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Bottom of feet looked dry and 'cracked'

PennyCopper

PennyCopper

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jun 12, 2019
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Location
Boynton Beach, Florida, US
Good Evening,
I notice that Penny's feet look 'dry/cracked'. Sort of like if I did not use lotion on my heels, lol. Is this the normal look of the bottom of a piggie foot? Or an indication of anything lacking in her diet? Or too much of something?
I wonder if I put either coconut oil or aloe from the plant leaf on them could help.
I don't want to ignore it unless it is normal. THANK YOU all so much for sharing your knowledge,
 
Probably worth a vet check first to make sure the cracks arent deep enough to get infected and turn into bumblefoot which can be nasty.
Our Jezzy floof does indeed have nasty feet, her previous owner fed her until she was super-obsese and kept her on hard cat litter pellets in a tiny cage with no space to move around or lie down and her poor little paws have never really recovered. She also sits in her own wee a lot which doesnt help!
Like @Swissgreys says it could be a reaction to the substrate if you use wood shavings or similar. Or like Jezzy your piggy might just wee on her feet a lot.
We clean Jezzy's paws with CLX wipes which contain chlorhexidine (a mild antiseptic like is found in mouthwash). The vet prescribed these for us, they are for cleaning dog and cat paws, you can buy them online without a prescription though. Then we massage her feet with Gorgeous Guineas Perfect Paws ointment or F&M ointment. We usually do this twice a week now the foot condition is under control, to start with we did it daily.
Clean bedding is really important too obviously, even in a very clean cage some piggies will sit and wee in one favorite spot then stay there, so small fleecy pee pads you can change every day or two are a good investment!
 
squeaksandcarrots said:
Do you have a photo of her feet by chance?
Click to expand...
Thank you. I am trying to get the picture from phone to laptop so I can attach. Side note, there is not way to attach pictures to this forum directly from phone. The only choice on my Samsung when I click attach files is the camera, not already taken pics. I'm sure it is a Samsung thing. As soon as I get it downloaded to computer I will send. 💞
 
PennyCopper said:
Thank you. I am trying to get the picture from phone to laptop so I can attach. Side note, there is not way to attach pictures to this forum directly from phone. The only choice on my Samsung when I click attach files is the camera, not already taken pics. I'm sure it is a Samsung thing. As soon as I get it downloaded to computer I will send. 💞
Click to expand...
Poor footy!20190627_090801.webp20190627_090801.webp
 
PigglePuggle said:
Probably worth a vet check first to make sure the cracks arent deep enough to get infected and turn into bumblefoot which can be nasty.
Our Jezzy floof does indeed have nasty feet, her previous owner fed her until she was super-obsese and kept her on hard cat litter pellets in a tiny cage with no space to move around or lie down and her poor little paws have never really recovered. She also sits in her own wee a lot which doesnt help!
Like @Swissgreys says it could be a reaction to the substrate if you use wood shavings or similar. Or like Jezzy your piggy might just wee on her feet a lot.
We clean Jezzy's paws with CLX wipes which contain chlorhexidine (a mild antiseptic like is found in mouthwash). The vet prescribed these for us, they are for cleaning dog and cat paws, you can buy them online without a prescription though. Then we massage her feet with Gorgeous Guineas Perfect Paws ointment or F&M ointment. We usually do this twice a week now the foot condition is under control, to start with we did it daily.
Clean bedding is really important too obviously, even in a very clean cage some piggies will sit and wee in one favorite spot then stay there, so small fleecy pee pads you can change every day or two are a good investment!
Click to expand...
Wow, that is so much information- Thank You! I like the Perfect Paws ointment. Yes, Penny will sleep in one spot and do her business without moving.
I am on Google looking up everything to get. I am in the process of switching from bedding to fleece. Today I am going to the fabric store and the Uhaul store for liner to go under the fleece. I will post a new foot picture after we try all the above in case others experience the same thing.
 
Swissgreys said:
What bedding do you use?
Sometimes piggies can react to their bedding and this can cause foot problems.
Click to expand...
Cedar and a soft granule blend. However, I am switching to fleece today after all the posts and videos I have only seen fleece being used. I am confused on what to put under the fleece. A suggestion was furniture pads from Uhaul. I am going to the store today. Thank you.
 
PennyCopper said:
You saw the photo?
Click to expand...
Always hard to tell without a hands on examination whether its just the surface, and if the skin is broken it could get infected, so always best to check with a vet!
If the vet confirms there's no deep cracks or infection and it is just dry skin then you can get busy with the foot massages with the Gorgeous Guineas foot cream :)
 
Swissgreys said:
What bedding do you use?
Sometimes piggies can react to their bedding and this can cause foot problems.
Click to expand...
Update on Penny's feet. I transitioned away from the pine bedding to fleece and 3 times used vitamin20190630_084250 (1).webp20190630_084250 (1).webp E oil on the feet. They sweet feet look amazing now. I have a vet appointment the second week of July and will have the vet check on the feet but till then I think we found the problem. And a solution.
 
PennyCopper said:
Update on Penny's feet. I transitioned away from the pine bedding to fleece and 3 times used vitaminView attachment 116896View attachment 116896 E oil on the feet. They sweet feet look amazing now. I have a vet appointment the second week of July and will have the vet check on the feet but till then I think we found the problem. And a solution.
Click to expand...
They look so much better! Vet bed is brilliant x
 
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