Sore Hock – early stages; treatments

[Wick & Fable]

Wick has early stages of sore hocks and I’m wondering about guidance on ensuring they don’t get worse! Currently, there is significant loss of fur in the area of the callus, so there is little to no more fur cushioning on his hocks. Sometimes when he lounges, I can see the callus without moving fur aside, and sometimes I can’t. One foot is slightly worse than the other, but I don’t think it is in a clinically significant way (i.e. something is causing him to lean on one foot more than the other).

This is one callus from Dec. 16th, the day we went to a vet for assessment:

.. The vet mentioned it doesn’t look too bad, and at this stage, it’s about working to make sure it doesn’t get worse. As of now, I think it hasn’t gotten worse.

In terms of causes:

1. This coincides with Wick’s new cage, which I used a rougher carpet as flooring. It was set up Dec. 1st, so I think the carpet’s texture was too rough.
   1. Notably, I do have the same rough carpet in two hidey-houses in Wick’s free-roam space, but he just sleeps in there/lounges in there, rather than actively roaming in them, so I’m hoping that’s OK. He doesn’t enjoy the houses if they are covered in fleece.
2.  The vet noted Wick gained weight since he last saw her. This was the first time he went to her in 2 years (we have a new vet, but he didn’t have availability anytime soon). Two years ago, he was 1.17kg (2.6lb) and now, he is 1.28kg (2.8lb). The vet admitted this is a minor weight change, but due to his size, it might be enough to impact his hocks.

In terms of current action, I have covered Wick’s new cage flooring in fleece (with 0.5in memory foam pads being shipped to my place tomorrow to put on the jumping platforms) and have reduced his pellets/making him exercise more to get them. I have been tracking his weight daily and it fluctuates from 2.6lb to 3.0lbs, leaning much more to the higher end.

The vet recommended flaxseed oil (?) as it can ‘harden skin’ and make it more robust. It was a $40 purchase though and I was not financially OK to get it on the spot.

I’m wondering what recommendations others might have? I do have silvadine cream, but am wary if using it in early stages is not the correct thing to do, since it moistens the skin.

 

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[LBJ10]

Hmm… I have not heard of trying to harden the skin. Most people say to moisturize the callus with an ointment or cream.

[DanaNM]

Hmmm, it doesn’t look too bad, but it does look a bit red. And pretty unusual for a dwarf to get sore hocks! Has be been thumping a lot? Bun Jovi has a callus from thumping so much. His are definitely in the “keep an eye on it” category.

Does he do well with beds? Maybe just having a softer place to rest will help. I also wonder if those double weave seagrass mats might be good for him. They aren’t that soft, but they are an uneven texture and the nails can sink into them so the pressure on the foot is a bit different.

Myra also currently has a little heal callus I’m watching too, and her new vet specifically mentioned keeping the litter box extra clean as sitting on the urine is one of the more common causes in house rabbits with good housing (I hadn’t thought about this since mostly we associate sore hocks with wire flooring). Could the urine potentially be pooling a bit on the litter box screens you use? Maybe a temporary shift to a soft bedding without the screen would be a good experiment to rule that out as a contributing factor?

Interesting about flax seed oil. Might be cheaper to just give some flax seeds? I think sherwood pellets have flaxseed as an ingredient.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Wick & Fable]

Aside from the rough carpet, he doesn’t tick any of the boxes for what typically causes sore hocks. No thumping or anything, haha. Poor Bun Jovi. His ‘tude wasn’t very helpful for him.

The rough carpet has been completely covered by either fleece or with fleece covering half-inch memory foam. Again, they are still in the two hidey houses he sometimes sleeps in, but I hope that’s OK since it’s only occasional daytime napping and not active running…. I think being in the overnight cage for 8+hrs per night with the rough carpet is what did it. Even though for me that sounds awfully accelerated.

In terms of litterboxes, no problems there that I can tell. I change them once a day, and they have 4. Wick’s pees are also very small so not much for him to “stew” in. I use the wood pellets, which are rough texture, so I think the screen is definitely the more comfy option. He tends to eat the most hay from the open hay feeder actually, which is just on carpet (regular carpet; not the rough one).

While I think experimenting without the screen might be a good experiment, I’d have to buy new litter and also he’s had that set up for over a year (with wood pellets underneath; over 3 years using the screen in general). I would think it’s unlikely to be the problem. Do you have any thoughts on this?

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[jerseygirl]

“think being in the overnight cage for 8+hrs per night with the rough carpet is what did it. ”

I tend to agree. Some carpets can be abrasive. His hock doesn’t look too bad, more like bit inflamed rather like from friction. It will be interesting to see how things go now you have that sorted. For the other area, if you are worried, you could try put some old bedsheets or other cotton over the carpet in hidey-house. But it doesn’t sound like he moves around much once there. 😄

Do you think thehock that is more bald is the one he typically pivots on?

Both Jersey & Gooseman occasionally got some irritation on hock callous and it didn’t seem to take much for it to heal. Often I put sudocreme on it and hoped it would remain on long enough to help. I only needed apply a few times. I think Goose has a fold of fur that would go back over the spot and I think that helped. Sometimes I’d apply a round band aid just to give extra protection. It stuck to the fur around the spot rather then on the skin itself.

I did try wrapping his hock a few times more as an experiment. He would inevitably pull everything off. If I had used wider vet wrap, it might have been more successful. I even needle felted some of his fur once with the idea I could make a little bootie. 😄

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