Bumblefoot? Advice please.

[popcorn-pig]

Hiya, my boy piggie Bubble, 1 year old has something on his foot, looks a bit like a brown nail attached to the skin and when I thought it was something stuck, tried removing it and he flinched. Did a Google and bumblefoot came up but I'm not too sure if this is it and if it is what could be recommended before spending all the pounds on a vet.

 

[Wiebke]

Hiya, my boy piggie Bubble, 1 year old has something on his foot, looks a bit like a brown nail attached to the skin and when I thought it was something stuck, tried removing it and he flinched. Did a Google and bumblefoot came up but I'm not too sure if this is it and if it is what could be recommended before spending all the pounds on a vet. View attachment 221445

Hi and welcome

It looks like a harmless spur to me? These growths of dead skin are very common (about a quarter of piggies develop them) and are best left alone unless one is at serious risk at catching on something and ripping open along the border where live skin turns into horny dead skin. Unlike a foot infection, which is always on a pad, spurs form on the side of a pad.

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[popcorn-pig]

Oh thank you so much! It doesn't seen to be bothering him but I'll check if it's catching on anything. Thanks, put my mind at ease

 

[Wiebke]

Oh thank you so much! It doesn't seen to be bothering him but I'll check if it's catching on anything. Thanks, put my mind at ease

They look more like calluses at this stage and are not causing any issues; the problem when they grow out sideways and harden, like a riding spur. In this case, please see a vet to cut a spur back carefully. Too close to live skin can cause crippling pain.

 

[Freela]

Yes, looks like a foot spur... some pigs just get them. Most can be left alone unless they grow really long and catch on things... at that point it's better to trim them back a bit (though not anywhere near the normal skin, that can be really painful.) It's kind of like a hangnail... just hardened, thick, dead skin, like a callus.