Hock sore problems

[Laurenf]

I adopted a female Holland lop from a local rescue centre in April. She was found on a rainy night in the streets, and weeks after they took her in they noticed a hock sore started to develop on her left foot. I foster-to-adopt’d her and I’ve been applying Flamazine 1% once a day, every day. They advised that this would most likely be a long term condition for the rest of her life, which I accept. But to be honest, I’m shocked that I haven’t seen any drastic improvement at all.

it’s been a learning process but to sum things up, I have my 2 bunnies in their own bedroom which is hard wood floor. I do have the gym mat puzzle pieces around the cages, they don’t fill the entire floor so around the mats there was some hard wood exposed around the perimeter. When she’s out for exercise I do lay down a couple fleece blankets over top of the mats and hard wood. But of course loves to dig at the blankets and expose the hard wood to sit or lay on 😡 She would always do this in her cage too, so I learned to tuck the fleece blankets under the hard bottom tray. I feel like a complete idiot and failure for never doing this before… but last night I just realized that she also has a hock on her right foot too.. which I am super upset about to be noticing this now, I feel like an awful owner for not realizing, it has always ONLY been the left foot. She goes to the vet often, but of course with COVID I’ve never set foot into the clinic myself and she goes in while I wait in the car and talk to the vet on the phone. I would HOPE that both feet get checked when she’s there.. but now I’m not so sure.

I am in the process of bonding 2 rabbits so they do their dates in a neutral area in the living room. I put down more gym mat puzzle pieces, and I lay down a fleece blanket on top for the dates.

now I’m just assuming I’ve been doing things all wrong. On YouTube I recently watched one where a girl said they need at least an inch of fleece laid down. Which I am admitting I’ve never laid down fleece that thick. So I’m assuming that’s my problem. Because I switched from wood pellets to softer paper litter pellets, which gets cleaned x2 a day every day to prevent her from sitting in her feces and soaked urine. She gets the cream daily, and hours of exercise every day. I do nail trims regularly at the vet. She’s not over weight and enjoys her time out of her cage. She is also kept in a large dog crate with room to lay down, hop around and even binky inside. After the litter change, i really haven’t seen a difference and it’s been a few months now.

So last night after a trip to the store, i laid 5 fleece blankets down nice and thick on top of the gym mats for her exercise area. In the hard wood exposed areas, I took yoga mats and tucked them under the gym mats so there’s no hard wood exposed anymore. (And then with the thick fleece layers on top of that)

In her cage I have a fleece blanket, double layered but I’m realizing it is a thinner fleece blanket and not super thick as it should be so I’m going to go to the store today and get some memory foam bath mats to put underneath that fleece inside her cage.

is there anything else I should be doing? I’ll try to insert some pictures. Her “original” hock sore (top picture) is getting some hair growth at the top, is this a sign of progress? The “new” to me hock is pretty bald. (And yes yesterday I put the cream on BOTH and I’ll continue to do so)

I was on a roll with the bunny dates and doing them every day, maybe that started this other hock? because again, I wasn’t laying multiple fleeces over top of each other. I would just lay one of fleece blankets on top of the gym mats.

[LBJ10]

It looks like a callus that is starting to get irritated. It isn’t an open sore yet, but definitely something to get on top of now before it gets worse. Unfortunately, the fur usually doesn’t grow back once a callus is established. Putting moisturizing ointment on it can help, but you will need to find a way to stop the pressure and rubbing when she runs around. How soft are the foam tiles? Do they give a little bit under her weight? If not, then maybe something softer is needed. Some people have good luck with memory foam bath mats. Otherwise, you may need to use booties padded with loose fur to cover the sensitive area.

[Laurenf]

To be honest the gym mats are still pretty hard but definitely softer than hard wood flooring. But not much give. I just got out of the store with some memory foam bath mats and more fleece blankets so I’m going to line the cage trays with the mats, with the double layered fleece blanket over it.

I should have be putting some more thought into her cage where she is all day when I’m at work and sleeping. Hopefully this helps her. Because when she is in there, I do hear her weight on the plastic tray which is probably a big no no.

