New rabbit with sore hocks

[ljamos]

Last night we brought home a new rabbit companion for our lop Trixie. Oscar is a neutered, litter-trained standard Rex, but he has sore hocks. They aren't cracked or bleeding, just red and inflamed. His temporary home until they are bonded is in our spare large pet store cage that has a plastic bottom. I use fleece and carpet squares in Trixie's NIC cage, so I put down fleece bedding in his cage too. Last night he was chewing at it a lot (not eating, just gnawing), which I was worried about, and he peed on it a lot, which I know is marking territory. He has also been pooping up a storm in the cage.

For the hocks, I ordered a big tin of Bag Balm online and until it gets here I'm going to use Neosporin. However, I have a few questions.

First, I know that keeping the cage clean is very important but how do I balance that with his need to mark his new territory?

Second, what kind of litter would be best for his feet? I use a wire-covered pan and paper pellets for Trixie because she likes to throw her litter everywhere, but I'm guessing the wire-covered pan won't work for him.

Third, should I keep using the fleece bedding even though he's been gnawing at it, or is there a way I can dissuade him from chewing at it? If not, is there something else I should try that would be good for his feet?

And finally, and I think this might be a silly question, how do I keep the Neosporin/Bag Balm from just rubbing off on the fleece or whatever bedding I wind up using?

Thank you!!!

 

[Kimberly09]

I am no expert, so don't take my advise as so. I'm sure some more very knowledgeable people will come on and give you their thoughts as well.

I recently had a foster that had sore hocks. What I did was line her cage with 3 layers of towels to increase the softness and give on her feet. But if he chews/eats the towels it could cause a blockage. I remember reading on here that fleece has small short fibers and is safe for bunnies. So if he is chewing on the fleece it won't cause a blockage like a towel would. You can try to put multiple layers of fleece down. That way too the urine will soak through the layers and won't be as wet on top. I would change out the fleece everyday. Have some back ups you can wash for the next day so you always have a clean supply on hand. If he is peeing ALOT you can always change it more as needed.

As for litter, I use wood pellets. But what I did for my foster was put a layer of carefresh over the top to pad it more. My only issue with that was that she peed a lot and then stood on the wet carefresh. So once or twice a day I just threw a new layer of carefresh over the top. I changed the litter box completely once every day or two depending on how dirty it got.

Now lastly, as far as apply balms to his feet. I never had to do that because my fosters sore hocks were never open wounds. I would not apply them with out seeing what the more experienced rabbit savy people think. Because I thought I read on here once that if they sore hocks aren't open wounds then don't apply them because they can actually make the feet softer and more likely to open up which is bad and then at risk for infection. But again, I only slightly remember reading this, so wait till some more members come along

Oh and have you taken him to the vet yet? A rabbit savy vet would have some good recommendations on how best to treat him. We can only do out best to guide you, but lets face it, we aren't rabbit doctors!

 

[ljamos]

Thanks Kimberly09! He hasn't been chewing on his fleece as much today, but he keeps bunching it up and then sitting back down on the hard plastic surface. I'll try the multiple layers and see if that helps deter the bunching any. I'll also get some of the carefresh for his pan today so I can keep a layer over top of the regular litter.

I hadn't heard that about the balms opening the feet up more! I'll hold off on putting any on until I see what other members have to say. I'm going to call my vet tomorrow to see if we can get a check-up scheduled for this week to have his feet looked at. He's not overweight, and he had one long claw when he came but I got that trimmed down. I am wondering about what to do once he's more acclimated to being here. We have Trixie out running around the living room a lot, but our carpet isn't very soft or forgiving. I would like to do the same with him; I guess it will just be a matter of constant vigilance with his feet then?

 

[Doc Oc]

Sore hocks suck But, on the bright side his aren't open wounds.

We had two cases of sore hocks at my rabbitry, one with and one without open wounds. Unfortunately we lost the open wounds bun, however our other is doing fine.

I would wrap his feet, if he is biting at them. And, if it gets any worse or not getting better I would take him to a vet. If you wrap him, you need VetWrap or the cheaper human version which is just self-adhesive tape you can get at like CVS or somewhere that sells human first aid stuff, and for padding either rabbit fur or gauze. You should change the wrap daily.

I wouldn't put anything on it, just because its not really necessary. IF you must put something on it, get Silver Sulphadiazine/Chlorhexidine ointment, it works wonders! Again, don't apply it if not necessary. If his feet are raw, then the ointment is a lifesaver.

As for hopping around the living room, I would wrap his feet and then limit the activity to maybe an hour max twice a day until you start to see fur returning.

Be careful with litter too, clay based litter is toxic for buns. Use newspaper or Yesterday's News, its a cat litter that is just recycled newspaper.
Also, I wouldn't let the buns play together till he's better.

If all goes well in a few weeks he should be fine

 

[BlueMoods]

When I get one with sore hocks. I put them in a large animal carrier that I have cut Velux blankets to cover the floor of entirely. That gives them a soft place to be and, the blanket pieces are easy to shake out and wash as needed. I use bag balm as well. Having it cover all of the floor seems to discourage chewing.

I wouldn't worry over the territoy until you get his hocks healed up, his comfort is more important. He can establish a territory when he's all healed up.

If you want to keep using the fleece, perhaps you can give him something he likes to chew on better. Flavored wooden rodent chews, a piece of sterilized bone, whatever he likes better than his bedding.

The main thing is not to make him walk on wire at all until he's healed. Would you want to walk on wire if your feet were as sore as his hocks? Use that as your guide, put him on surfaces you would be okay walking on if your feet were sore like that.

 

[JBun]

Fleece is good to use, but if he keeps peeing on it and chewing it, that could be a problem. Something that might work is lining the bottom of the cage with newspapers or your paper litter, to absorb any urine, then put in a thick layer of soft hay. Then each day you can sprinkle a fresh layer of hay over the top, and after a few days(depending on how messy he is)clean it all out and put new hay in. You may also need to protect his feet for now. Sometimes using baby socks will work. You use a small strip of vetwrap to secure the top. Just make sure not to wrap it too tight or it can cut off the circulation and cause serious problems.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f27/bunny-trouble-69718/index2.html

You don't necessarily need to put anything on the skin, as this will just soften the skin, which isn't something you really want happening. If there are open sores and not just red and slightly inflamed, you want to get him into a vet.

If you need some good things for him to chew on, apple branches are great, early growth willow branches, hard dried pine cones, and even thoroughly dried pine blocks.

 

[ljamos]

Thanks for the tips everyone! I've been keeping an eye on his feet. He doesn't seem to be in any pain, and they are still just red (no cracking/bleeding). I've put down more layers fleece, and he's stopped chewing on it and he's started peeing exclusively in his litter box (pooping is another matter but I can get those cleaned up quickly and easily). I've gotten stuff to wrap his feet to protect them, and I'm hopeful that with the extra attention they will heal up soon! Thanks again!

 

[JBun]

If it is just a little red and not really inflamed, you may be fine not wrapping and just having the fleece in the cage(unless he gets lots of out of cage time on hard rough floor surfaces). If you do wrap the feet with vet wrap, just be very careful about wrapping it too tightly, and keep and eye on attempts to chew at it. You don't want your bun chewing off and ingesting pieces of it.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sorehocks.html