Sore Hocks?

[skibunny8503]

I noticed this the one day when I actually was able to hold Gracie still in my arms for a bit to check her over.  I was checking her all over and noticed that I could see pink on her feet.  She has thick fur so I had to move it a bit but you could see her skin on her heal.  I’m guessing this is a sore hock?  Her previous owners had her in a very small wire cage for several years, so that explains why her feet are like that.  I think one of her front paws has a little bit of inflamed pink skin by her nail; but I’d have to look again and she’s hiding right now.  The only wire she goes on now is the grid in the litter box (which is usually covered up anyways by shredded paper).  Is this anything to be concerned about right now or anything I could do?  She doesn’t seem to be in any kind of pain. 
Thanks

[Sarita]

While that is not really a sore hock which is an infection it is a callous which could lead to an infection usually caused by an open sore in that area or increased pressure.

It is probably as you mention caused by the wire flooring she was on previously.

Make sure her back nails are trimmed properly so she keeps her weight evenly distributed on the back legs for one thing. But she now has more appropriate housing and more sanitary conditions she should be fine.

[RabbitPam]

Is it possible to remove the wire grid from her litter box? It might not be making her worse, but she might feel better without a grid if she has sensitive feet from her previous cage’s wire floor. If she likes her brand of litter, it probably won’t scatter and most litters stop odor and are easy to clean.

[sibley]

You should probably take her to the vet. If it’s just inflammation from being rubbed you can treat it with neosporin but it’s also very likely that it’s a parasite or something else, and putting neosporin on something like a bacterial infection will result in the good bugs being killed off and the bad bacteria being allowed to thrive.

To be safe, do a thorough cleaning since it doesn’t seem like there are that many areas in the cage to be causing sore hocks. Make sure there are no buggies hurting your bun on the cage bottom.

[skibunny8503]

Thanks for your responses guys!  Well the grid (NIC Grid we bent) was put in there because she kept digging all the litter out of her box.  She hasn’t tried to dig in it recently, so I might try to take it off.  We try to cover it up with shredded paper to cushion their feet, so at least if she tries to dig, not that much would come out. 
She did have some soft poo today but I think that was because she kept eating cardboard yesterday!  My mom had this cardboard with a circle in it like a tunnel (have no clue where it came from, some kind of packaging maybe) and we zip tied it to run through, but I guess it was more appetizing to Gracie than fun.  The ends of the circle (almost like a hat box) were bent down and I think there was a little glue on it, so we took that out asap after we saw how much was gone and how much wasn’t on the floor (so we guessed she ate it, the pig!)  I still have to clean off the smears on the floor ewww!!  We did spray vinegar water on the cage bottom before they came home when we got back from vacation and vacuumed it up.  I’ll probably call the vet soon and try to get an appt. for next week.

[Sarita]

My vet has prescribed silvadene for the callouses – this helps soften the skin. But my rex and my New Zealand both have these callouses on their heels. Silvadene is great for many things – I use it for urine scald as well. I think it was made initially for burn victims so it’s very soothing.

My New Zealand was close to getting an infection on her hocks when I got her from the shelter – my vet said that luckily no bone was showing – apparently she had unsanitary living conditions when I got her (can only speculate what this was). She still has the callouses but otherwise no problems and she’s a large lady.

I think as long as you are vigilant and keep her area clean she should stay in good shape but having something like silvadene on hand is not a bad idea (it does expire so you have to watch that).

[Author]

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