Miss Lizzy has an ouchy, please look?!

[Lightchick]

As Lizzy was hopping around this morning, I noticed a pink spot on her hind leg.  I picked her up and flipped her over and saw this:

It’s only on one foot, and doesn’t appear to be scabby or bleeding.  I put Neosporin on it, which she probably immediately rubbed off, doing Bunny 500’s (obviously, she’s not TOO hurt!).

What should I do?  Poor girl…

Is it sore hocks?  She has a rug lining her pen, and a hard-wood hutch bottom lined with newspaper…  Or, she is a clumsy bunny.  Sometimes she misses and slides down the ramp that leads out of her hutch.  Or flubs a landing jumping in and out of her pen and lands on the edge of the pen with her foot.  (The pen does have a door, but to hold it in shape when the door’s open, there’s still 3″ of cage that has to be hopped over to get in/out.)  But I haven’t seen her do either of these things lately.  Although she could have done it when I wasn’t looking…

The other thing is, Miss Disaster decided she wanted one more turn around the living room 2 nights ago, and made a leap out of her pen…just as I was closing the pen door.  So she ran into it head-first.  Ouch!  I grabbed her and looked her over, and she looked ok, other than being annoyed at me.  But yesterday I noticed this weird swirl of fur on her forehead.  I started getting paranoid that it was from hitting the door…but then thought maybe it was just fur-weirdness from shedding.  But on closer inspection, her left eye-area is a little swollen!  Not visibly, except for the crescent-shape in her fur around her left eye.  I wouldn’t even know that it is from feeling it, if I didn’t compare to the other eye. 

It’s hard to tell in the picture…

She doesn’t flinch at all when I touch it.  In, fact, she still demands nose rubs.

I’m a bad bunny-mommy….

I made an appointment at the vet tomorrow, but I HATE my vet, and haven’t had chance to research a new one.  (And I have to take Robbie in for his neuter tomorrow, too!  And it’s going to be $60 just to have her looked at…).  Am I being paranoid?  Should I just keep her foot clean and Neosporin on it, and keep an eye on her?  Or should I take her in?

Argh…

[Beka27]

that is a sore hock. i’d just keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn’t start looking very red/inflamed. it’s not uncommon for house rabbits to get sore hocks b/c there are no truly soft surfaces in a home (not like outside where they’re in soft grass and dirt and there nails sink in.) keep her nails trimmed regularly.

[TARM]

Both of Digger’s heels look like that. They’ve looked like that ever since I brought him home.

[Sarita]

Well it’s the beginning of what could be sore hocks – try keeping her toenails clipped. I have 2 rabbits with these callouses on them. One is a rex and the other is a New Zealand (she came to me from poor sanitary conditions).

[Lightchick]

Sarita, how are toenails related to sore hocks?

[Sarita]

It has to do with how they “sit” on their feet if that makes sense. You want them to balance on their feet and if their nails are too long they are putting more weight on their heels.

Ask your vet if you can get some Silvadene to put on them to keep the callous moist so it doesn’t get dry and crack.

[Beka27]

imagine your toe hurts. you would probably put more weight back on your heel to relieve the pain in your toe. same thing with buns. if toenails are too long, they have to sit more on their heels to relieve the pressure.

[KatnipCrzy]

Before you take her in to be seen- I would ask the vet about it when you take Robbie in.  It is a very small area of “sore hocks” and other than maybe the Silvadene cream prescription that another member recommended- I don’t think your vet will be able to DO anything (other than maybe trim nails- which you may be able to do).  It does not look infected- so no oral meds would be needed.  One thing that can be really important with sore hocks is to monitor your bunnys weight and make sure she is not overweight.  Some breeds are prone to sore hocks (such as Rex’s) and additional weight will only aggrevate the sores. 

And from the picture Lizzy is really only showing slight hair loss and not the ulcerative sores that are commonly associated with sore hocks- and it is the sores that are the problem.  It is something that you have caught very early and just knowing about it and making sure you keep her feet as padded as possible can possibly prevent further problems.  Good for you for catching such a small warning sign!

It sounds like her nose is OK- when my bunny sheds I can see a slight visible line in her fur sometimes.  If she is still begging for nose rubs I think she hurt her dignity more than her nose.  When Cotton sheds I call it a case of “Ring around the Bun”- as I can usually see a line around her face and around her body- she is a shaded rabbit so her sheds seem to grow in progressively darker fur.

This is an extremely unusual post for me- usually I am ALWAYS saying to take the bunny to the vet.  But in this case- I would ask the vet about it first.

[Lightchick]

What I don’t understand is that I totally checked her out, upside down, head-to-toe on Sunday night. She was FINE. So the hair loss has happened in the past 2 days. Is that POSSIBLE from sore hocks? It’s not scabby, callousy, oozie…it’s just bald.

Thanks for the info about nails. I thought they looked ok on Sunday, but maybe I don’t know what I’m looking for. I’ll ask the vet tomorrow.

Not that I have any confidence in my vet(s). Whichever one the office gives me tomorrow, since I don’t get a choice.

I’m definitely taking her in. I don’t want her to have a head injury and not be seen…I’m a paranoid new mommy.

She’s making me nervous. She normally uses her pen as the “foyer” between her hutch and the living room, and doesn’t really hang out there too much. I just got home, and she’s sitting in the pen, not the hutch. And I opened the pen door, and normally she runs out, but she won’t, she just sort of scowls. But she’s a moody bunny, and she’s been a little sulky if she knows I’ve been with Robbie, so I don’t know how to differentiate, “My foot hurts I don’t wanna hop,” and “You were with Robbie I’m not talking to you,” and “The rug smells like oranges I don’t like it I’m not coming out”…

So into the vet we go. Please keep ears crossed for my two babies at the vet tomorrow.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

You can put preperation H on it and that’s good for sore hocks {{ VIBES }}

[jerseygirl]

I noticed a similar spot on the back of Jerseys hock the other day but it healed really quick. I half wonder if she pulled the fur herself.
Good luck at the vet.

