Teddy has sore hocks on just 1 of his feet

[Meg]

Hi everyone!  I hope you’re doing well.  Teddy (Lionhead) is 12 3/4 today!  He’s doing pretty well considering, but he’s just started a sore hocks issue on one foot, and after reading through past forum posts on this issue and taking some first steps, I wanted to run the situation by you all if you don’t mind.

So I first noticed a bit of a pink patch on Teddy’s back right foot a few days ago, and then here it is today:

I’m particularly worried about that white circle at the top.  The good news is it’s not worse than yesterday, but still.  So yesterday I saw it looking like this, did a bunch of research to see what I could use from what I had at home, and I put some calamine lotion on the white spot and some zinc oxide ointment on the long pink patch below it.  Today I think the pink patch might look a little worse, but there’s still no broken skin there.

This evening I put on a couple of OTC things that I had ordered overnight: a nano-silver antibiotic gel on the white spot, and then some Corona lanolin ointment (which I saw mentioned here) on the pink patch.  I was able to kind of knit some of his foot fur over the pink patch, after putting on the ointment, so it might keep him a bit more protected for a little bit.  I’ll of course keep checking frequently and reapplying, and will take him to the vet if things get worse.  He gets stasis almost every time he has to go to the vet (which is a bit of a drive from here) so that’s why that’s not my first move in this case. I’ve also ordered a 2% chlorhexidine gluconate spray that should arrive tomorrow.  I read about the fur+wrap approach but also saw a lot of ambivalent comments here, and Teddy doesn’t strike me as being likely to be amenable, but we can keep that in our back pocket.  I also trimmed his nails today — they had definitely gotten too long.

It’s notable that this is just on his right foot, and I think it’s because of some asymmetry in how he holds his back legs these days.  He was diagnosed with spondylosis a few years ago and though he’s been on meloxicam since and is pretty sprightly considering, I notice stiffness in his back right leg especially.  He still hops around a fair amount and hops up the foam steps to the upstairs of his Cottontail Cottage, but if he’s pausing mid-hop, he looks like he has a little bit of a diagonal tilt to his hips/legs.  The vet hasn’t mentioned that there’s anything more we can do about this, so I’m guessing we just need to focus on keeping surfaces soft and cushiony for him at this point?  I have noticed him moving around a little less than usual the past few days, and am unsure whether that was the cause or the result of the sore hocks.

He’s had wool rugs for years with no problems, but after noticing a bit of pink on his soles a few years ago, I covered his main area with a fleece blanket, and then the pinkness resolved (till just recently).  I’ve just put down a thicker, softer fleece blanket to go in that area and have ordered another one to cut up and put in all the other places he likes to hang out, plus a couple of memory foam mats for his rest spots.  (The funny thing is he has some nice soft plush cat beds, but he doesn’t like to sit on them!  I think they might be too thick — at 4-5cm, it might feel too much like not-the-floor for him, so I’m hoping the memory foam mats will find more favor. 😉

What do you think?  I’d love to hear your thoughts on what to do, what to expect, etc.  Apart from the slight pink a few years ago, I haven’t dealt with sore hocks before so this is new to me!  I feel really sad at the thought that the spondylosis might cause complications we can’t cure, because he is my world and I hate for him to suffer.  But I’m trying to stay optimistic and hope things will improve soon.

Thank you so much!!

[Bam]

I think you’re doing great! It’s highly reasonable that he puts more pressure on one foot due to age-related arthritis.

My Vilde (who was Teddy’s doppelganger pretty much!) got sore hocks after a longer period of illness, the sores came first when he was back to his active self and started to run around again. If there’s no open sores, you can use spray-on band aid (but don’t if there are open sores because it stings).

I made a foot wrap like Dana Krempels describe. I lined it with his own fur (I save fur when I brush rabbits), but I had to take care to tuck every last bit of fur lining into the wrap, if there was even the smallest bit of sticking out he’d pull the fur lining out himself. As long as there was no bits sticking out, he accepted the wraps. I also covered even slightly abrasive carpet with vet beds in the area where he preferred to run.

It took several weeks with daily wound care but it did heal. I think the wraps enabled new fur to grow out “undisturbed”. I kept keeping a close eye on his feet though, in case it should come back.

Regarding the beds, I think you’re right there as well. I think many buns dislike the “wobbliness”, when they can’t feel firm ground under their feet they feel they’re not in control.

 

[DanaNM]

It sounds like you have taken a lot of good steps!

Wick&Fable just recommended the “shepette” fabric to me, and it’s been wonderful for Myra and Bun Jovi. I always had a hard time getting them to sit on soft things, but I covered their whole pen in this and it’s been really good for them. I can’t comment on hock issues specifically, but it is very plush while still providing traction, so Bun Jovi has an easier time balancing on it and his feet don’t slip around. It’s originally made for preventing bed sores in humans, so I imagine it would work well for sore hocks. All the amazon review photos are of people using it for their disabled buns <3

. . . 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.  

[Meg]

Thank you sooo much, Bam and DanaNM!  It’s great to hear from you and I really appreciate your advice.  I just ordered some sheepette fabric and it looks very promising — thank you so much for the tip!  🙂  So glad Bun Jovi and Myra are doing so well with it.

And good to know about the foot wrap — if Teddy’s twin, Vilde, accepted it then maybe Teddy can too!  😉  I ordered some vet wrap so that we can try it if needed.

Thank you so much!  I’ll let you know how it goes.  Thanks again!

[Meg]

Hi everyone!  Just wanted to update briefly — I kept up some different ointments until we took Teddy to the vet on Friday.  She actually said she didn’t think the skin looked broken, just balding at this point.  And that she would actually not suggest ointments/creams in this case, since it tends to keep the skin too soft and can accelerate the fur loss (through matting).  So she said to focus on giving him softer surfaces, which we have been.

Teddy’s been hiding more and eating less since the vet, as usual, poor guy.  So we’re giving him a little space to settle down while also watching for stasis, and we are giving him more of his favorite fresh herbs and other snacks more frequently to tempt him to keep eating.  Luckily that’s going OK so far.

The good news is that he otherwise got a really good report from the vet!  I had a lot of questions about whether there’s anything else we’re missing, whether his teeth are OK, if he’s lost too much weight, etc.  But she said he looked good, she found no new concerns, and that since his last checkup 6 months ago, his teeth looked OK/unchanged and his weight was stable.  So that was a big relief!

We’ll keep an eye on his foot.  Thank you so much again!

[Wick & Fable]

It’s great to hear he is otherwise doing well and the concern regarding creams does actually make sense. Stable weight especially is a great sign as well. Thanks for the update!!

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.

[Meg]

Thank you so much!  That’s really reassuring to hear.  🙂  And Teddy will be so thrilled we don’t have to pick him up every day anymore!  😉

[Bam]

It does sound great! It’s very true that ointments make the fur less fluffy and protective, which makes sore hocks more difficult to treat. Its great news that it only seems to be callousing, not open sores!

[Meg]

Totally — thank you so much, Bam!  🙂 🙂

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