It’s hard to tell from the picture. Is there an actual sore? This almost looks like a callus.

Do those spots seem to cause him pain? From the photo, it looks a little pink, but not red or open/sore.

The reason I ask is, I had a mini rex who had a small spot like that on the back of one of her back feet, but never caused her pain and never seemed to cause any issues. It was almost like a calous. She also had lots of soft spots to sit on, fleece blankets and such. I kept an eye on it, obviously, but it never turned into an issue.

Your bun seems young, but its possible its just a calous. Onviously, though, keep a close eye on it. Have you tried a fleece blanket? (Forgive if I may have missed that in your post). Those seem to do well for flooring and stoft spots for mini rexes to sit. 🙂

Grade 1 sore hocks

There are creams you can get from vet and also over the counter ones that supposedly helps; never seemed to help my buns but my buns feet never got worse.

It has been my opinion for a while that a variety of floorings, in combination with increasing exercise, can do a significant amount in deterring enflamed calluses and sore hocks. While the idea of putting soft blankets and memory foam everywhere is well-known, I think it can end up contributing to the issue at times– if you can imagine it, walking on top of a mattress 24/7 feels bad on our joints and makes maneuvering difficult, and the amount of friction/rubbing is also potentially more irritating and wearing for fur padding. Hocks come from uneven distribution of weight, during which the rabbit is putting too much weight in one specific spot. Things that encourage less time on that spot and even distribution across the foot will help. I opt for giving the rabbits a variety of flooring options (except slippy tiles/flooring) and encouraging exercise in general.

I completely agree with Wick on this. I havr two mini rexes, so I’m always cautious. I have a lot of different surfaces for my buns to run around on. Memory foam can be good in a smallish spot where a bun loafs a lot, like poorly or very old buns like to do.

Some surfaces should be avoided though. You can do a test by lying down on the rug/carpet, put your own body weight on your elbows and “rock” back and forth -if it burns your elbows it’s not a good option for a larger play area. A rug or carpet can feel soft if we just feel it with our hands, and still be too abrasive for buns that are prone to pododermatitis (sore hocks).

I always put a layer of hay on top of the wood stove pellets in the litterbox, to protect the bunny feet, bc they like to sit there and eat.

With bunnies, and especially Rex bunnies, there will always be some wear. A little thin spot or a mild callus is normal and not something to be overly concerned with. You just want to keep an eye to make sure it doesn’t ever progress beyond that. And I agree with Wick and Bam, providing a variety of surfaces is usually the best bet. A nice padded area for where they spend a lot of time sitting isn’t a bad idea though. Other things that help are keeping them trim (chonky bunny = more pressure on feet) and keeping their nails from getting too long.