My rabbit has a red fur patch. Could it be sore hocks? What helps?

Thanks for reaching out about Mr. Waffles and including photos. Many rabbit breeds have fur-less areas on the point of their hocks. These don't appear too bad. Is she painful when you press on them? Pure aloe vera can be topically applied and is little concerned if ingested. Don't forget to get her spayed. Good luck.

Rabbits get a condition called pododermatitis very easily which is essentially where the pressure points on the feet get inflamed. It is relatively common and should be treated if they appear red and sore or infected. If it's really bad you should take her to the vet for antibiotics, otherwise you can try bathing the hocks at home in salty water, drying them off then applying a topical healing cream once daily. It is also important to make sure she has soft clean bedding to reduce pressure and moisture.

A lot of rabbits do develop a condition called pododermatitis where the surface of the feet become raw and infected. However it sounds like you are taking all the right steps to prevent this. The most important thing is a dry environment. With rabbits you will sometimes get inevitable hair loss on the hocks just from rubbing and thumping the legs. There is not much you can do about this. If it does look like the skin is breaking out or becoming red you can try rubbing some sudocreme on in the early stages. If it gets infected you will need to get it treated at the vets. The only other thing would be to ensure the rabbit is not overweight which puts uneccessary burden on the limbs and restricts grooming.

I am so sorry for the delay in answering your question. The best thing you can do for a wound at home is to keep it clean. Clean the cage out completely. Make sure there is soft, clean bedding in the cage at all times, which means you need to replace the bedding material daily while the sore is present. Most pharmacies will have Betadine. Get some water and add a few drops of butadiene so that it looks like tea. Then submerge the affected foot into the liquid. Try to keep it wet for a minute or so if he will tolerate it. Then gently pat it dry with a clean towel. You can take a picture and submit it with a question to the forum, and one of us can try to further advise you. Again the best thing you can do at this point is to be sure to keep it clean. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

This is pretty much the correct thing to do, make sure you put a large amount of bedding to make it softer for the paws as these wounds are usually caused as a result of pressure, make sure you clean the cage more often and if it doesn't resolve take him to the vet as he will need some systemic antibiotics (should not be expensive).

I am sorry that this is happening to Lucy. Pododermatitis (foot inflammation) can be very serious in rabbits, so I am glad that you are planning to get Lucy to the vet as soon as possible. Until her visit, I would recommend that you house Lucy on towels, fleeces, or something that can be easily cleaned and will not stick to her feet. For cleaning, I would recommend using saline solution without any additives. This will help to remove any debris that may be present on the area, but won't hurt any of the tissue underneath. You should be able to purchase saline at a drug store. I hope that helps, and I hope that Lucy feels better soon!

Hi there, I'm unfamiliar with this product use in rabbits. In the future, I would recommend using Revolution from a veterinarian, as the active ingredient selamectin has been well studied for its safety in rabbit species. I think everything else about your plan sounds great though. You can add bedding and blankets to help with sore hocks, as well as making sure he is a lean body condition (not overweight). I love the LaFeber website for small mammal articles: https://lafeber.com/mammals/rabbits/ I hope that's helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.