Sitting posture.

[Tabitha]

Hey guys, I’ve found a lot of information about sore hocks, what causes them, and how to help them. Well, I have a mini rex that was on tile for a while, before I knew about the possibility of sores. She developed them along the back end of her hock to the extent of redness and baldness. A tiny moist spot on one of them, but no open wounds. I’ve been using mupirocin on the irritation and it’s already growing back the fur and becoming dry and scaly instead of bright red and raw.

So, past that… I fixed the flooring situation by wrapping some cardboard in canvas, then putting some soft paper bedding down over it so she has some cushion while healing. No more slipping at all.
Aside from the tile being hard, it also caused her front feet to slide forward, which caused her to adjust her weight to her hocks. I think that is the overall culprit. As she’s healing well so far, is there any hope of her being able to retrain herself to sit with more weight on the fronts of her feet, rather than shifting it? Anyone have any suggestions or advice for prompting her to readjust? Or, have I completely ruined her chances? She’s not sitting all out of wack or anything. It was really hardly noticeable until I knew what signs I was looking for, but obviously bad enough to cause issues. I’m aware that this may very well be an ongoing thing now. So, if there’s anything I can do to help her, I’m up for it!
Thank you all!

[jerseygirl]

Great work on getting her hocks looking better!

I’m just needing some more clarification of what you are asking about as you mention her front feet and also “fronts of her feet”. So, are you asking how you can get her placing weight more evenly on her entire hock (ie. including front part of the hock)? Or do you mean placing more weight on her front paws?

[Tabitha]

Sorry if I wasn’t very clear. When she was on the tile, as she sat with the her head up (not in the loaf posistion) her front feet would slip forward so she shifted her weight to her hocks to keep herself steady.

Yes, you are correct in that I would like to see her distributing the weight more evenly along her back feet, instead of mostly on her hocks, which is what caused the sores in the first place.

Hope that helps! Thank you, jerseygirl

[jerseygirl]

Thank you for that! I did think this was what you were asking but wanted to check for certain.

The only thing I do know that will help is keeping the nails short. You may already be doing this.

The nails on Rex buns are normally pretty obvious due to their short coat, so they are not hidden under fur. That can make them appear long also. If the quick in the nail has become long, then lots of regular trims will help to get it to recede and you’d be able keep the nails as short as possible. When too long, they’ll curvw and even start looking warped and growing outward.

Also, I don’t now if this would help but it wouldn’t hurt, in my opinion.. You could place some things around that she might rest on, as in, drape her self over. lol. So things like a tightly rolled up towel or blanket or a bolster pillow if she isn’t one to destroy items like that. You’ll sometimes see photos of rabbits propping themselves up on such things. Or even on their bond mate. I don’t know if it’s to help them relieve weight, ease the tummy at times or something they just enjoy doing.

I once read a comment about providing some uneven surfaces for rabbits, more like they would encounter in a natural setting. It made me really think. Im not really sure how you’d create something like it. A pile of blankets in the corner? They can shove it around and arrange to their liking perhaps. My original pair took to hanging out on a bean bag. Until a year later when they suddenly decided it should become a toilet.

Just writing this, Im thinking of one of my buns that has a tendency to sit oh a ramp. And nap in the litter box. I wonder if the ramp help his weight pitch his weight forwards a little?
Anyway, the flooring you’ve provided for your girl sounds as if it is absolutely helping, I’m not suggesting change that at all. Just maybe experiment with adding in some spots to see if she gravitates to them as preferred resting spots.

[jerseygirl]

I just found examples of buns doing the draping things. Id forgotten where Id seen it. So these donut beds are usually recommended for disabled rabbits to better support their weight when resting. It also showed bolster type beds.

http://sites.google.com/site/thehareapparent/disabled-bunnies-and-their-hare-apparent-beds

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