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Bunsen's Weight Recovery

GuineapigEm

New Born Pup
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Hello Lovely peeps,

Some of you may have read my previous thread about Bunsen's recent health scare. He is now off all of his medications and his weight has been stable for 2 weeks with no supportive feeding (yay!) He is still around 130g lower than he was before he got unwell but he hasn't lost any more weight. He is playing more like himself, popcorning and zooming and enjoying floor time again which has been so lovely to see as I can finally see him and Copper's relationship shine (I got Copper about 4 days before Bunsen started being unwell so haven't been able to enjoy their blossoming friendship until very recently.)

I have 2 lingering concerns. One is about his weight, he is only 8 months old so hopefully has a few more months of growing to do and while his weight is stable I would have liked to see a little increase. I know they can take a while to recover from illness but I have tried to feed him porridge, wheat bran, extra nuggets and combinations of those with various vegetables, sweet potato and he just doesn't seem keen in any of them. He is eating a near normal amount of vegetables and nuggets for him though he still doesnt have his usual enthusiasm for his food, I havent heard any wheaks from him since the beginning of October and he used to be the most audible one! The others have noticed his decrease in squeaks and I am not getting my usual alarm clock in the morning as they have both gone a little quiet too 😢. He loves the oat husk hay and readigrass so I am giving him plenty of that mixed into his normal meadow hay though. Any advice on how I can help him start gaining, even if it is only a little? He has some days when he is in the 1000-1015 range and then the next day hes back in the 980 range.

My second concern is his back feet. Last week I noticed he had a little scab on the side and a little of the underside of his back right foot. His foot was also quite red and swollen and he was not putting any weight through it really, though he was not limping. I did a course of Epsom salt baths and coconut oil and the swelling and redness has gone down and the scab looks a lot better. I also changed his fleece daily in case it was bumblefoot and inspected the cage for anything he may have cut it on. The thing that concerns me is that while the back right is healing, another scab has appeared on his back left. No redness or swelling this time though and it doesnt seem to bother him as he is not on metacam and is popcorning and zooming with almost his usual vigour. I was wondering if anyone had any idea what this could be or what I could do for it as based on pictures online and my own experience with bumble foot it doesnt look like that is what I am dealing with? It isnt on the base of his pads, the main scabs are more to the side of the foot?

Thank you so much for reading and any advice you may have!
 
I’m glad his weight is stable.
He will put weight on in his own tine with plenty is normal meadow hay. Please don’t be tempted to feed extra ‘treats’ or nuggets because they won’t actually help - they may cause him to gain weight but it’s artificial as he will simply lose the weight again once those extra treats stop. Do just give him plenty of normal hay and time.

Any brown type scabs which occur if the side of the foot are often harmless foot spurs - extra calloused skin. They should be left alone and aren’t of concern unless they are getting caught on bedding. If they become bothersome then please see a vet for their removal.
However, sight unseen we can’t confirm that is what you are actually dealing with in your case. If you have any suspicion of bumblefoot, please see a vet.
 
I’m glad his weight is stable.
He will put weight on in his own tine with plenty is normal meadow hay. Please don’t be tempted to feed extra ‘treats’ or nuggets because they won’t actually help - they may cause him to gain weight but it’s artificial as he will simply lose the weight again once those extra treats stop. Do just give him plenty of normal hay and time.

Any brown type scabs which occur if the side of the foot are often harmless foot spurs - extra calloused skin. They should be left alone and aren’t of concern unless they are getting caught on bedding. If they become bothersome then please see a vet for their removal.
However, sight unseen we can’t confirm that is what you are actually dealing with in your case. If you have any suspicion of bumblefoot, please see a vet.
Thank you! I will just continue to monitor him. Do you think it is worth me resuming pro-biotics until he is gaining steadily again? He was on it before, during and a few days after the antibiotic treatment but hasnt been on it for a week or so.

The main thing with his foot was how swollen and red it was and how he was holding it up. He isnt doing that anymore and the scab is much better, do foot spurs do that too?
 
Giving probiotics won’t hurt him so you can but if he isn’t showing signs of digestive issues ie no soft poops then it may not actually do much.

Foot spurs are harmless but can be sore if they get caught and pulled. However, redness, reluctance to weight bear and swelling would always concern me though, even if it was just a foot spur.
 
Giving probiotics won’t hurt him so you can but if he isn’t showing signs of digestive issues ie no soft poops then it may not actually do much.

Foot spurs are harmless but can be sore if they get caught and pulled. However, redness, reluctance to weight bear and swelling would always concern me though, even if it was just a foot spur.
It concerned me to so I did the epsom salt bath and coconut oil and within a couple of days the swelling and redness was gone and he uses his foot again as normal, I said if it didnt improve over the weekend I would take to the vets but it improved in all areas except the scabbing, I think I may phone the vet anyway just to be on the safe side
 
I am ver glad that Bunsen has stabilised. Please have him vet checked for potential bumblefoot. Sight unseen we cannot comment on what you are dealing with.

Please don't fall into the trap of topping him up with empty calories. They come on quickly but they will also come off again just as fast.

 
Thank you all! I will get him booked in with a vet tomorrow and get him looked over

He’s currently enjoying some floor time and is zooming and popcorning like a mad thing, I will try and get a picture of his feet when I go to put him home but either way he will be going to the vet for a once over!
 
Took Bunsen to Anton vets yesterday and they were amazing with him, gave him a good once over and agreed they didn’t like the look of his feet but she couldn’t say definitively that it was Bumblefoot as the speed of progression isn’t typical. He’s back on Metacam, dog this time though, 0.33ml twice a day and told to make his living area as soft as possible to try and bring down the inflammation. Another appointment Friday to check it and if she still isn’t happy he’ll be having X-rays. It was my first experience of a true exotic vet and I can’t believe the difference, I have all 3 of my boys registered there now ☺️

Pic attached of his foot on Monday, the areas I was most concerned about and the vet agrees is the black dry and scabby areas
 

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Morning well fingers crossed now with your love and care and a brilliant vet he'll be soon on the mend x💙
 
Morning well fingers crossed now with your love and care and a brilliant vet he'll be soon on the mend x💙

Thank you! I hope for his sake this goes away quickly, he deserves to be a healthy baby (teenager really) again!
 
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