Make sure they have plenty of solid flooring and soft flooring to relax and lounge on. Are they usually confined to wire floors?

Also, are they overweight?

Another factor is do they have room to move around and not just sit in one place?

Do you let them run around often? Inactivity can cause sore hocks, as rabbit heels are different than humans. It’s just skin covering their heel bone; no callus or fat, so sitting too long will cause soreness.

Are these rabbits not bonded but sharing a cage?

Can users experienced with sore hocks respond as well?

I think it’s important to find the cause of the sore hocks or the problem will reoccur and get worse. Since both rabbits have it, there’s probably an environmental factor. Anything here seem like a cause? http://rabbit.org/treating-sore-hocks/

Unfortunately that is only a short term solution. You have to address the issue that is causing sore hocks. In your case, that is probably the fact that they are confined to a small area and they are inactive most of the time.

You said you let them out separately, why is that? From what I gather, you’ve separated a single cage for two rabbits that are not bonded. This is a crucial mistake. Most commercial rabbit cages are not even big enough for one rabbit, much less two rabbits.

So how much space does each rabbit have and how much time do you give them each outside of the cage?

If they’re only out a couple hours a day, yes. I recommend linking an x pen to each cage so they have real room to hop around. The sore hocks pro ably developed due to inactivity since they do not sense enough room to actually roam around.

Posted By Berryismyboy on 10/16/2017 6:15 PM

Each rabbit gets at least a couple of hours outside of the cage each day.

…is that all?

You should look into a condo then. They really need more space.

If it means re-arranging your place before you leave, I think you may need to do that. If you can move a sofa or chair or something, then set-up a bigger x-pen area, that may be better than leaving them in the cage. Inconvenient for you yes, but that’s the work that needs to go in if your situation is not ideal for a rabbit.

Posted By Berryismyboy on 10/17/2017 7:15 AM

Posted By sarahthegemini on 10/17/2017 4:48 AM

Posted By Berryismyboy on 10/16/2017 6:15 PM

Each rabbit gets at least a couple of hours outside of the cage each day.

…is that all?

Yes that is all. I work and I am a student. Plus I live in an apartment where the rule is no rabbits outside of their cages. I would ignore the rule but one of the rabbits chews the carpet despite other items available to chew.

Doesn’t matter, 2 hours isn’t even the bare minimum. That means each bun is spending 22 hours a day caged up. That is unacceptable. If you can’t give them adequate time out or even a decent sized enclosure, re home them. Keeping them cooped up in cruel.

In the future, please do consider factors of your situation that will hinder the quality of life for your rabbits. They need room to hop about and actually run around to expend energy. I personally don’t think rabbits should be in a cage, but if they must be in a cage then you REALLY have to get them one big enough. They should have at least 5-6 hops in all directions, so that they can at least get some activity. They probably feel too cramped to move.

I’m confused, you said you let them out but then said that the rule is no rabbit outside of the cage? If you can’t get a bigger living situation for them, please try to give them at least 4 hours a day outside the cage- 4 hours each bunny. Exercise is very important for their health and longevity.

I think that an xpen addition like wick said would be a good idea. You can easily add space around the cage by zip tying the grids to the dog crate. Then just leave the cage door open so then can go out to the xpen area. Make sure you keep a divider so the bunnies can’t get to each other. If you are worried about chewing carpet, line the carpet with cardboard or some fleece blankets.

Also, try to let them out early in the morning if you can, when they are most active. like 4am-7am. You can just set an alarm to get up and let one out then go back to sleep. Then wake up and put that one back and let the other one out. I know it is inconvenient. Give each like 1 1/2 hours in the morning during that active time. And at least 2-3 hours after work for each bun. Trust me, I know it is inconvenient, but it can be done if you truly care about their welfare. I am a full time student and I work too. These are your pets, and they rely on you to take good care of them. You have to make time for their needs.

I’ve had great results with both my sore hock buns by giving them good quality memory foam bath mats. You need to monitor for chewing, of course, if your buns are prone to chewing. I got mine at Bed Bath & Beyond and they did wonders.

If the hocks are just red, they need to be carefully monitored. If they are inflamed, cracked or bleeding, they should be checked by a vet.

That’s good that you caught the hocks before they got bad. They can be hard to treat if they aren’t caught early.

Concerning the set-up for letting them exercise more, if you can get an extra x-pen or some storage grib cube panels (like the “neat Idea cubes”), you can divide your living space in half with two fences, with a buffer between the two, so they cannot touch each other. X-pens and the storage cube grids are not too expensive if you get them on amazon. I think the storage cube grids might be the cheaper option, and you can zip-tie the panels together to make whatever fencing you need.

I have a studio apartment, and this is what I’ve always done during pre-bonding/bonding etc, to make sure that both bunnies can exercise at the same time. I just divide the apartment in half, with a buffer in the middle.

Bag Balm has helped Heather with healing and fur regrowth on the soles of her feet recently. All that remains is the heels and even they are looking better. We still need to find a good substrate she won’t ingest. She’s a big girl of almost 11 pounds. I’d always heard to avoid wire flooring but didn’t realize smooth flooring such as plastic bottomed cages was bad. Always learning with these creatures!

They are complex little animals, that is for sure! I’ve had buns for over 13 years and am still learning.

If letting them out in the early morning isn’t practical (it isn’t for me, since I head out for the train to work at 4:30 am), then do what I do and give them the entire nighttime out, from the time you get back home until when you have to go back out again in the morning. I have a two-story condo-type cage which affords Panda and Fernando (who are closely bonded, so no worries about having to separate them) plenty of space for hopping about and expending additional energy by moving up and down stairs, and for at least 9 hours (up to 12/13 hours or more on weekends) throughout the entire evening and night, they have a large X-pen enclosure set up attached to their cage which gives them a lot of additional space to run, hop, stretch and stand in, with hidey boxes and tunnels for terrain variety. After the evening floor session, they have the whole space to themselves to exercise in, and even when they’re not actively moving around, they have a big space to relax in.