# redness on pad of feet



## sharonb1515 (Dec 21, 2012)

I just went to cut my bunnies nails and noticed her front foot is a little red on the pad of foot. It looks like she has less hair on that foot than the others too. She definately didnt want me touching it. I feel terrible. Is there anything I can do to help her? Its not bleeding or anythind just really pink/ red.


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## Imbrium (Dec 21, 2012)

sounds like sore hocks - bunnies don't have pads on their feet like cats and dogs do, so all they have is their hair to protect their sensitive skin. some breeds are more prone to it and having a wire-bottomed cage can cause it.

make sure she's got a solid surface to stand on, preferably padded with something (a couple layers of fleece if she's a chewer/a folded towel would work if she isn't). you can apply a little bit of neosporin *without* pain reliever or polysporin to the sore spot. off the top of my head, I don't remember any other remedies, but hopefully someone will wander along soon who can help more.


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## Bunnylova4eva (Dec 21, 2012)

Yep, I agree with Jennifer-Sore hocks.


A few causes:

Predisposed due to breed (large breeds, rexes etc.)
Long Nails
Wire Bottomed cage
Being housed in a small cage with little room to move around
Dirty cage
Frequent Thumping 
Arthritis (causes bunny to sit in unnatural position on feet)
Obesity


Several things you can do:

Neosporin *without* pain reliever
OR something like Silver SSD cream or another similar one from your vet
Trying putting something soft everywhere in the cage. I've had putting layered fleece blankets around everywhere work best for my sore hocks bunnies.
You can put baby socks on to cover it and help them heal faster.
If you're really worried you can talk to the vet about bandaging or try yourself to wrap with Vetrap (be very careful doing this yourself)


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## JBun (Dec 21, 2012)

If it's not too bad and not infected with a sore, you may be able to just put fleece down and it will slowly get better. I had the same problem with one of my buns, but he had an infected sore, so I put a gob of antibiotic ointement(non-pain reliever kind) and a gauze pad over it, then I vet wrapped the foot, luckily he mostly left it alone and didn't try to chew it off. I've heard of people using A&D oinment for sore hocks on the back feet, and also using baby socks and using a little vet wrap to keep them on, but that was on the back feet. I don't know how well a baby sock would work on the front foot, if it would stay on or not. If you decide to use vet wrap, you have to cut a strip about 1-2 in. wide and when you wrap don't wrap too tight that it cuts off circulation, but snug enough that it doesn't fall off.


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## LakeCondo (Dec 21, 2012)

Maybe socks for dolls would be best for front feet.


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## sharonb1515 (Dec 22, 2012)

How long do they usually take to heal up if I do antibiotic cream?


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## degrassi (Dec 22, 2012)

My bunny had sore hocks back in November. There was red patches and sores on his back feet. The vet gave me a antibiotic cream and I switched his flooring to foam mats(previously it was coroplast) and put a towel over it for extra padding. After about a week they looked a lot better and by 2 weeks they were almost back to normal. After a few weeks I removed the towel and now he just has the foam mats. Been about a month and a half and his feet are back to normal.


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## SaruCharmed (Dec 27, 2012)

I think my bunny has one of these. I saw a little spot on his foot that was red and the hair was worn away. But I don't know why it happened. He is a rex but the cage has one of those beds from pet-rabbit-toys.com on the floor and the part that isn't covered is not a wire bottom. It's like flat but has holes in it so that everything falls through to the bottom tray so it isn't all that dirty either and I clean his cage once or a week or every two weeks, and replace his litter box when it's all wet, usually once a day. Maybe it's a little small. I should give him more time outside his cage but he still hasn't grasped litter training. I think it's because he needs to be fixed...


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## Nancy McClelland (Dec 27, 2012)

Definitely neuter and the habits will improve. Rexes seem to be more prone to sore hocks. Mine have carpet, grass mats and wood flooring.


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## JBun (Dec 27, 2012)

I have a bun that I noticed the hair rubbing off his hocks and it was starting to get sore. I was surprised as he has a carpet and linoleum floor. I layed fleece down over the carpet and put a layer of hay over his litter as it was a little rough, and his feet got better.


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