More sore hock trouble

[MimzMum]

Sooo… I had hoped we got Fiver’s sore hock licked. I was wrong.

Last night I had to have my daughter help me put on some more Neosporin because both heels were terribly raw looking. He isn’t able to get away from me as easily now, but he still does his best. He went right up over my crossed arms last night and danced away from me and into his pen. I mean, the last thing I saw was he was right up on his hind tiptoes and sprinting through the air. It would’ve been unbelievably funny if I hadn’t been so upset about his feet.

So, is this a life long thing I am looking at? Will his feet never get better? He was just so terrified last night, grutning and growling at me, I was really afraid I was going to get bitten…honestly if my left arm takes damage, I have a greater chance of winding up with lymphedema…but I just held him firm and told him he’d have to grin and bear it. Poor little guy is exhausted after one of these sessions and is huffing and puffing so hard. It just kills me to have to do this to him.

Perhaps I am not doing enough for gentle bedding. Does anyone have suggestions for this?

[Sarita]

I have 2 rabbits who have these callous type things on their heels – one is a rex and one is a New Zealand. They don’t seem to ever get better but they don’t get worse and as long as they don’t split and bleed, I just leave them be – they don’t seem to bother the rabbits. Seems like you are stressing him out and yourself out more if you try to put any ointment on them. I might just check them when he’s laying down and his feet are kicked out behind him and if they seem to be okay, then I would leave them alone.

[Beka27]

yes, it’s pretty much life-long. esp. with a rex. even when Meadow was 4 months at her first vet visit, she had a touch of pink… it’s hard for them to actually heal, b/c they’re always on them. if you had a sore on yor foot and walked or sat on it for 23 hours a day yours wouldn’t heal either… i’d keep doing some soft litter, make sure he has a towel or something soft in his cage at night…

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I can’t remember I think you switched to Carefresh bedding?

Have you looked into pillows? You can buy them for pets or make them yourself really cheaply (Use vetbed/faux sheepskin and sew over an old pillow or foam insert).

And I was just thinking about Straw…Not the easiset thing (but hey, we all deal with hay!) and its soft and warm and cozy…A bale would cost you 2-3$ and last a long time….

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh and also we used those foam mats (you know the jigsaw looking ones that go in garages or playrooms?) and put them under the floors in our condos. That way they can’t chew them but they add much more softness under the floor-takes away pressure.

These things http://www.wholesalekarate.com/images/8625.jpg

[MimzMum]

Thanks everyone! Yes, I’ve tried just about every soft bedding option I can think of, with the exception of the interlocking foam-which I’ll look into, thanks K&K! Poor little guy just can’t catch a break when it comes to those feet.
Last night we went for the capture and release method again. He did much better this time and seems to be realizing that we are only trying to help him. The whole thing works much better with my daughter assisting. My guess is, the little guy recognizes when there’s a male in the room and then he tends to bug out more than when it’s just us girls.
I am sad to hear he’ll always have it. I was really hoping I could get it under control and then he wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.
He can still move though…lol. I’ve never seen anything like it. Even Pip can’t get the air that Fiver does and I’ve seen her go to the top of her xpen in one boing.

You all don’t think the feet could be getting worse due to stress, do you?

[Scarlet_Rose]

Mimz, I am so sorry to hear about the sore hock trouble. Fortunately Daffodil doesn’t have it to quite the degree Fiver does and I too switche dto Care Fresh, however I use that as a soft layer over the pelletized litter because I noticed a sea of pee on the bottom of the litterbox from the Care Fresh and it was soaking their feet, which will make the sore hocks worse. The only other things besides the inter-locking foam squares that I can think of is plain old straw bedding. Although I really hesitate because it may cause the litterbox habits to worsen and can be quite messy to clean up. Mimz, what are you cleaning the surfaces with that Fiver hops on? Is it anything like and unrinsed vinegar/water solution that would raise the ph of the flooring? If so, this will make sore hocks worse.

I also wanted to add that sometimes, no matter what you do that is right, they can get worse, then better, then worse again.  It is a hard cycle but don’t punish yourself by thinking you aren’t doing enough.  In fact sometimes putting too much ointment on unless it is broken open (to prevent infection) can be worse than leaving it alone.  The reason is that the ointment softens the skin and makes it more supple and prone to being irritated and rubbed raw.  You really want the skin to toughen up and sometimes the method of a cold, wet tea bag compress helps to accomplish this.  Have you tried that route yet?

[MimzMum]

Thanks Rose. Well, I’d try the teabag, but he won’t hold still long enough to apply it. In fact, I can’t get it anywhere near his foot. He is a little better about letting me hold him, but you can tell he just does not like it. He is so stressed after i treat his feet that I spray a little Rescue Remedy on a piece of berry cookie to give him after we are done. Otherwise he is still hyperventilating for an hour afterward.

