7 month old sore hocks!

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d0tti

d0tti

Active Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2012
Messages
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Location
SA, Australia
My bun Herman is a 7 month old Flemish x nz white female. She lives inside on various surfaces...she has run of the house. Carpet, lino, marble and wood floors. Two days ago noticed scabs on her heels. Ive trimmed her nails. Attempted to bandage but she kicked them off immediately! They don't appear to be painful. Shes eating drinking, weeing, pooing normally. I've called the vet (rabbit-savvy hour drive away) he said most likely staph infection and to bring her in next week for some cultures. He said unusual for a rabbit that young to have sore hocks. How could've she got this? Her area is clean. She uses a litter tray I change daily/every two days.
Anyone else experience staph infection in sore hocks?
Stressing here! I'm a nurse and am scared I've given her staph from work somehow!!!
 
It's fine to make your own thread as there is a bit of a different concern here. The bun has scabs, so they're a bit more advanced form of sore hocks, as opposed to reddish callouses. I don't think there's an infection unless they are swollen or angry, but you may want the vet to take a look. Putting cream on them daily for several days should help. I would use bag balm.
 
She has chewed the scabs off now has raw red skin on her heels. Waiting for 2 hours until the vet opens to call and ask to come in ASAP. She's looking uncomfortable now and her ears are very warm. :(
Thank you for your help. I'll have to find some cream to use. Poor baby :(
 
I've had the same issue with both Rusty and Akira (mini rex and rex respectively). The vet told me as long as they are not swollen, broken open, etc., they should be ok. He gave me a cream (Hyderm) that helps with some minor skin irritation, rashes, etc. You could always inquire about any creams that might specifically target that area and to help alleviate any irritation and swelling. The other thing that my vet told me is that sometimes areas that are carpeted can be rough on their hocks, especially if they spend a lot of time on the carpet.

Keep us posted on what the vet says. Good luck!

Cheers.
 
Flemish Giants are more prone to sore hocks because of their size and weight. It doesn't sound like they're infected, just inflamed. If they were oozing they'd be infected. I know that Preparation H can be used to help dry it up faster. Someone posted a thread about the trouble they had with their Rex rabbit (also prone to sore hocks) and she put baby socks on her rabbit's feet and taped the tops so they wouldn't fall off. She put them on anytime she let her rabbit run around.
 
So the vet is sure its MRSA. He said its not uncommon in that rabbit breed as they are generally bred for meat. I'm devastated. She has to wear a cone (e-collar) and I am to clean her feet with chlorhexidine daily until it clears up. She will always have the infection. :'(
I feel like a horrible pet owner.
 
It's just a problem that comes with that breed. You'll need to take extra precautions so her hocks don't get sore again. Did the vet give you instructions about how to do that? There are other threads on this subject that you could search for if you need ideas.
 
It's common in Flemmies as others have said, since they're so big. Often it is also genetic due to the shape of the feet/legs/spine as well. It's definitely not your fault. Did the vet also have you put on a moisturizing ointment after the daily wash with chlorhex? I would think that would be good to help with healing. How is she tolerating the cone? Is her weight ok? Sometimes excess weight can make sore hocks worse, as can long toenails.
 
My Vet told me to scrub and use chlorhexidine on her feet, leave a cone on and wait until it dries up. Then she should be okay, he wants to avoid antibiotics as much as possible, which i completely understand. I tried the cone on her this morning and she was VERY upset. I am a horrible mum :(

ADDIT: She is only 3.5kg. So her weight is good. The vet said nothing about moisturising ointment - however i mentioned zinc oxide and he said that is okay. So perhaps I will use that. I saw the mention of bag balm - what is this? Is it in Australia?

Do you think it is worth putting socks on as well, cotton baby socks perhaps?
 
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The socks might be good unless they will make her really upset. With the cone on, she probably won't be able to get them off. People here have used baby socks or the fingers from a pair of cotton gloves. I would think they'd let her fur grow back over the area so that she'll have that protection in the future, as well as keep them clean. Bag balm was developed for cows and it's similar to vaseline in texture. It also contains 8-hydroxyquinolin, which is antiseptic. Vaseline or some other petroleum jelly-based product should be good.

You may not end up using the cone long-term. Few bunnies will tolerate it. It's better to wrap the area you don't want them to get at very well so that they can't get at it. I linked to a pic of a bunny with socks on page 1, and they used A& D ointment, which is similar in texture to vaseline but made for diaper rash. Here are some more:
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Mechanical/Pod/Podo.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Surgery/Bandaging/band_foot.htm
 
She is absolutely not tolerating the cone, she was head butting everything. I've taken it off and tried the socks, she is running around kicking her feet in the air and running away from me, occasionally stopping to give me dirty looks. The socks have lasted an hour so far, so fingers crossed this will work. Can't get hold of chlorhex until mid week. I'll be using betadine until then (as per Vet).

Poor hunny bun. Thanks for your help TonysHuman :)
 
24 hours with socks on + betadine, the sores are drying up and looking much better already!

20130303_152848.jpg
 
Did your vet not send you home with any chlorahex? If they were really that bad, I might have asked about pain meds too. Is she eating alright?
 
I can get chlorhex from work so I said I will get it this week, betadine will be fine until then, I've got plenty at home. She is eating, drinking, urinating and pooping fine. I have metacam, but hesitant to give it as she doesn't appear uncomfortable. She is back to her usual self. Just unhappy about the socks lol.
 
Aww, I hope Herman continues to improve. I haven't had any problems with Monty's hocks before, but she HATED the e-collar they put on her after they repaired her spay stitches. She was forever trying to "wash" it off her head. I can't even imagine how you got the socks on her! Monty kicks and runs away if I so much as nudge a toe hair on her back feet. I've been trying to keep touching anyway and tell her good girl, but Flemmies sure tell you when they don't want something done!
 
HolyHandGrenade said:
Aww, I hope Herman continues to improve. I haven't had any problems with Monty's hocks before, but she HATED the e-collar they put on her after they repaired her spay stitches. She was forever trying to "wash" it off her head. I can't even imagine how you got the socks on her! Monty kicks and runs away if I so much as nudge a toe hair on her back feet. I've been trying to keep touching anyway and tell her good girl, but Flemmies sure tell you when they don't want something done!
Click to expand...

Haha! It is definitely a struggle. She grunts at me then kicks when I put her down, only turning back to give me evil looks. The E collar lasted a whole 15 minutes as she was head butting everything and her big dewlap (I assume that is normal, the vet wasn't concerned) made it an uncomfortably tight fit. I can't believe how well the socks work! The wounds look so much better.
 
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