Help? Persistent sore hocks and urine scalds

[Jan]

Hi! First I apologise for not doing a thorough search before posting and probably repeating content from other posts. So far I have not found any solutions which may help in my case.

So here goes the story. My rabbit is 8yo and has recently been diagnosed with spondylosis, an abscess above the groin and sore hocks on both feet. The vet decided that the abscess has the lowest priority for treatment and nothing is being done with it at the moment. The spine problem is being treated with regular injections and is improving so far, though the hind legs are still weak sometimes. The problem is with the sore hocks, which has only gotten worse because his legs are always drenched in urine. He was potty trained but has stopped using his litter box and just pees everywhere. He can raise his hind legs fine but when he finishes he always steps on the puddle. He has no urine sludge and drinks an astonishing amount of water.

The vet has prescribed Silversulf, which I apply to my rabbit 2-4 times a day on the swollen area. I am also using VetBed for his cage and cleaning his butt with wipes a couple times a day, but as I cannot do any cleaning while I am at work, that’s not a very effective solution. My next step is to try doing butt baths followed by applying Vaseline on the irritated skin, but other than that, I am completely out of idea on how to keep his feet urine free.

I would be very grateful if anyone could give any advice. Thanks in advance!

[Sirius&Luna]

Has he been checked for UTIs and EC? My immediate thought when you say he’s peeing all over himself and drinking tons of water, is that he has an infection, or EC, which can cause kidney infections resulting in over-peeing. Healthy rabbits generally don’t pee on themselves (I know he has other problems, but he still shouldn’t be uncontrollably peeing).

Puppy pads are a good way of quickly soaking up urine, so you could try those on the floor, but I think you need to get to the root of the problem.

[Bam]

Puppy pee pads are probably the best thing, the bun can pee on them of course but he can also lie on them and that will soak up residual pee from his fur and feet. Some buns like to chew or tear apart pee pads though, so they might have to go under a vet bed.

The butt bath and Vaseline plan sounds good too.

Excessive drinking and peeing (polydipsia and polyuria) can mean many things, but it should be investigated. It’s a warning sign. S& L suggests e cuniculi, a microscopic parasite that’s common in rabbits and known to cause kidney problems as well as hind end weakness/paralysis.

What meds is he getting for the spondylosis?

[Jan]

Actually no, as we didn’t think it was necessary then. But I should definitely bring that up during the next vet visit. My bun did use to drink very little and stopped using the water dispenser all together until recently when I found he took a liking to lapping water from a bowl. Could it be he is recovering from the previous dehydration?

As for pee pad, I have tried putting pooch pads on top of the vet bed, but it was a nightmare— when I woke up the next day it was soaked, and my bun has managed to get drenched all over in pee and get pieces of poop stuck everywhere on his body. So tbh I am not very willing to try other pads atm. :/

[Jan]

I have yet to find a pad that soaks pee up faster than vetbed. The search continues. And yeah I just tried a butt bath then Vaseline and he is so much cleaner now. Good thing he isn’t too stressed about the bath.

As for the spondylosis, I am not sure exactly what the injections are called but they are some form of collagen. First four were weekly and now it’s monthly and my bun’s just took the fourth one a week ago. He was also on a week of Petcam after the first injection but the vet said he couldn’t do another course since it would put stress on his system.

[Sirius&Luna]

I don’t think he’d be recovering from previous dehydration for more than a day or so. So if there’s a marked increase in water consumption, it’s generally a sign of a kidney infection. Often bunnies don’t seem to drink much water because they get most of their water needs from fresh veg.

I imagine a pooch pad is the same as a puppy pad, so I’m sorry that didn’t work I’m out of ideas! I do think a vet visit is needed.

How rabbit-experienced is your vet? Im wondering if it actually is spondylosis at all, and in fact could be EC causing both the hind leg weakness and the kidney problems. As Bam explained, EC is a parasite that many rabbits are born with, and which sometimes stops being dormant to cause neurological or kidney problems. It’s treated with a month long dose of Panacur.

[Dface]

http://www.disabledrabbits.com/urine-scald.html

This might have some useful suggestions if you havent already seen it?

And here is a useful piece on sore hock bandages. Be VERY careful about the tightness, as you can cause more harm than good if it is bandaged too tightly. Havign it too loose is better than too tight

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sorehocks.html

[Jan]

@S&L
Now that you mention it it might be likely. The vet first dismissed the need of a blood test because my bun wasn’t tilting his head, having seizures etc. I suppose they know enough because it’s an exotic pet clinic and seems to have high reputation in the area. In any case, it’s the only clinic I trust. Thanks for the suggestion

@Dface
Thanks! I have actually looked at the link before; it’s very useful. And after butt baths, my bun is actually cleaner, just not for long. I am still looking for a long term solution. I have tried bandages but my bun did not like that and bit himself bloody round the edges so I stopped using that.

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