Foot Problem (graphic)

[nay_343]

Hi everyone! This is my first time writing on here and hoped I wouldn’t have to. I will try and keep this short.

I got my rabbit Mocha a bonding buddy from the SPCA and decided it was a good time to get her spayed. I got her spayed on July 3rd from SPCA as well and it definitely was not cheap. She was returned home well, ate normally, didn’t drink as much, and slept alot. During her month of healing I noticed she was sitting strangely all the time. she was putting most of her weight onto one side of her body and avoiding the other. so I felt around, seemed fine, she didn’t bite me, make any noises, or seemed to be in any pain. However I found she started to get Sore Hocks,  which I found in Rex rabbits to be pretty common, so it was a relief and I treated them right away with Epson salt soaks and neosporin. within a couple of weeks they were back to normal. I left for 2 days for a little trip (I did have someone at my house to take care of her) and I came back to notice a spot on her foot that I had to ask “has she always had that brown patch on that foot?” I looked closer and freaked out. Her foot looked severely infected and slightly bloody. i assumed it was some of her sore hocks that I maybe didn’t see and it spread to her toes but it was all over the top of her foot, her toes were infused together, and she was missing so much fur. she was limping and her skin was hard and purple, pretty hot to the touch though. I treated it like the sore hocks by soaking and wrapping it up to keep her from biting it. A few days later I had enough money to take her to the vet since I wasn’t planning on a foot amputation or surgery right after paying almost $200 for her spay surgery.  The vet said it looked like a burn but I insisted there was nothing in my room or her cage that could have burnt her that badly. I asked if maybe the bone was broken and she was just licking it, or a spider bite, but he said it was a burn because of the tissue damage on her foot. so he gave me Silver Sulfadiazine cream, which I later found out it was for burns. 

 I returned 2 weeks later for a check up and he said it was a lot better. a huge scab came off of her foot and her skin was pink, her hair was growing back and her toes were all separated again. so he said I no longer had to treat it and wrap it. the second I get home, she chewed on one of her toes causing it to bleed. so again i cleaned it and wrapped it. Today it is September 6th and i am still having to clean, wrap, and shes still not curling her toes much. she walks on it, jumps, and runs. she doesn’t seem to be in pain when i clean it but she always tries to rip off the wrap and chew on it. she is eating, drinking, moving, and I keep her nails as short as I can because she has really long quicks. I have seen 2 vets since and they haven’t done much but waste my time and money that I don’t have but I love this little brat. I also have been holding off on bonding the two until her foot is better. if anyone has any advice or ANYTHING it would be much appreciated. i tried to add pictures but it says the file size is larger than 500 kb.

[Q8bunny]

I’m very sorry that your little one is going through this.

Pictures would definitely help, but keep in mind that there’s only so much we can do to help via opinions / personal experience stories.

To me, it doesn’t seem like the vets you saw know what they’re doing. But appearances can be deceiving.

[Wick & Fable]

I am not experienced with foot injuries, but I can say that silver sulfadiazine, while used for burns, has lots of other uses. It’s used for antifungal, bacterial, moisturizing, etc.. it’s commonly prescribed to rabbits for a variety of topical ailments, such as ringworm or urine scald. Your vet may or may not have had the intention of prescribing for a burn, but the cream is generally helpful for keeping skin injuries more clean.

If you do not feel comfortable with this vet, it is never harmful to seek consultation from another rabbit vet. Some people have success with sending pictures to other vet emails for other opinions.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Bam]

I agree with Wick, silver sulfadiazine cream has a wide variety of uses and is a safe ointment for buns. It’s very typical of bunnies to remove any kind of wrap, they tend to do that out of instinct. Does she still need the wrap? Is she occupying herself with the wound?

To prevent sore hocks you can use memory foam bath mats, several of our rex-owning members have had success with that. As you say, rexes are prone to sore hocks (because they have so little fluff under their feet, of course), so you’ll need to keep keeping a close eye.

I have PMed you about help with uploading a picture.

