Sore Hock Help!

[Deacon]

I’m sort-of at my wit’s end here…

My 3-year-old dwarf rabbit developed a sore hock on her left hind foot a few months back, and she will not let it heal! We’ve taken her on numerous doctor’s visits and tried several treatments, all to no avail. Every time the vet checks the hock, they notice no indication of an infection or underlying issue. Given her breed, she is very obsessed with cleaning herself…and picking at herself. The vets and I are of a similar mind that she is picking too much at the foot to allow the hair to grow back in and cover her hock adequately.

We tried an antibiotic cream, but that only seems to draw her attention to the spot more; we tried oral pain medication, and that had only increased her pain tolerance for picking, I assume, as it did not go away with this method either. To address the common questions, she has a Wabbitat plastic cage, in which she has at least two hops in each direction, covered in bedding that I change over twice a day to keep dry. She also gets out sufficient time outside of her cage during the day, given that I am WFH; all rooms she goes in are carpeted.

Does anybody have any advice as to what I should be or start doing? Anything would help and be greatly appreciated!

[Wick & Fable]

My 4yo Netherland Dwarf actually recently showed early stages of sore hocks — no opened blisters, but fur loss and reddening. From what I was told, I do not expect loss fur on the hock to grow back, but the focus is more on making sure the hocks don’t get worse. My understanding is once that fur is gone, it is likely gone for good or recurring fur growth would be sparse.

When you say “let it heal”, what do you mean? What does the hock look like? Also, you mention pain medication. Were there signs that it was painful for her?

Do you see her “picking” at it? Is she biting/nipping it or licking it often? My hopeful thought is if you’re not actually seeing her bugging it (more than what you would expect from a rabbit just grooming its feet daily), it is likely something else keeping it from improving as it can at this point, rather than her. And to stress, by improving, I mean not getting worse and looking more healthy; not necessarily new fur growth/disappearance of the sore.

The most important thing for flooring is that it is soft and generally mimics natural ground, so it gives traction, in addition to “giving” a bit to weight. I imagine bedding on a plastic bottom cage might still be slippy? I am curious about the bedding situation as well– changing it twice a day is a lot. Is this cage essentially a litterbox she freely pees/poops in and she stays in there for certain periods of the day? Or is it getting wet some other way? How long does she stay in the cage for and what time(s) of day?

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.

[Bam]

Some type of carpets can be abrasive. I had that problem last fall with my bun. I covered the abrasive carpet in the places my bun frequently uses as “roads”. I used vet bed mats, but puzzle foam mats would work too or perhaps just fleece blankets.

I wrapped my bun’s hocks, but that may not work if the bun is very set on grooming its hocks. It worked very well for my bun as long as I took great care to make sure none of the rabbit fur padding protruded from the wrap.  If my bun could manage to grab the fur padding, he would pull it out of the wrap.

Here is a description of the type of wrap I made: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sorehocks.html

(Dana Krempels is a trusted source.)

[Moonlightbunny66]

I think small spaces can contribute to sore hocks right? Maybe increase her space with an x-pen and use memory foam mats or the vet bed mats so her feet can be cushioned and can bend. (Correct me if I’m wrong about more space for sore hocks).

[Author]

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