Sore hocks

[eurydice2003]

Hi all!

My rabbit Eurydice has developed one small sore hock on her paw. This is likely due to the fact that we had to keep her in a carrier on a fairly long road trip and even though she had ample hay and padding, she still had to sit for most of it. I was wondering if this warranted a vet visit or if it would heal on its own. Her behavior has not changed at all though! She still runs around normally and does not appear to be in pain. I’m attaching a photo below. At the moment, my dad has COVID so I’ve been exposed and am quarantining. If this is urgent, please let me know so I can arrange someone to take her to the vet! Please ignore some of the brown waxy stuff, she was a rescue and due to her heart condition she cannot be spayed.

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

This isn’t really a sore hock just yet, but it can get to that point, so it is something to keep an eye on and it’s worth putting preventative measures up!

I don’t think it’s a worth a vet visit just yet, as when I took my own bun for it they just said to monitor it and if it got red, inflamed, started to bleed or got infected then they can do more.

The best thing you can do as of now, is getting her to exercise and maintain a healthy weight, keeping her on non-abrasive flooring (things like carpet, certain rugs, fleece, and concrete are abrasive), and making sure her nails are trimmed.

At this stage, it shouldn’t cause her many problems, but if you do find that it starts to blister, bleed, get swollen, inflamed or sore and red, it is good to get her to the vet. If she starts to limp and not put any pressure on her back legs, it’s worth a vet trip also.

Be sure to keep an eye on it and to prevent it with the ways I said. If you do, it shouldn’t get much worse, but it’s not likely to heal. But if she stays on abrasive flooring, it can and possibly will get worse than that.

As for non abrasive flooring, it’s best to layer a little bit. When my bun was at his worst, we had foam mats, fleece, towels, and then bed sheets to make sure that it was really cushy for him (he wasn’t a fan). But now, over a year later, I only really have a small rug for him outside of his crate and a huge storage tub of hay for him to hop in and out of whenever he pleases.

I hope this helps xx

 

[Preitler]

I doubt that a sore hock can come from sitting in a carrier. More likely causes are hard floors, or an abrasive carpet where she runs every day.
I would have a critical look at her living space.

I covered half the house with cardboard and fenced off the asphalt part of the front yard for half a year for the hocks of my boy to heal. But they were worse than that of your bun.

 

[eurydice2003]

This isn’t really a sore hock just yet, but it can get to that point, so it is something to keep an eye on and it’s worth putting preventative measures up!

I don’t think it’s a worth a vet visit just yet, as when I took my own bun for it they just said to monitor it and if it got red, inflamed, started to bleed or got infected then they can do more.

The best thing you can do as of now, is getting her to exercise and maintain a healthy weight, keeping her on non-abrasive flooring (things like carpet, certain rugs, fleece, and concrete are abrasive), and making sure her nails are trimmed.

At this stage, it shouldn’t cause her many problems, but if you do find that it starts to blister, bleed, get swollen, inflamed or sore and red, it is good to get her to the vet. If she starts to limp and not put any pressure on her back legs, it’s worth a vet trip also.

Be sure to keep an eye on it and to prevent it with the ways I said. If you do, it shouldn’t get much worse, but it’s not likely to heal. But if she stays on abrasive flooring, it can and possibly will get worse than that.

As for non abrasive flooring, it’s best to layer a little bit. When my bun was at his worst, we had foam mats, fleece, towels, and then bed sheets to make sure that it was really cushy for him (he wasn’t a fan). But now, over a year later, I only really have a small rug for him outside of his crate and a huge storage tub of hay for him to hop in and out of whenever he pleases.

I hope this helps xx

Thank you so much! She sits on the area rug with me for most of the day while I work, so that’s probably a big factor. Her nails are also impossible to trim so we’ve been trying but we can only do a few at a time which is probably another factor in the issue. We also have wood floorings which can’t help her situation. I’m gonna see what I can do about putting cardboard and some cushioning up so she can be more comfortable! Thank you again!

she’s been jumping on my bed every night to sleep too all of a sudden, I’m guessing it was her way of telling me she needs a cushier surface!

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

Thank you so much! She sits on the area rug with me for most of the day while I work, so that’s probably a big factor. Her nails are also impossible to trim so we’ve been trying but we can only do a few at a time which is probably another factor in the issue. We also have wood floorings which can’t help her situation. I’m gonna see what I can do about putting cardboard and some cushioning up so she can be more comfortable! Thank you again!

she’s been jumping on my bed every night to sleep too all of a sudden, I’m guessing it was her way of telling me she needs a cushier surface!

I would try to put down a cotton rug if you can! But I do know that you’re self-isolating at the moment, so it may be a little while before you can do that! Yeah, just try to get her on softer flooring, and get her little nails trimmed when you can!

I was in the same sort of situation when I adopted my bunny last year! He was overweight, his nails were horribly overgrown, he wasn’t very active and I was told that carpet would fine for his hocks! It took a little while but I’ve seen great improvements so you probably will too!