[nay_343]

replying to the three above. im good to hear that the silver sulfadiazine helps for more than just burns. especially because it has helped already so much. i have contacted some other vets and havent had many replies. some just giving me the same info the first vet gave me. the vets were all marked as “rabbit-savy” so id hope they knew what they were doing. i know i wont be getting medical opinions or anything like that, just some people who have things i can do to help her a little or if anyone had any ideas as to what it could have been. also for her sore hocks, her cage flooring is memory foam bath mats, and a thick plush blanket with her litter box on the side so im not sure how it happened. i re wrap her foot everyday and clean it, from time to time i let it air out, because she chews it and licks it constantly causing her foot to bleed and scab up. when i wrap it, the scabbing dries and i can take it off with fresh skin underneath.

[Wick & Fable]

I have heard that too much cushioning can cause sore hocks as well. Think of the hock as your elbow. Very hard surfaces will be wearing, but also constantly walking on elbows on cushy surfaces can have the same effect. It’s all about weight distribution. Other items can contribute, like weight, claw length, and physical activity. Can you think of any concerns on those factors?

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[BinkyBunny]

I am wondering if this might be urine scald. (a type of chemical burn from urine exposure).
What kind of litter are you using?

[Bam]

Here is a link to pictures of bunny’s foot and the scabs that came off.

WARNING: These pictures can be perceived as upsetting. They are of good quality. Do not open the folder if you are sensitive to graphic pictures:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1K2h-bkBWp-DQCFrDx9-rEkJ1D1blB2Ev?usp=sharing

[Q8bunny]

Hmm… I can’t say that’s what it is, obviously, but it looks like chemical burns to me. I’ve only ever seen that type of rawness the few times we had chemical burns from the local battery plant come into the ER where I worked for a year. Having said that, with a bun’s super fragile skin, it might not take much, and severe urine scals might do it, but it doesn’t quite explain why only that one foot was affected. Could she have accidentally stepped in something? It could’ve been something seemingly harmless around the house like a cleaner or mustard powder. Or could she have been stung by something? A spider or centipede can trigger burns in tissue.

[jerseygirl]

Ouch. Hopefully the skin under what came away will heal up nicely. {{{Mocha}}}

Was there a needle put into that leg for the spay?

[Muchelle]

As for my experience, it doesn’t look like a necrosis (in case they inserted the IV needle in that leg), it looks to me like either she bit herself while waking up from anesthesia or she got an urine burn, but whatever it’s still too flamed up…

Do check that she doesn’t wet her feet while peeing or that she doesn’t dwell in the litterbox too much.

As for helping the skin heal and repair, I’ve always used with success a neem ointment called Hypermix (antiseptic and antibiotic action, speeds up repair), maybe your vet can suggest something similar.

[nay_343]

responding from first to last.

Im not suprised that too much cushion could do just as much damage as not enough. I’ll adjust her flooring and see if it makes any changes. As for my other rabbit he isn’t having any issues since hes much larger and has different fur. She is a good weight for her breed, she has long quiks so its hard to keep her nails short. i keep them as short as I can and i never knew rabbits nails could grow so quickly!

In her litter box she has a couple layers of newspaper, wood stove pellets (non-scented), and hay on the top and she has a hay rack just above her litterbox. I can see how a urine scald would cause that but yeah it is just one foot, its confusing. 

its healing nice but fur growth has stopped. im not to sure where the needle was placed, I heard they put it in the ear most of the time, I can call and ask where they place it. and I HATE when people say its only a rabbit. they’re so sensitive!

I can see what you mean by that she could have bit it, I will check to see if she pees on herself when she goes in there. i’ll also see if i can get anything close to hypermix and ill call the vet.

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By naomi on 9/08/2018 2:34 PM

responding from first to last.

She has long quiks so its hard to keep her nails short. i keep them as short as I can and i never knew rabbits nails could grow so quickly!