[RabbitPam]

I just checked the HRS rec. list of vets and there was only one listed for Long Beach:
Long Beach. Don’t know if you’ve heard of him. (Hoping he’s not your vet that you don’t care for!)

Dr. William Ridgeway, Dr. Carl Palazzolo
Long Beach Animal Hospital
3816 E Anaheim St.
Long Beach, CA 90804
(562) 434-9966

My Rex had those pink spots on his feet most of his life – it’s very common with Rexes. Only once was he in any discomfort, and it was due to riding from MA to FL in the car for 3 days to move here and while in his cage on the backseat, the water sloshed around and his feet stayed wet longer than they should have. Many vets had seen him and never even gave me a treatment for the red areas other than to tell me to keep him dry and clean and watch for signs of getting worse. I was amazed that after 7 years with pink on his feet, his fur finally grew back in after he lost use of his back leg and was lying down most of the time. (Not standing upright on the feet, just pushing along with them.) Up until then he did binkies, bunny 500s – no indication of discomfort at all during all those years.

[Ang]

LightChick. what is with the Oranges? is it a cleaner? i heard you all talking about orange something earlier. Sorry its off subject.

Let me know also what the vet says about her lil bunny bald spot!

porr lizzie!

[Sage Cat]

That Looks like a callus – NOT NECESSARILY A SORE HOCK to me.

I noticed a spot exactly like that on Kay after I first got her – only on one of her feet though.

Right away I called the shelter – they giggled as they explained to me that all rabbits have a callus on their heels – sometimes it is just more noticeable than others. But that I was not the first mom to be worried about it.

Once I started to give my buns monthly “Tune UP’s” I have notice they both have calluses and the calluses have never changed.

Any way – I hope it is a callus and not sore hocks. Let us know after the vet!

[Lightchick]

The vet told me almost nothing. I asked if it was sore hocks, or an injury, and she said, “well, if it’s on her hocks, and it’s an injury, then the hocks will be sore…”

*Sigh*

So…

To me, the bald spot looks better today. It looks like the hair is trying to come back. I know her feet were perfectly fine Sunday night, and Tuesday night and last night, she spent the night looking miserably out of place on the floor of her pen, rather than up in her hutch, where she normally likes to be. When I cleaned her cage this morning, I found a SLIGHT smear of blood. It was very thin, and I wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t been looking for it. So I’m going with the theory that Miss Lizzy the clutz caught her foot on something Monday night or Tuesday, skinned her heel, and it hurt her to sit on the wood in the hutch or climb up the wooden ramp.

I’m keeping Neosporin on it.

Also, I took her bath towel, and folded it to fit the floor of the hutch. I put all the excess in the corner where she lays down, so it’s 3 layers deep in that corner. And I drilled holes in the floor and attached to towel so she has a nice cushy floor. I did the same with the ramp. For the first time in 3 days, Lizzy is happily in her hutch, lounging and looking SOOO relieved!

The vet also didn’t say much about the swollen-eye issue. I admit I may be a little paranoid! (I was petting Robbie last night, and noticed that one half of HIS face is definitely bigger than the other, too!) But she checked his teeth to see if they were causing any problems, and said they were fine.

So, my next question: should I use the .3cc of Metacam per day the vet prescribed? Lizzy looks comfortable now that the floor-issue has been dealt with. I don’t want to give her meds she doesn’t need…

Oh, and Rabbit Pam, there IS only one HRS-approved vet in Long Beach. That is why I need to now look OUTSIDE Long Beach!

Angelina, the orange is from a product called Orange Guard that is a natural flea-killer made out of orange oil. It’s supposed to be safe around pets. See the “Found Fleas” thread for all the debate.

I’m feeling better about Lizzy. This has definitely solidified my resolution to get a new vet. But I would love it if somebody with more experience with Metacam than I could tell me what they think!

[Lightchick]

Oh, and Beka, shockingly, Miss Lizzy has LOST weight since I last had her at the vet! Last time I took her in, I’d just got her from the shelter, where she didn’t get as much exercise, and her diet was based on pellets, rather than greens. (Although, when the nurse told me she weighed less, not more, I immediately freaked-out and thought, “OMG, I’m starving the poor thing!” Wouldn’t she like me to think so!)

And her nails weren’t extraordinarily long, but I had the vet-tech trim them for me anyway.

Thanks! I’ll definitely keep a closer eye on their nails now that I know it can cause sore hocks!

[MimzMum]

Fiver has those same spots on his hind feet and he’s a mini-rex. I recently switched out his bedding to a softer choice and will be making a little polar fleece tie blanket to cover the bottom of his pen with. I am hoping it will help ease the problem.
I also use Neosporin on them, when I can get him to let me touch his foot, that is.
Healing vibes for Lizzy! ((((((((((Lizzy Diva Bunny))))))))))))))

[BinkyBunny]

I agree, it doesn’t look in full blown sore-hock mode, but you do want to prevent it from getting worse. Sarita’s suggestion of keeping her nails trim is very important. Neosporin (plain, no pain med additive) is good. Best to put it on her when you know she’ll be resting, otherwise that goopy stuff will just push the cushiony fur away from the spot while she runs around.

[MarkBun]

Maryann has two such spots herself. The doctor just said to keep an eye on them.

[Author]

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