Sore hocks and swollen toe

[EttersOwner]

I'm currently driving to Cincinnati, OH with my 2 year old unspayed male pet rabbit and I have an issue. So Etters has a red and somewhat swollen toe on his front foot. It may either be from a person at a boarding center trimming his nails, m trimming his nails before that, or the wire cage he's traveling on. Not to mention the fact that he has sore hocks and his front feet are sore also.

Etters usual home is in an outdoor wire hutch with a wooden board for feet relief, which clearly hasn't done much(sore hocks) and he has been in a nice enough cage with carefresh bedding underneath the wire. I took the wire part off after I noticed the swollen toe and sore hocks so he's now standing on the bedding and hay over the flat metal surface.

He's been grooming his feet alot and almost seems to be gnawing on his swollen toe. Well either he's grooming alot or I just haven't noticed how much rabbits groom. I would prefer to take him to a vet once we reach Cincinnati but my parents are cheap and reluctant to go/pay for the cost. They've been putting him off getting neutered for over a year.

So is there a home remedy for his feet or am I going to have to beg until they agree to pay for/take me to the vet. Also we are 3 hours from our destination.

 

[tonyshuman]

Swollen in this case probably means infected. A vet should see it soon, especially if he's worrying at it.
abscess info (WARNING GRAPHIC) http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/Abscess/skin_abscess.htm
sore hocks info
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Mechanical/Pod/Podo.htm

 

[Tauntz]

I would get him to a vet as well. If you are near a veterinary college, many will see some animals for little to no cost since you sign off that you are allowing your pet to be seen to teach vets. in training. They still have a qualified veterinarian who is also a teacher there to both teach as they examine your pet & to make sure the veterinarians in training are doing all procedures correctly. This may be a helpful option if you are near a school & money is your parents main objection. I have taken a dog of mine for an eye problem & was very impressed with the whole experience. My dog had a thorough exam & was treated like a queen for the entire medical checkup. I was also with her every moment of the time she was there. But in any case I would check around to find a good rabbit vet in your area. Hope you can get your bun to the vet & hope he/she will be okay. Updates when you can.

 

[kmaben]

A short term relief is to get chamomille tea bags. Brew them then take the warm tea bags and place them on the sore foot. He probably is going into infection but the warmth will draw whatever out and the chamomille is a great relief and swelling reducer. Make sure bun doesnt eat them

 

[tonyshuman]

Tauntz, although I agree that a vet visit is a good idea and a vet college is a good place to take rabbits, I have not had the low cost/free experience you mention. It is expensive to train veterinarians, not to mention the cost of the actual care itself (supplies, meds, technicians, etc), so most vet schools are forced to charge for care like any private practice. I don't want to be a debbie downer, but also don't want people to look for free care at vet schools, which are already run on a shoestring budget. If cost is an issue, Humane Society or ASPCA chapters are most likely to be helpful.

wanted to edit to add that our checkups at the vet school were more expensive than private practice.