One sore hock

[Moggers]

Hi everyone,

I have been trying to get as much info about sore hocks as i can. My rabbit is 1/4 Flemish and is an inside rabbit. She lives with her brother and is the larger of the 2 but not fat I don’t think. She is about 4.4kg and he is about 4kg. I have taken them to 2 vets about her sore hock (and her brother’s sneezing fits). Both things started in about Jan. (I think the sneezing may just be an allergy to something, the first vet put him on antibiotics which seemed to make him sneeze less but be a bit lifeless and depressed? The second vet saud not to worry as there was no visible snot.)

My female rabbit, Pika, does not like being handled. I have been attempting to put a sock on her each day. I have had a few sucessful days, but she has taken to chewing them off, and i have to wrap them in medical tape to keep the sock up, but if it’s as loose as suggested online she gets it off in under a minute. I have covered the eclosure with a rug, some fleeces and a pile of fresh grass. She now thinks the whole enclosure is her toilet, which is annoying… they’ve both always used the litter trays previously. And she eats the fleece… which I feel isn’t ideal. I have tried f10 cream, betadine and manuka honey, but anything which is put on her foot she eventually licks off. So I’m worried about chlorohexadine soaks.

Can anyone advise how they managed chlorohexadine and rabbits grooming? And is there anything else i can do?

The first vet said we might need antibiotics, but neither vet seemed to know what to do considering Pika doesn’t tolerate a bandage or creams…

She is not limping, but lifts her sore foot occassionally when sitting, like it bothers her. I can’t think what’s caused it. She does not like it being touched, so it’s hard to get a good look at it.

Any advice welcome.

[caption id="attachment_1983460" align="alignnone" width="225"] Fluffy babies[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1983461" align="alignnone" width="300"] Pika wearing a sock[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1983462" align="alignnone" width="225"] Sore hock.[/caption]

[Bam]

Your buns are adorable! This is difficult.

One member here said their vet recommended them to rub bio hex schampoo on the sore hock, then rinse with water containing Nolvasan. This can of course be very difficult for one person to do if the bun is uncooperative and also big, as your girl is. It’d be great if someone could help you hold her, esp if you could do it sitting down on the bathroom floor so there wouldn’t be a fall if the bun decides to hop away.

From what I can find, chlorhexidine in the concentrations used for wound cleaning is not toxic if ingested in small amounts. Frequent licking of the wound would in itself be detrimental though, and prevent the sore from healing.

My rabbit vet recommends straw (a thick layer) as bedding. That’s not very practical indoors though. I know some people use seagrass mats. My buns eagerly chew fleece but dont eat it. They don’t chew vet beds (the thick pile mats with an antislip backside).

Oral bunny-safe antibiotics can still cause some mild GI distress, and inappetence is the most seen side effect. If your bun felt a bit queasy during the course of abx its reasonable to think that it affected his mood.

It’s not really possible to say just what caused the sore. The cause couldve been due to sth in the environment that you since have changed, so that now the sore just sort of maintains itself because your bun wont let you treat it or wrap it. Seeing that she is a big girl, she could perhaps have a back or hip oroblem that causes her to distribute her weight unevenly on her legs when she sits or hops.

I’m sorry I dont have any great tips for you. I hope someone else has.

 

 

 

 

[Moggers]

Thank you so much for your reply though, I feel at my wits end so I just need like a brains trust to come up with any solutions I haven’t.

I feel like the sock situation stresses her out, and i worry about her eating the sock, the tape, and licking off the ointment and cutting off blood supply. I sort of wish i could put a little shoe on her. But i guess she wouldn’t tolerate that either.

I think she may be over-grooming and making the sore worse. I just wonder if there is something in there causing it. I will go back to the vets i guess but I don’t really feel like antibiotics will make any difference, and that seemed to be the first vets next step… the second vet said it’s not infected just sore and he used some sort of laser on it to help with healing?

 

 

[LBJ10]

I’m not seeing the sore. How bad is it exactly? That will help us advise you better.

[Bam]

Oh yes, cold laser therapy! I think that could be really helpful actually! I have used a laser pointer for wound care for many years, both on human wounds and pet wounds. That type of light stimulates tissue healing. And as long as you don’t shine it in anybody’s eyes, it’d be perfectly safe. It seems LED light therapy can also help, but I haven’t used that myself. A laser pointer is not pricey at all. A quick google search gave me this brief explanation of why it works:

I did use the laser pointer on my bun Vilde’s sore hocks some years back, but that was in combination with conventional wound care, antibiotic ointment and bunny fur-lined foot wraps, so I can’t say if the laser made a difference for the outcome. His hocks healed though and never returned, even though he was an old bun with some chronic health problems.

There are soft bunny sore hock shoes/boots for sale on Etsy, but a bun that wont accept a sock or a wrap is perhaps not interested in wearing a boot.

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