Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of such bacterial abscesses. Secondary bacterial dermatitis adjacent to the ulcers and abscessation under the crusty debris sometimes occurs. The lesions consist of circumscribed ulcerated areas in the skin covered by a dry, crusty scab. Other predisposing factors include excessive thumping, thin plantar fur pads ( Harkness, 1987), and certain forms of wire crimp in the floor. Wet cage floors, especially from urine-soaked feces, may predispose to development of pododermatitis ( Ostler, 1961 Schwartz and Shook, 1928 Templeton, 1962 Vaida, 1959 Vail and McKenny, 1943), but it can also occur despite excellent sanitation practices. Immature rabbits and rabbits of smaller breeds are seldom affected ( Templeton, 1962 Vail and McKenny, 1943). The condition is caused by pressure necrosis of the skin, usually resulting from the bearing of heavy body weight on wire-bottom cages ( Ostler, 1961).
The name “sore hocks” is actually a misnomer since the affected area is most commonly the metatarsus, not the hock (tibio-tarsal area). Traumatic ulcerative dermatitis of the plantar surface of the metatarsal region, and less commonly the volar surface of the metacarpal-phalangeal region, is commonly referred to as sore hocks. Dysko, in The Laboratory Rabbit, Guinea Pig, Hamster, and Other Rodents, 2012 Ulcerative Pododermatitis
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