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LoveMyBunnies

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Fawn (the brown bun in my avatar) is a 2 year old female rex that we adopted from a bunny rescue about a year and a half ago.

As soon as we got her home, she began to eat...and eat...and eat... She was always afraid of not having food it seemed (we're assuming that it was from her previous home) and honestly our little girl has developed a bit of a weight problem. She has had sore hocks ever since we got her. There is no exposed wire in the cage, and the litter box is changed regularly. There have been times when they (the sore hocks)were almost gone, but lately they seem to have returned and she doesn't like to set her back feet down.

We have tried to put her on a diet, but it's difficult because of the dynamics between her and Romeo. They live in the same cage and Fawn comes running wenever she smells the greens or hears hay/pellets she comes running. Romeo refuses to eat anything that she wants. If she runs over and sniffs at what he's eating, he drops it for her. And she's got a bigger mouth so she finishes everything faster...

We tried to feed romeo in their carrying cage, but all he did was sulk and gnaw at the bars :(

Also, if anyone has tips on how to check the length of your rabbits teeth and check for misaligned teeth, we would be grateful for that too. She's very big and has strong back legs so she's hard to restrain when she doesn't want to be. But I'd like to have a look at her teeth. Something tells me they might be a bit to long. Not sure though, just a feeling.

I'll try to get a good pic to show her size and her hocks asap.

Thanks for any help. It's not terribly urgent, but it is our most prevailing bun trouble, and everyone here seems knowledgable and kind.

Edited because I finally remembered how to spell 'gnaw' :p
 
Most rabbit equipment suppliers carry "rabbitresting boards" -- rigid plastic perforated boards that help to relievefoot pressure. The boards are easy to clean and disinfect.

Human fungus foot powder can be helpful in drying and healing thefeet. Rex have less fur padding to absorb and distributepressure on their feet -- as you've seen, combined with beingoverweight, the tissue of the foot has begun to break down.

It is important to treat sore hocks because it can progress into a systemic infection, that can be fatal in advanced cases.

As for the teeth -- have someone sit on the ground and hold the rabbitin their arms (wrap a large towel around the rabbit if it isstruggling). Have another person gently pull up the upper lipto expose the teeth. If they are properly aligned (topoverlapping bottom), then they should be wearing to the proper length.

Pam
 
Is it dangerous if she licks the powder off herfeet? That would be my only concern. Thank you for the reply Pamnock.Also, it seems to have gotten worse since she has been getting outmore, I think that all the laps she's running around the room, whileprobably good for her weight, may be irritating those sensitivefeet...I assume I should let her keep getting all the exercise andperhaps her feet will toughen up a bit more? Please please let me knowif that's a bad idea.

The rabbit resting board, I haven't seen them at our local petstores(petsmart etc.) is there a particular store that you know carrys them?I will check ebay and see if they have any. I hope she doesn't mindgiving up her perch on the phonebook for the resting board, we can trythough. I would feel so terrible if anything happend to her.
 
Just put a small amount on her feet, anddistract her with some hay so she won't lick it right off (a littlewon't hurt her though).

I think the exercise is a good idea. It increases circulationand distributes the weight over the entire foot rather than just at onepressure point.

Pam
 
This is a very good reason to have a seperatecage for each bunny.some bunnies just overeat.I havent met a rex orminirex yet that didnt like to eat.I used to raise mini rex.bluebird
 
As far as the weight issue, what are you feedingher? Does she get a lot of treats, such as raisins, bananas or apples?Even too many baby carrots aren't good, and Rexes are prone to weightgain, more so than other breeds. (My Mini Rex is getting a bit thicktoo...)
 
Pamnock, thank you, we will try that right away. Is there a particular brand you recommend?

Bluebird, I know, but they are upset when they are seperated, and wereally only have room for one cage (it's rather large, I try to givethem as much room as I can)

stephanie: are they? I didn't know that. Thank you. They get timothybased pellets, timothy hay, and a little piece of carrot (regular, notbaby) spinach leaves, and curly parsely every night. I am going to addcilantro, too, after reading the recent thread about it.

Thank you for all the responses!
 
I dont know if giving spinach every night isgood. I read somewhere that it contains something that in large amountscan be bad for bunnies. Maybe someone else knows for sure?
 
LoveMyBunnies wrote:
Pamnock, thank you, we will try that right away. Is there aparticular brand you recommend?
Click to expand...


All the brands that I've seen are a similar type of hard plastic (justdifferent colors). I have had very good luck using them forrabbits prone to sore hocks.

Pam
 
honeybunnie8 wrote:
I dont know if giving spinach every night is good. I readsomewhere that it contains something that in large amounts can be badfor bunnies. Maybe someone else knows for sure?
Click to expand...


Quote from the 8th Edition of Rabbit Production: "Greens such asamaranthus, spinach, and chard can be fed to rabbits at moderate levelswith no problems from oxalate toxicity."

I think there would only be concern if a rabbit was fed on a diet ofonly spinach, because like any food -- too much of a good thing can bebad.



Pam
 
I meant brand of foot powder , sorry I should have been more clear what I meant :) but thank you :D

Thanks for clarifying on the spinach. We mainly use that instead ofromaine because we've had bad luck with getting good romain hat keepsreasonably well. Maybe when the farmers market is open this summer theywill have some.

thank you again everyone!
 
For the feeding issue, could you let Fawn out ofthe cage while Romeo eats? I think that might work for you,but maybe not.

I agree with everyone that rex bunnies just like to eat.Basil would eat anything and everything if I would let her.

Jen
 
LoveMyBunnies wrote:
I meant brand of foot powder , sorry I should have been moreclear what I meant :) but thank you :D
Click to expand...


No particular brand. The humanfungal foot powderthat I've used was in a yellow container, but I don't recall the brand.

Pam
 
I've noticed Rex and mini Rex are prone to bothweight gain and sore hocks. Seems like they get a double whammyin the genetics line.:?

My mini Rex got less food than the others, but he still blew up like aballoon. Must have had a slower metabolism. And like others havementioned, Rexes have less fur on the feet, so those sores are anongoing battle. Straw scattered over the cage floor worked better thananything else for me, because poop and etc. fell through but there wasstill padding for his feet.

Good luck!

Rose
 
A sore hock (bottom of front or back feet -- nottechnically the hock)is one that is ulcerated, open, bleedingor infected, not just calloused.



Pam
 
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