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Bumblefoot In An Elderly Pig

katzintheclouds

katzintheclouds

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone,
My lovely piggie Martini is almost 6 years old and has been doing great except for a recent develoment of a sore thanks to bumblefoot. She's had some red paw pads but frequent litter changing has been helping. However I had surgery recently and now I have noticed that her right paw pad has an open sore. Anyone have some good advice on treating bumblefoot? I am terrified it'll get into her bone and be a big BIG problem, I'm not going to have amputation for her at this age. She's still eating, drinking and acting normal, just in pain in that foot pad. I want to set up her cage the most comfortable that I can and treat her the best I can. Anyone had this experience?

Thank you!
 
You'll need some pain relief and possibly antibiotics from the vet.

Arthritis can increase the chance of bumblefoot as they don't move around as much so it could be worth an xray.

Keeping the cage extra clean is a must. I got some small pieces of VetBed to use in the worst areas as it's wicks brilliantly and it's very soft so they like to sit on it.

If you do need to clean/soak the foot, I used Hibiscrub diluted. I can't remember the ratio but it's literally a tiny drop in a bowl of water. My boy used to stand in the bowl for a few mins and then I'd dry him really well.
 
Having had a pig with serious bumblefoot you will need a long course of antibiotics (usually septrin ) and usually about 4 to 6 weeks - but the antibiotics are cheap about £7 for 2 weeks worth with my vet - some metacam for pain relief as it is a very painful condtion - the secret to curing bumblefoot is to keep the pressure off the foot - so usually a small piece of allevyn pressure bandage on the bottom of the pad - then over wrapped with gauze and then held in place with fabric elastaplast - your vet will do this for you - then you can change the dressing yourself - this is what my piggy specialist vet did for my Bumble - his bumblefoot used to come on after his bladder stone operations when his immune system was weakened. good luck
 
Thank you for your reply. I cleaned her up again today and feel like my prying to clean it is making it more painful. I started Metacam last night and will be getting the antibiotic on Monday (thanks to living in a small area and not being able to get the antibiotic til then). Originally we had her on Metronidazole but I think it's trimethoprim sulfate we're going to now. I feel horrible for messing with it when I was cleaning her up because I feel like I made it worse, but I can't do anything at this point. I just will keep treating her as best as I can.

With anyone treating bumblefoot, did you clean OUT the area if it was open, or just soak it? I cleaned it out which I think hurt her more so I'm afraid to do that again. Any good links to how one can bandage up/cover the wound to keep it clean?
 
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