Alexah
Well-Known Member
Well, Margot has sore hocks. I'm trying to remain calm and accept that these things happen, but I feel awful guilty right about now.
I knew this was a distinct possibility with her since she came to me with some raised sores (scabs?) on her two hind legs. The person I got her from had kept her on wire and despite my telling this person otherwise, continues to keep her others on wire bottomed floors as well. But I suppose, at this point, that's neither here nor there.
I had been treating her hocks with some bag balm once a day. She seemed to do well with it and never even attempted to lick at it.She's very docile so it's been a dream to handle her. She also has a small cat bed and a fleece blanket in her pen (the floor is plywood with linoleum tiles)so she has more than ample space to "rest." The raised patches seemed to recede some and she never acted as though she was in any discomfort. But I did continue to keep an eye on her hocks. Well, obviously until now...
I was out of town this weekend visiting my father and sending off my youngest brother to college. My "mom" was taking care of the bunnies and she does great with them so I really wasn't concerned. But, in my hurry to get out of town, I forget to tell her about Margot's hocks. It's not so much that I was concerned, but I wanted to keep an eye on them to ensure they wouldn't get worse. Well, my mistake because they are definitely not looking good. To make matters evenworse, I have been in bed with some kind of stomach bug for the last couple of days. I've had my bunnies out and have of course taken care of them, but I haven't done my normal once over because my routine's been off.No one looked off so I just let it slide.And that's why I'm feeling guilty.
Her left hind foot has an (open?) sore on it. It is red and just looks very angry. She doesn't seem to be favoring her other foot and even when I touch it she is not acting as though she's in pain. But it looks like it would hurt and I obviously don't want it to get any worse. I left a voice mail for my vet so she'll probably return my call in the morning. I suspect she won't want me to come in, but I'd like her to know what's going on regardless. I had a small piece of vet bed left over and I put that in the corner of her pen and I also put in another fleece blanket. I cleaned it with a warm cotton ball and then applied a light coating of a triple antibiotic cream (the generic, store bought equivalent of Bacitracin, I think (it's Walmart's Equate brand)). She went right over to the vet bed, plopped down, and lazily started munching on her hay. I know she's okay and will be alright...it's just that she and I have built up this special bond in the time since she came to me and it hurts me to know she's hurting (or could hurt in the future).
Is there anything else I can do or should be doing? I know my vet will have some advice, but I figured it couldn't hurt to put this here as well. I'd also love suggestions on how to possibly prevent sore hocks on her in the future. She has extremely sparse fur on her feet and I'd hate for this to continue to be a constant issue. I knew this about rexes, but with her being a velveteen lop I'm finding it to be much, much worse. Such is life when dealing with a new breed I guess. And since she was the "throw away" from my"friend's" breeding program (ha!) I'm just even more concerned about her bunnies and the conditions they're in.Any advice, support, or whatever would be appreciated. And until then I'll just keep Margot comfy and me calm...I suppose that's as good as it gets.
I knew this was a distinct possibility with her since she came to me with some raised sores (scabs?) on her two hind legs. The person I got her from had kept her on wire and despite my telling this person otherwise, continues to keep her others on wire bottomed floors as well. But I suppose, at this point, that's neither here nor there.
I had been treating her hocks with some bag balm once a day. She seemed to do well with it and never even attempted to lick at it.She's very docile so it's been a dream to handle her. She also has a small cat bed and a fleece blanket in her pen (the floor is plywood with linoleum tiles)so she has more than ample space to "rest." The raised patches seemed to recede some and she never acted as though she was in any discomfort. But I did continue to keep an eye on her hocks. Well, obviously until now...
I was out of town this weekend visiting my father and sending off my youngest brother to college. My "mom" was taking care of the bunnies and she does great with them so I really wasn't concerned. But, in my hurry to get out of town, I forget to tell her about Margot's hocks. It's not so much that I was concerned, but I wanted to keep an eye on them to ensure they wouldn't get worse. Well, my mistake because they are definitely not looking good. To make matters evenworse, I have been in bed with some kind of stomach bug for the last couple of days. I've had my bunnies out and have of course taken care of them, but I haven't done my normal once over because my routine's been off.No one looked off so I just let it slide.And that's why I'm feeling guilty.
Her left hind foot has an (open?) sore on it. It is red and just looks very angry. She doesn't seem to be favoring her other foot and even when I touch it she is not acting as though she's in pain. But it looks like it would hurt and I obviously don't want it to get any worse. I left a voice mail for my vet so she'll probably return my call in the morning. I suspect she won't want me to come in, but I'd like her to know what's going on regardless. I had a small piece of vet bed left over and I put that in the corner of her pen and I also put in another fleece blanket. I cleaned it with a warm cotton ball and then applied a light coating of a triple antibiotic cream (the generic, store bought equivalent of Bacitracin, I think (it's Walmart's Equate brand)). She went right over to the vet bed, plopped down, and lazily started munching on her hay. I know she's okay and will be alright...it's just that she and I have built up this special bond in the time since she came to me and it hurts me to know she's hurting (or could hurt in the future).
Is there anything else I can do or should be doing? I know my vet will have some advice, but I figured it couldn't hurt to put this here as well. I'd also love suggestions on how to possibly prevent sore hocks on her in the future. She has extremely sparse fur on her feet and I'd hate for this to continue to be a constant issue. I knew this about rexes, but with her being a velveteen lop I'm finding it to be much, much worse. Such is life when dealing with a new breed I guess. And since she was the "throw away" from my"friend's" breeding program (ha!) I'm just even more concerned about her bunnies and the conditions they're in.Any advice, support, or whatever would be appreciated. And until then I'll just keep Margot comfy and me calm...I suppose that's as good as it gets.
