Sore hocks what can I do

[Pellzy91]

Hi I'm needing some advice about my males feet. He is around 5years old he is recently widowed, I have to groom him often as he's a lion head and gets matted very easily, so yesterday I was doing the groom and on checking his feet I noticed they were very red and sore. I have started using leucillin spray to keep the area clean just unsure on how bad this is. I can't attend a vet at moment for financial reasons so looking to try treat at home u till I can sort the costs of veterinary treatment. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have attached some photos of the feet. He is an out door bunnie not much hard surface he has a lot of grass area and his cage has a blanket in the bed who h is always dry and he has a littler tray in there 2 as he's trained. I put hay and saw dust around the cage which makes cleaning up wet patches alot easier. Thanks in advance

 

[JBun]

Check the sore areas very carefully. In the second photo, it looks like there could be an open sore, which means if it's not already infected, it will be prone to infection. If it's infected, there's really no other option but having your rabbit seen, as the vet will need to put your rabbit on a rabbit safe antibiotic like baytril or septrin, and the nsaid meloxicam. You may also want the vet to check for a secondary fungal infection.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-...abbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/
If there isn't an open sore, or if there is and it's not infected, then it becomes about protecting the foot from developing infection, and changing your rabbits living area floor surface to a soft substrate to help the feet heal. If the hay and sawdust aren't layered very deep to allow for him to rest his weight on his feet properly to take the weight off the heel, then you may need to layer the hay to be thicker. Not seeing your set up, I'm not sure what other flooring surface could be contributing to the problem. If you do a forum search using 'sore hocks', there are several threads that discuss the topic and what other rabbit owners have done to help correct the problem.

For protecting the feet, bandaging the feet may be necessary, but that should be done under a vets supervision. Because if it's done improperly, it can risk cutting off blood circulation in the foot and cause permanent damage. Here are some links about sore hocks and possible treatment and management options.

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Sore_hocks
http://www.disabledrabbits.com/sore-hocks.html
MediRabbit (sore hocks)

 

[Pellzy91]

Thank you I'll have a look at the links, he has got a scab on one of them but it dosnt look to be infected or anything. I rang the vet for some advice and she's recommended using sucdocream and the leucillin for a few days and to check again to see how he's healing. If it gets worse then he'll need to be seen. The hot weather has dried up the grass so it's rather hard atm so I think it's that which is the main cause. I'm hoping the cream and cleaning will work and he will be okay soon.
Thanks again

 

[Preitler]

My vet told me to cover all hard floors with currogated cardboard, it dampens the steps and is not abrasive, and I fenced off the paved areas of my front yard. Kept this up for half a year - cardboard and rugs in the parts of the house they have access to, not pretty, but worked.

 

[Pellzy91]

My vet told me to cover all hard floors with currogated cardboard, it dampens the steps and is not abrasive, and I fenced off the paved areas of my front yard. Kept this up for half a year - cardboard and rugs in the parts of the house they have access to, not pretty, but worked.

Thanks, it's hard as he's outdoors. There's a small amount of path to get to the garden but he's got full rein of the garden. I'm hoping the crean works bless him. I've added more padding to his cage and I'm looking into the foam mats aswell.
Thanks again