My bunny Aria has very long quiks, even though her nails are not that long. I thought i wasn’t trimming them enough but she just doesn’t have a lot of nail. She is very active and so I sometimes wonder if it’s that. I have talked to my rabbit-savvy vet about it but we both have been stumped.

In her litter box she has a couple layers of newspaper, wood stove pellets (non-scented), and hay on the top and she has a hay rack just above her litterbox. I can see how a urine scald would cause that but yeah it is just one foot, its confusing. 

Hmm. Well, I wouldn’t imagine that would give her urine scald as it should soak that up, however, for healing purposes, I recommend a softer litter at least maybe for the top of the wood stove pellets. Something like Yesterdays news – a soft paper based type of litter. There are some generic brands too that may be cheaper. When I was volunteering at the rescue, they would also use woodstove pellets, but for some Rexes, even that was a little too rough, so they would change to yesterday’s news. However, I don’t find yesterdays news as absorbent, which is why I suggest it as a topper.
I am glad she seems to be doing better as that looked serious!

[BinkyBunny]

Something just occurred to me. I know this happened in someone else’s care while you were gone. And being that it was only two days, it does seem a short time for that kind of damage to even be done by urine scald unless she was stuck in a litter box and it was never changed, but obviously that seems unlikely. Do you happen to live in old house that has a floor heater? (like ones from the 1920?) Anyway, just grasping at straws to figure out this mystery.

[LBJ10]

Call me crazy, but do you know what this looks like to me? If this were a dog, I would think it was acute moist dermatitis (i.e. a hot spot).

[nay_343]

Posted By BB on 9/10/2018 10:14 PM

Something just occurred to me. I know this happened in someone else’s care while you were gone. And being that it was only two days, it does seem a short time for that kind of damage to even be done by urine scald unless she was stuck in a litter box and it was never changed, but obviously that seems unlikely. Do you happen to live in old house that has a floor heater? (like ones from the 1920?) Anyway, just grasping at straws to figure out this mystery.

In the last reply you did you talked about the litter, I normally have the hay or newspaper shavings on top of the woodstove pellets but ill look into that stuff you were talking about. and my dad was watching her while I was away but normally when he watches her nothing happens. he was surprised too. and I went with a urine scald and treated it as I took the advice. her foot is already so much better in just a few days. there is no irritation any longer and it has gone to a light pink shade and the scabbing is gone. ill see how it is by the end of the month. I do not have any floor heaters and I thank you for grasping straws because I am still at a loss. im not sure if she just hung out in her litter box while I was away but yeah im lost.

[nay_343]

It does look like it but im not even sure im just glad shes healing.

[Bam]

I think LBJ could be right. Moist dermatitis in dogs (“hot spots”) as a rule develop very fast. It starts with something small, an instect bite, a scratch sore – then the dog licks the wound and voilà, you have moist dermatitis. It can very well happen from one day to the next, sometimes it happens in hours. The wound site can get very wide and it often looks horrible. It looks worse than it is though, because it’s only the outer layer of skin that is affected. It can be painful though, in its acute stages, so a painkiller is often prescribed.  Moist dermatitis is however not common in rabbits, probably because they tend to keep more dry than dogs do (dogs go out in rain, they like to bathe in puddles etc – the condition is more common in long-haired dogs that have a fondness for water (like golden retriever-type dogs). But licking can cause it, and maybe while you were away, she busied herself with her foot and happened to cause this to helself. 

Anyway, treatment is pretty much what you’ve been doing. Keep the area clean, shave or clip all hair near the wound site, apply antibiotic ointment. For severe cases, a systemic (oral or injection) antibiotic can be prescribed, but most hot spots heal without systemic antibiotics, with careful wound care. It seems some individuals are more prone to this condition, so keep a close eye – if you see sth sore-ish, cut away surrounding hair, clean and apply ointment right away.

We’d be happy for updates.

[LBJ10]

Thanks Bam! Yes, it really does look like moist dermatitis. I’m glad her foot is doing better now. Perhaps the stress of you being gone led her to lick and chew at her sore hock area?

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