I do realize I wasn’t doing thick enough fleece so I will be layering the hell out of those blankets. The vet told me the cream only prevents infection, the hock itself is about the pressure, on the flooring and the other factors.
I have mentioned the toddler sock theory that I’ve read about online. The vet has said I could try it but she didn’t seem convinced it was going to do any miracle work. She was concerned about the need to use tape around the top to hold the sock up. Are boots a better option?

[LBJ10]

Ointment can also help prevent the callus from cracking, so I don’t think it hurts to apply it. Keep the area moisturized might help some. But yes, your vet is correct that you need to reduce the pressure. This is where most of the problem lies. Definitely give the memory foam bath mats a try.

You can find boots for sore hocks online (Etsy, etc.). I don’t have any experience with these products, but I imagine they are designed to stay on better than a baby sock. Otherwise, it would be a boot made out of medical tape.

[Laurenf]

Okay I’ll definitely look into some ointment for her. That’s for the clarification. And thank you for the Etsy suggestion!! I didn’t even think to look there but I found one that looks promising. Much easier than buying a sock and trying to tape it myself. 😛

[DanaNM]

The other types of flooring that can help sore hocks are “vet bed” beds, or the thin beds they sell to line dog crates with. I also have found these ultra soft puppy blankets that work great in the bunny condos, they don’t pill up or get hay stuck in them. Myra was starting to get some callouses on her heels and I added a vet bed to the area she rests the most, and then a few other puppy blankets around and they have gotten much better (now I can only see them if I move a flap of fur). I’ve also heard it can help to have a variety of uneven surfaces to sit on (like a bunched up blanket) so that there isn’t always pressure on the same spot on the foot.

Is your bun a fabric chewer? A lot of people have also had success with putting memory foam under the fleece, like those memory foam bath mats, but you have to make sure your bun won’t eat them.

If you start saving up her fur when she’s molting and you groom her, you can use it when wrap her hocks to add cushioning (or have the vet help you) if they progress to needing that. At this point they aren’t quite there yet, but it’s good to have some fur on hand.

. . . 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.  

[Laurenf]

Winter is a chewer unfortunately! But I put a bath mat on top of the hard tray, with a triple layered fleece blanket on top and tucked tightly under the tray into the cage and so far so good! No destruction. I’ve tried putting a small towel in her cage before (for digging purposes) but she never paid it any attention. I can try it again when she’s supervised but not over night due to her chewing. 🙁

I added the bath mats on Saturday and I’m taking photos so I’ll see if there’s any visual improvement in the next few weeks.

I also went on Etsy last night and ordered hock socks from the seller OneTwoHop. They’re Velcro and have good reviews so we’ll see how that goes. I’ve been putting her flamazine on both feet now. 🙂

[Laurenf]

Oops I think I stand corrected! I don’t think they’re Velcro, It says hook and loop style closures on both the ankle and foot. And lined with micro-fur 🙂

[LBJ10]

Sounds like a plan! You’ll have to let us know how it goes.

[DanaNM]

Agree, sounds like a great plan of attack! Keep us posted!

. . . 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]

Hook and loop is just the generic name for velcro? I used self-adhesive vet wrap when my bun had sore hocks. I lined it with bunny fur. It must be a lot less hassle with little booties, please report back on how it goes!

When I wrapped my bun’s feet I had to make really sure that the fur I lined the bandage was all inside the wrap. Because if even a tiny bit of fur showed along the edges of the wrap, my bun would do his utmost to groom it away. He’d pull it all out in a matter of minutes =(

[Laurenf]

Okay that makes way more sense ahaha! It definitely looked like velcro in the picture but then I wasn’t so sure 🙄  I’m very excited for them to come in 🙂  not too expensive either, definitely an investment for her. I got 2 for $45 Canadian. The seller emailed me a 10% off coupon when I had it sitting in my cart which was really nice. And lots of cute colours and patterns. Little missy got pink plaid 😛

ugh yeah the idea of wrapping it up wasn’t my favourite. Hopefully the boots are more secure 😛

[Bam]

Pink plaid! Sounds totally adorable!

[Laurenf]

please check out my new forum for a progress update with pictures. I could really use some more advice/opinions. I couldn’t add pictures on here again

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