Mini rex – how to avoid sore hocks?

[Rhian]

So I just recently started to read up on the issue with mini rexes and their feet. I went and took a good look at my guy and of course, there is already a bald spot on one of his feet. The breeder had kept him (and several other mini rexes) on wire-bottomed cages. His actual feet look fine, no inflamed pink/red colours and he’s crazy active so I think he’s fine for now.

Anyway, I’d really like to get a handle on this and be prepared for how best to deal with it. So far I know to keep his nails cut short and to make sure he has a comfy place to sit and walk on most times of the day. Right now he’s in a cage that’s roughly 56 inches by 42 inches (or, a cage made of the 14 inch squares that’s 4 panels long and 3 panels wide) and he has a cage base in there that I was keeping him in for the first few days and liked for a potential dig box/litter box that’s about 30 inches long and 18 inches wide. I’m using fleece for the bottom of the actual cage, and wood stove pellets covered in a decent layer of hay for the litter box. His out-of-cage space has a few super cheap rugs(they feel soft enough? I’m not sure if this matters).

Are there any other tips I should be aware of?

[LittlePuffyTail]

It’s perfectly normal for Rex’s (and many other breeds) to have the bald spots on their hocks. Careful monitoring is important to catch any problems that may arise. I make sure to check my buns hocks at least every 2 weeks. And keeping the nails trimmed short is very important.

You want the living area they spend the most time in to mimic their natural environment of grass and dirt. When they sit down, their heels should sink down below the nails. I can’t say enough good things about Snoozzy mats. I got some of these for my two who had hock problems and they’ve worked really well.These are plush mats made for use in dog kennels.

Rex’s are notorious for sore hocks but strangely when I had 3 buns, the only one who never had problems was my Mini-Rex, although he did have the little bald heels.

[Rhian]

Thanks for the reply! If he turns out to be a non-chewer (which so far, things seem good!) I’ll look into getting him one of those mats.

I’m a bit paranoid about the whole back leg area right now, I just super recently lost one of my rabbits because of an infection I didn’t catch early enough right in the joint of his back leg. It wasn’t a sore hock situation, it was further up, but it got wildly out of control and just would not heal and I’d really rather avoid that whole thing from happening again if I can help it.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Sorry for your loss.

It’s def a good idea to make checking the hocks part of your regular maintenance routine. I’ve dealt with minor sore hocks a few times. When they get advanced and are open, they can be very difficult to treat.

[Author]

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