions?

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    • Autumn's Dad
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        Hello,

        Autumn has on-going sore hocks that resist rudimentary treatments such as vet recommended soft furnishings and Sudocreme (antiseptic ointment for rashes and sores). It is out of hand now, I’ve tried everything from flooring the room with soft fleece throws, to dog beds, to ointment but nothing seems to work. The vets around here are good with vital rabbit health but lack knowledge in this problem. I can’t have her live like this, but I am at a loss for solutions.

        She is a fair haired rex- her coat is not only short but thinner than most rexes leading to almost no heel cushioning- the problem. No flooring will work in her case due to this genetic problem I have found. The sores are not breached but large and dark red, she winces when they are touched .

        Thank you for your time

        A.D


      • Azerane
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          A few other thoughts just quickly before i have to leave for work Make sure her nails are kept nice and trim, any time her nails get too long they will be adding extra pressure to the hocks.

          You could also try wrapping the hocks/feet for extra cushioning. Obviously try it out at first when you are there to supervise. But some soft absorbent pads, and then wrapped in vet wrap might help to relieve the pressure. Might be worth asking your vet about as an option and if they could show you a correct way of wrapping. You would probably need to have both feet wrapped at a time, otherwise you’ll probably just end up with more pressure on the opposite hock.

          In terms of creams, I know that a lot of guinea pig owners use creams by Gorgeous Guineas. They have natural ointments for sore hocks and similar conditions. Designed for guinea pigs of course, but certainly safe for rabbits. I just think trying a different cream may have some benefit.


        • Bam
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            Here’s an article by Dr. Dana Krempels with instructions on how to wrap a bunny foot. In Autumn’s case the reason for her sore hocks is her rex fur, of course, so you can skip the part about causes. (Dr. Dana Krempels is a trusted source).

            LPT got very good results with memory foam bath mats.

            It’s important to keep the nails short.

            Silver sulphadiazine cream is another cream-option.


          • LittlePuffyTail
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              Like Bam mentioned, good quality Memory Foam Bath Mats have helped my buns in the past. I splurged and bought really good cushy ones at Bed Bath & Beyond. My little Bridge Bun, I pretty much did her whole condo in mats. I’m going to get more this weekend for my big boy who is starting with the baldness and redness. Of course, if your bun is free roam, that makes the flooring issue more difficult.

              I’ve also had success with something called DermaGel that I got from my vet.

              If you think she would tolerate, there is bandaging. I’ve even heard of people taking wads of shedded fur and putting on the hock and then bandaging it in place so it’s their own natural fur protecting them. Or I’ve heard of people skipping the bandages and using NewSkin Liquid Bandage to sort of glue the fur in place. These things will depend on your bunny though. My Olivia never tolerated bandages and was too much of an obsessive groomer to let the NewSkin dry.


            • Autumn's Dad
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                Thank you all for replying.

                Azerane- I do the best I can, but her quicks are pretty long. I think some kind of wrap or sleeve is needed, maybe some kind of sock she can use long term?
                Bam- thanks, that is very good to know, I probably will have to wrap them.
                LPT- That is my predicament, will she accept bandages or even hold still long enough to put them on? plus the difficulty in flooring an entire room/s with bath mats. Interesting idea with the newskin

                Thanks for the cream ideas, although cream is very difficult to put on her and being a constant groomer (I forgot to mention) she just eats it,  long term I think she will have to wear a sort of sock or bandage constantly to prevent sore hocks reoccurring. the question is will it work? will she accept them? let me put them on? tear them off?

                Sorry if this seems cynical, but sore hock solutions tend to sound good in principle but difficult or impossible in practice. A frustrating condition for sure.


              • Luna
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                  I’m not sure how it works, but you can actually cause the quick to recede by trimming her nails more frequently. Try trimming her nails every 2 weeks – you don’t have to trim off a lot (as there probably won’t be too much nail growth within that time), but just the tiniest bit each session will do the trick. It will take some time, but after awhile you should notice a difference in the length of her quicks.


                • Autumn's Dad
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                    Luna- thanks for the advice, I’m working on desensitising her to being picked up to allow for easier trimming and trancing where necessary as it will be for bandaging.


                  • Luna
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                      Luna is a little scrambler when it’s nail trimming time, and she is immune to the bunny burrito and trancing. So what I do now is I put her on the kitchen table (a higher up space and an area she is not familiar with) and she stays pretty still.


                    • Autumn's Dad
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                        I’m sorry to have to re-open this thread, but Autumn is in a very bad way. I am taking her to the vet tomorrow as almost her whole back feet and front ‘fingers’ are red raw, with one back heel cracked into an open sore, though not bleeding. With her new litter box, I am changing litter every day now to prevent infection.

                        Should I cut out pellets compleatly? I would hardly call her obese. I feed less than an egg cup a day.

                        Despite monthly nail trimming, her quicks remain very long unfortunately

                        Her with her new tray, how does she look; average, fat, obese? Thank you for reading


                      • LittlePuffyTail
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                          Sorry to hear she is not doing well. Your vet will probably put her on oral meds if there is an open wound and possibly give you something to wash her hocks with.

