Sores on feet

[Hoef Tha Boss]

My dwarf lionhead bunny has developed sores on the bottom of her feet. She is not in a wire cage- the bottom is plastic and she has pine bedding. There is also a guiniea pig in the cage and he has no problems. Has this happened to anyone else? Is there anything I can do?

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Does your bun run on carpeting alot? Is there one sore or multiple? About how big are they? These arewhat arecalled "sore hocks", most likely. Are they on the heal of the bun's foot? That's usually where they appear, but not always. If it's not too raw, you can put a triple antibiotic ointment on it. You can also wrap it if you feel it's necessary. You will want to keep your bun off urine, that will only make it worse. You can use one of those canvas screens to cut to size and place in the litter box.

My mini rex had one when I got her, but was cleared up, the skin/callous was just a bit exposed and it was very light pink, pale actually. When they get irritated, they get more pink looking and the fur disappears from that area, but surrounds it.

 

[Hoef Tha Boss]

There are single sores on each of the two back heels and are starting to begin on the front paws too. They are probably about the size of a pencil eraser around. Hers are pretty dark pink so I think we will put triple antibiotic ointment on and wrap them. Thanks for your help.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

You're welcome! They do sound like sore hocks though, that should work. Good Luck, and let us know how it's going.

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

It does sound as though it is sore hocks, if they aren't broken I wouldn't bandage them but keep a close eye on them. Put some iodine or Neosporin on them as that should help them heal up and make sure her cage is spotless and she has nice soft flooring to hop about on such as a fleece blanket or something (so long as she doesn't chew it.)

Also if they look sore it might be worth taking her to the vets and asking for a painkiller. One of my rabbits is just recovering from sore hocks and I gave her 0.1mls of metacam (a painkiller) a day just to stop thembeing sore,and rubbed sudacrem (I don't think it is available over there) on them and they have healed up great.

 

[pamnock]

Be very careful when wrapping - if the feet are wrapped too tight, they will swell.

Vet wrap works very well - it keeps out moisture, but breathes.

In some cases, the rabbit's conformation and the way it distributes its weightcan lead to sore hocks, even when it is onsolid flooring. As the rabbit's back feet get sore, they may distribute more weight to the front, leading to sore front feet.

Try heavy rubber car mats for flooring as well as temporarily wrapping the feet and get rid of the pine shavings. It contains acids that can be irritating to the feet, especially when in contact with urine. Usedried moss for bedding instead.

On the first day, apply white iodine to the foot. Thiscan help to quell fungal or bacterial infections that sometimes cause sore hocks. Udder cream can be applied the next day to help soften and heal the tissue.

Baby aspirin can be given for pain as long as there is no bleeding. (Aspirin thins the blood and increases bleeding so shouldn't be used in cases where bleeding is a concern).



Pam