Is this soft enough? (pics)

[Nelli]

It happened! Both Nelli and Malla have callouses on their feet. I feel terrible, as I’m sure the reason is a bigger carpet area I put in their cage to help with the slippery bottom. (Thought Malla broke her nail because of her crazy-happy jumping and then slipping) Their feet are still “bushy”, but the joints have small area without fur now, and they have hardened skin there. They are not infected, actually, the area is so small I almost missed it when examining their feet, but still… I don’t want it to get worse. I got some good advice from here how to take care of their feet, and so the thing I’m asking is do you see this as soft enough surface? I didn’t have materials to cover the biggest box completely, but that uncovered area is where they don’t need to jump onto anything. So here:

 

 

And here’s one of the little troublemaker, Nelli:

[RabbitPam]

Nelli is adorable.
I actually had the same problem with Sammy, and took her to my vet. She was given a special cream that works really well on healing the sore hocks. It’s worth it to get some from your vet the first time, because a tube will last much longer, heal it fast, and you’ll have it for later. It’s called Avi-X Soother Plus Cream. (Prescription, I think.)

My vet surprised me because the soft, cotton sheet I was using on the bottom of her habitat turned out to be TOO smooth! I found it hard to believe, but she told me to put down flooring with texture, and seagrass mattes, the thinner, smoother ones, were best. I got a half dozen and lay them out, tying them at the corners with sissell string because it isn’t harmful if chewed. Sammy’s feet healed quickly, and she hasn’t had a problem since. I left some soft flannel in there with her, but she uses that as a pillow and prefers the slightly textured seagrass mattes on the floor. Apparently, the texturing of the floor, like the ground, keeps their feet tougher with dead skin sloughed off so they stay clean. I think I have that right. Anyway, it worked, so, in answer to your question, being soft enough is not the solution. Hope this helped.

[MoveDiagonally]

I’ve used the same cream RabbitPam mentions for Monty’s feet. It worked wonderfully. It’s sometimes called Healx Soother Plus Cream. I’m not sure if it’s available where you are but maybe you could contact a vet and ask. It’s non-prescription in the US. I’ve purchased it several times off Amazon and from other pet supply sources without one.

[Nelli]

Thank you both for the replies! I have searched what type of cream I could use for their feet that is available here, and I believe I found some. Although, they told me not to let their feet get too soft so the skin won’t break or something… Anyhow, the setup was good before I put down the pieces of carpet, their feet were fine so the carpet was not good for them. I didn’t find any type of seagrass mats or similar from here, I went looking after your posts, so the fleece + blankets etc. underneath are what I can use now. I just hope it’s enough!

[Author]

Messages