Sore bunny foot, oh no!

[Kate Monster]

While attempting to trim Spencer’s toe nails on Sunday, I noticed the pad on one of his front feet looks irritated and sore.  It’s not bleeding, but it looks very raw and red and is lacking in fur. As of yesterday he’s started to lick it a lot.  He doesn’t seem to favor it at all and still plays around and is eating fine.  I made an appointment with the vet, but unfortunately there is only one vet in my city who treats bunnies and they can’t get us in for two weeks! (I don’t have a car, so travelling to another city isn’t an option)

1) Is there anything I can do in the meantime that might help the problem?

2) Any ideas as to how this happened?  My bunnies don’t live in a wire bottom cage. I got them from the Humane Society about two months ago, is it possible it started there and has just gotten bad enough to be obvious? They recently travelled in a cage with a wire bottom (for some reason when we travel they both hang out on the wire side where they’re supposed to poop and ignore the covered side. Bunnies.) , is that something that can happen within hours? I feel terrible of course, I don’t like to think of my poor bunny being sore! And I definitely don’t want him to stay that way/get worse in the time it takes the vet to see him! 

[Griffenbun]

Hi! In December I took in a bun from a friend of a friend who also had a soar on her foot, sounds just like the one on your bun’s foot! I took her to the vet and the dr. told me to just watch it, it took a few weeks but it did go away. I think my bun’s soar foot was from poor hygiene maybe bc she wasn’t well looked after before we got her. The vet didn’t give me any clues as to why she had the sore. We made sure to keep the cage super clean. Probably should still see a vet anyway just incase its infected.

[Griffenbun]

how long since you got him from the humane society?..maybe if you inform them their staff can take a look at it for free?

[LittlePuffyTail]

Hi there. I’ve dealt with a few sore hocks situations. Just want to make sure what your referring to is actually sore hocks. Is the sore on the heel area of the foot? Is there a scab like it may have been open at one point. Is the skin cracked or sore to the touch?

There are numerous things that can cause sore hocks: lack of fur on the feet, wet bedding, long toe nails, overweight bunny. Some rabbits just get them for no apparent reason. My Mini-Lop has super furry feet and lives in a cage with lots of fleece blankets and faux-fur pads and still has problems with his hocks occasionally.

What is your bunnies living area like? What sort of floor is he on most of the time?

There are several things you can do while waiting for the vet. Most important, make sure his nails are as short as can be. Keep his cage very clean and dry. Make sure he has plenty of padding in his cage. Filling his cage with a deep bed of hay is best and add a fleece blanket to his sleeping area (make sure he doesn’t chew or eat it). An old wives remedy that I’ve had some success with is make a compress with a warm tea bag and apply to his foot for as long as he will tolerate. 5 minutes is a good amount of time. This helps harden the callous. You could also ask your vet if they have any Derma-Gel. This is a veterinary ointment that can be applied to help seal the sore. You have to put it in a thin layer and blow on it to allow it to dry.

Good luck with your bunny’s feet. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

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