                          She looks a bit plump but not obese for sure although it’s hard to tell and I’m no expert. Rex’s tend to be a bit plumper. I prefer a bit of chubbiness over being too thin. I suggest you discuss her weight with your vet as well as any diet changes he/she recommends.It’s a good idea to monitor weight for gain/loss. I use a kitchen scale for my little Bindi and weigh him once a month. 

                          Have you tried memory foam mats? I know you mentioned she had a whole room. Maybe the only solution right now is to confine her to smaller area that you can completely cover with soft mats until they heal properly.


                        • Autumn's Dad
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                            Thank you for the info LPT. She has become very clingy lately and while I like that, I believe it is partly because she is in pain. I will mention the weight to them, last they said she was upper range but still healthy weight. That in front of the new tray is a memory foam mat with fleece over it, now her space is half covered with them. That would be very stressful for both us, but will see what has to be.

                            On the chubbiness, I agree, I find it sad to see a skinny rabbit as it gives the impression of suffering (how can you resist the little face and paws clambering your leg in hope of a treat? ). But I’m aware of the dangers of obesity and don’t want that for her.


                          • GeorgieTheBunny
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                              My Rex was starting to lose her hock fur in more then just the heel. Bald patches creeped into the palm area that looked red but not angry, happily no open sores.

                              Here’s what we did and the hair started growing back:

                              -Wood stove pellets in the litter box were covered by a thick enough layer of care fresh to be cushiony.
                              -We replaced the “loop fibre” carpet with a low pile carpet (we went to the ‘end of the roll’ section of our local department store and got the SOFTEST “short length shag” we could get)
                              -Every part of her condo now had multi layers of fleece
                              -She was cut off from areas of the house that weren’t carpeted or covered for her
                              -We were mixing Epsom salts with warm water, soaking a towel then wringing it out. Putting that damp towel in the bottom of her carrier and putting her inside for 15 minutes – twice a day to disinfect (this may be a poor decision in some cases as Rex fur is more likely to fall out if you let it get softened by moisture)

                              We tried wrapping her hocks, as per the links you were given, but Georgie would have none of it! We couldn’t collect enough fur to pad the bandages so we went to a baby store and got aged 0-2 month socks then used vet wrap over that. Georgie wasn’t in much pain so she would kick off our work within a few minutes.
                              I hear rabbits who find the socks improve their hopping situation leave them on…. It’s worth a shot


                            • Autumn's Dad
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                                Georgie- thanks for the useful tips. I am doing all of the above bar covering the litter and the socks, I may try that. I don’t know how I could get her still enough for wrapping either.

                                Update- just got beck from the vets, said her case is mild -_- and gave me some anti-inflammatory oral meds and cream. Just that cost me £70 or $90 US! this is why I seldom visit, they are thieves for the prices they charge. Whats weirder- her whole spay op cost little over £100 ($129 US). They will see us back in 10 days.


                              • GeorgieTheBunny
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                                  It always took two of us to put on socks… More difficult then nail trimming for sure.

                                  I would pick her up and place her in my lap against me; her spine supported by my stomach and chest, her front paws supported by my left hand, and my right hand under her bum. As she settles we would move the right hand with her bum in it forward a bit. That would help her back legs stick out more. Then the second person would put the super stretchy fluffy sock over her foot (cut out the toe area of the sock for the nails!)

                                  This could be a ballet of deft manoeuvres on Georgie’s part, she’s an escape artist.

                                  We would have vet wrap standing by in the correct lengths and all of this was done at floor level in a pen. It never worked on the first try.

                                  Sorry about the vet – glad she was seen though


                                • Autumn's Dad
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                                    Thanks, true at least they did give her something for it. Interesting, thanks for sharing the method


                                  • BanditCamp
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                                      Remember that as a breed Rexes have short satin fur. most bunnies have really fluffy feet that prevent what my vets call “rex rubs” which is the start of the sore hocks. I try to cover as much space as possible with soft fleeces and mats for my bunny and my rabbit knows he hard wood floors are uncomfortable and unless hes laying on them for a nap he avoids them like the plague. Which will be hard as my new house will have at least 80% hard wood.


                                    • Autumn's Dad
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                                        Hi Bandit, sorry for the delay. Thank you for the info, and that’s like me, new place will be mostly hardwood but will lay down rugs/fleece. Decided I am going to slowly but drastically drop her weight to ease her hocks as medicine is ineffective (got so bad she had to see the doc) and even they said there is little I can do as her nails were deemed a good length and flooring good. I feel that this will help her as she used to be skinny and she didn’t suffer so badly. I will halve her pellet intake and substitute with more leafy greens.

                                        Thank you all for your time, I have taken far too much of it but I feel I can better manage the condition thanks to your help.

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                                    Forum DIET & CARE Painful recurring sore hocks- Rex Rabbit. Long term solutions?