My 3 year old Peruvian Isla is pretty chilled and lazy, but very sweet as is her sister. They are bedded on woodflakes which is cleaned 2 x week. Isla always seems to have poo on her back feet which hardens to a cement like pad and takes several minutes of a warm soak and baby toothbrush to remove. Obviously, I want to prevent any bumblefoot happening, plus its not nice for her or me. I cant find any advice on what to put on her feet to stop poo sticking on. I cant be the only person whose piggies have this happen to them. She has perfect poo btw.
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Barrier cream question
- Thread starter poopie
- Start date
Hi
Please make sure that you spot clean their regular toiletting areas dailyif necessary.
The callus (hard skin) on the underside of the feet is an important immune defence in its own right. Regular creaming will soften it and dry out the skin. This will actually promote small rips through which germs can enter the skin and cause bumblefoot. A lot of bumblefoot is in fact caused by over-cautious owners, according to more than one vet. You can get red spots on piggies' feet but they won't usually go any further if you do not cream. I have been strongly recommended to not use cream for my own piggies with red spots.
The ones at real risk of bumblefoot - apart from the neglected piggies - are the non-mobile elderlies and long term ill who do not move much from their denning area and whose circulation is no longer working well. Soft and highly absorbent vetbed bedding (cut into suitable pieces) and a twice daily change of bedding is the best prevention in those cases.
Looking After Guinea Pigs With Limited or No Mobility
I hope that explains why there is no recommendation? Sudocrem will dry out the skin and promote infections; this also goes for any regular boar and urine scald care.
Thanks for reply. They do poo all over the cage rather than in one area unfotunately..So not sure if i should wash the hardened poo off each day or just leave alone? The back feet surface is a bit rough and like you say a callus bit no swellings or sores thankfully.
Please gently prise the poos off without using water/any fluid if possible and poo patrol daily or twice daily in the areas they are sitting/sleeping in a lot.
Also check whether the poos are actually a bit too soft and whether you are overfeeding on veg/not enough hay. Norml poos will usually dry up very quickly after being dropped and do not stick.
Yes, you are right. The poos look fine but are sticky when squeezed. I reintroduced some suitable veg 2 or 3 weeks back, and she does seem to have problems with veg.Only half a cup given too. How much pellets should I give them as they cant have veg and live outside in a shed? I know only tablespoon but i give 20 gr each. Is this still too much?
One tablespoon of pellets is the amount to give.
Best to actually use a tablespoon measure to scoop the pellets. Depending on brand, there is a chance 20g could be too much. The pellets I use, one tablespoon weighs just 6g.
They need to eat plenty of hay.
What types of veg are you feeding?
My boys live in my shed. I give less than one tablespoon of pellets and only give pellets 2-3 times a week.
Please do not up your pellets but you can supplement feed plain porridge oats or bran to outdoors piggies with a weight issue. Richer hay can also be fed as a top up hay treat. I use sweet meadow hay from Nature's Own for that purpose during the months fresh grass is not growing on my lawn but other members have their own recommendations; on its own it is too fattening long term.
Pellets are higher in calcium weight for weight than kale (even the no added calcium ones and because of the filler products they contain they are more calorific than hay, they are causing your piggies to proportionally quite a lot less hay. 20g should be OK.
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Thanks for your replies. They eat as much chopped Timothy Hay as they want and both are good weights. I will keep them on 20 gr Burgess Excell which they enjoy. More cleaning and keep hoping poos will dry up.