But now I never thought it might be what I’m washing his bedding with. He has two beautiful bunny mattresses from the UK that I wash in the machine with that Snuggle lilac detergent…perhaps there is too much of it on the bed remaining after the rinse? Should I use the baking soda/vinegar method that (I think) jerseygirl suggested for cleaning my stuffed animals? (1/2 cup baking soda in with the soap-which you use less of during the wash and then 1/2 cup vinegar to help with the rinse?)

Maybe I should just wash the bedding without any soap at all? The last time I washed it I only put in a small amount of Cheer Free liquid and didn’t wash the bedding with anything else and hung it out to dry. His feet have actually looked a little better last night and I haven’t put any Neosporin on them in two days.

[BinkyBunny]

Also,keeping his nails trim will help keep the pressure off the hock. You may already do this, but I just wanted to make sure to add that.

Keep us updated – poor Fiver Feet! Sometimes some bunnies are just more susceptible even when you do everything right.

[jerseygirl]

Sorry to hear Fiver’s troubles are continuing. The Cheer free sounds like a good option (it’s scent free right?) Anyone with eczema or sensitive skin knows how irritating all the perfumes and caustic ingredients can be. I’m not a fan of most laundry detergents – and I choke when I walk down that aisle in the supermarket! It’s insane!

Maybe use even less than recommended and pop a splash of vinegar in the rinse to take out any excess detergent. If you suspect the vinegar also, then do a final rinse just in water. Some items i.e. woolens, pillows, sheepkins etc seem to get extra sudsy and take more to rinse.

What flooring and bedding does Fiver have in his enclosure exactly ? And where does he spend most his time? I’m thinking with fabrics or carpets he may get friction ‘burn’. Or the hocks are overheated. Things like faux sheepkins may cause the hocks to get too hot and if they have an infection, then there likely to be hot to begin with. Does he lie with them out to the side much?

I don’t know too much about sore hocks.  Do the buns still groom them even if they’re sore?  Does that irritate it further?

[Scarlet_Rose]

Mimz, the detergent may be irritating it further and the Cheer free should be O.K. but not the fabric softener.  Fabric softener leaves a film on clothes along with their scent and could potentially aggrivate the sore hocks. 

Jerseygirl I totally sympathize with you, I have sensitive skin and cannot use anything in the laundry soap aisle at the store.  I used to use Dreft and it was O.K. but it started to make me itch for some reason and so now I use an all-natural bio-degradeable soap from my local health food store.  It is such a pain sometimes.

As for grooming the sore hocks, I do not see my two do that very much.  I do know that carpet, seisal rugs etc. can act like as an abrasive on them and make them worse though.

BB – Thanks for the reminder on trimming the nails.  I totally spaced out mentioning that too.

[MimzMum]

Thanks everyone. Yes, his feet seem to be doing much better since I removed the faux sheepskin (he is sad because he misses his cuddly cup, but it can’t be helped) and do not use too much detergent in his wash. The fur is gone, hopelessly, but the skin is a nice healthy pink now. He just had his nails trimmed a few weeks ago, but I can see it’s going to be needed again soon.

He still zooms around on the bed at night for his out time, although not as much lately. I am not sure if this is because he’s becoming less stressed and therefore needs to bounce less, or if his feet still hurt him, although I kind of think not; one big factor may be that my black cat has taken a liking to sleeping right next to him at the bars of his pen and-although she hasn’t hurt him-I think that make shim just a bit nervous that she might be lurking about somewhere when he comes out for his play time in the evenings.

jerseygirl, the only bedding I use for him now is this pet mattress I got from the Pet Extraordinairium in the UK. I can post the link to the site here, but I forgot the name of the mattress. They only had two left, so I sniped them.
I’ll try to take a picture of it and post it here.

[jerseygirl]

You had a previous thread on this hock issue right? I didn’t read it all, so was unaware of what you’ve been doing etc. Sorry if I repeated things already addressed. Sounds like they are on the improve though, which is great!

[MimzMum]

No problem, Kate. I often need to be reminded of stuff anyway, as I have the memory span of a goldfish most days. ^_^

Here’s the link to the bedding I got at the Extraordinarium.

http://www.thepetextraordinarium.co.uk/product.asp?c_id=3&s_id=52&p_id=976

Sadly they are out of them right now, but I hope they’ll get more soon. It’s called the “40 Winks Mattress”. I highly recommend it, not only for softness but durability and ease of washing. Most other products I’ve gotten for the buns fall apart after one or two loads through the machine, this one has surpassed them all!
Plus it has the “Hrairoo Minimus Rex” stamp of lagomorph approval! Very hard to come by these days! *nods* He actually gets quite distressed when I take it out for cleaning and whines and thumps until it is returned.

[Author]

Messages