Well now I know why she has been so grumpy - u/d tues

Flo has started limping today. Like a good bunmum I have investigated. She has a small bare patch on one hock. It has a little bit of a scab in the middle. Well she is a rex cross I guess it was just a matter of time The daft thing is it is the other leg she is limping on. I have given her some metacam for the limp and she is going to the vet tomorrow for the sore hock. You'll be pleased to know that the pesky harness is getting it's come uppance though. She has bitten almost halfway through it!

Aww! Poor Flo!! Hope the vet trip goes ok.

cheryl'n'bruce'flo wrote:Flo has started limping today. Like a good bunmum I have investigated. She has a small bare patch on one hock. It has a little bit of a scab in the middle. Well she is a rex cross I guess it was just a matter of time The daft thing is it is the other leg she is limping on. I have given her some metacam for the limp and she is going to the vet tomorrow for the sore hock. You'll be pleased to know that the pesky harness is getting it's come uppance though. She has bitten almost halfway through it!

poor flo,hope she is ok

So I am wondering about the cause of the problem as well now. I have cut her nails again to make doubly sure but seeing as she flinched on a few I doubt that they were the problem. Which leave flooring. Flo generally avoids the living room so it is unlikely that it is the carpet. In the bun room they have some vetbed (which I have now moved to their most used area) and 3 large jute mats. Some little washable mats where she lands from the chairs and a carpet type rug on the dining table. I have given the table and chairs over to the buns because I simply couldn't keep Flo off them. I piled stuff on the table and she still managed to get up there so I tried to make it as safe as possible. I am assuming that the table carpet is the most likely culprit causing friction burns when she jumps on and off the table. What do you think would be a more suitable covering?

It's hard to tell. I've read that carpet etc can cause friction burns and sore hocks so people switch to lino or chipboard etc and sometimes lino and chipboard can cause friction burns and sore hocks so switch to carpet!
I was wondering about a non slip type covering, not sure what material it is but I wonder if they would be inclined to chew it

Interestingly, the other week at Caroline she taught me something I didn't know. All buns have small dry tough patches of skin on their hind legs anyway. Of no use here but I didn't know that.

Lots of vibes for Flo, typical that she's chewed through that blimmin' harness! xx

Isn't jute like hard woven grass? If it is the stuff I am thinking of, I think that is what I would suspect first.

Get well soon, Flo - and chew the rest of the way through that harness

The problem is that Bruce is the destroyer of soft things. Dog beds, fleecy blankets, vetbed he has seen them all and chewed them all. Flo is a fully paid up carpet chewer. She also stongly dislikes the bare hard flooring. If you put her on it she would scramble under the table and then stay there refusing to move. She is also given to peeing on all the soft things that Bruce likes to chew.

So in short, I need something on the floor that is easy to clean and rabbit proof.

Have you ever tried them on a bit of lino?

It might not count as soft enough for Bruce to chew, or carpetty enough for Flo, and it is less slippy than wood floors.

Vibes for Flo and hope you manage to find a suitable alternative for flooring

I would suspect the jute rug too. I bought one the other day but when it came I thought it felt too rough for daisy's feet.

aww poor little flo lots of vibes on the way
could she be like domino she seems to be prone due to her breed

As I think I said earlier Rob I have felt for some time that it is inevitable.

Sparky the buns have a textured Karndean flooring. I picked it specifically because it was less slippery than the lino I could find locally and also more chew resistant. But Flo will still not venture onto it.

Poor Flo! I've experienced that chip board must be sealed and have either several coats of paint or that textured epoxy covering. My feet learned that the hard way.

A cushioned lino flooring would be nice. The kind that has a slight pattern to it. We have that in the bedroom and Thumper was initially afraid of it as he is all slick floors. He navigates fine except if his nails need trimming...wich we need to do again....hope I don't draw blood this time!

Oh no sending millions of vibes she gets better quickly and you discover the cause. I unfortunately noticed what I thought was a sore hock the other day on Nibbler and the visit to the vet confirmed it I had absolutely no idea what it could be as he had been on the same flooring for the 2 (nearlyish) years we've had him. The only thing that had changed is his cage. I'd bought him a new one which was bigger and had on the side a level which was like a feeding level with a bowl, with a space under it to hide under. He tended to jump up straight on to it and slide, which is the only cause I could think of as the plastic has slightly raised bits. I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner that him jumping on it and sliding could cause a problem. Feel very guilty about that. At the same time I'm curious as to whether that actually is the cause as he's had it for a long time now and I have never seen them before. Though saying that the fluff on the bottom of his feet does still cover them so that might be why I never saw them before. I'm quite concerned that where we've to now has hard flooring and that it could affect him. I've already noticed he can't really run after me as when he stops he slides. He's finding it difficult to binky on it too I've put all his blankets down and rugs for him but it breaks my heart seeing him having difficulty binkying.

Gone on a tangent, but the vet said to me that it's not good if they get their feet wet, can't remember how it was related (whether it causes them or just helps to slow down recovery), so to make sure his living space was completely dry. This would be the case all the time for Nibbler, if he didn't decide to knock his water bowl over when he's having a strop. Or when he decides to just stand in it Does Flo have a habit of chucking her water bowl?

No she doesn't chuck her water bowl, she only attempts to chuck hoomins!

She saw the vet this morning. Not our normal one. He seemed to think she would be ok with just a change of flooring. I have bought a big rug for them today which is not dissimilar to the main carpet in the lounge and is quite thick piled so hopefully that will ease the pressure. The vet said not to put any cream on it as they need to toughen back up for the hair to grow. I hope he is right.

cheryl'n'bruce'flo wrote:As I think I said earlier Rob I have felt for some time that it is inevitable.

Sparky the buns have a textured Karndean flooring. I picked it specifically because it was less slippery than the lino I could find locally and also more chew resistant. But Flo will still not venture onto it.

sorry i couldn't have read through properly

I have 4 rexes and have been very lucky never to have had any of them have sore hocks. They tread on a mix of concrete slabs, lino and washable childrens carpets from Ikea. They have shaving/megazorb mix in their litter tubs with hay on top. They also go on the lawn sometimes too. I think I have been very lucky with them all. Boo had sore hocks when he first came to live with me but they healed themselves with no intervention.

I would have thought the jute rug would have been quite course on the feet. I hope her feet heal quickly for her.

Vince the bunny wrote:I have 4 rexes and have been very lucky never to have had any of them have sore hocks. They tread on a mix of concrete slabs, lino and washable childrens carpets from Ikea. They have shaving/megazorb mix in their litter tubs with hay on top. They also go on the lawn sometimes too. I think I have been very lucky with them all. Boo had sore hocks when he first came to live with me but they healed themselves with no intervention.

I would have thought the jute rug would have been quite course on the feet. I hope her feet heal quickly for her.

extra healing vibes for the poor girl

Healing vibes are on their way love.

Hugs

JO xx

How is She doing?

She seems to be moving a bit better but her feet are looking very pink. I have still been giving her metacam just to help her out a bit. She let me stroke her nose for quite a while yesterday so she must have been feeling unwell!

Are you sure it was *just* Metacam?

I'm glad she seems a bit better

Poor Flo

sending her lots of Vibes for her poorly footsies xxx

From our buns for Flo

How is Flo now?