Hi there. My guinea pig over the past two days has developed a largely swollen toe on his front paw. I am including a picture with this post. With everything going on, I was hesitant to call the vet right away and wanted to see if I could do my own research. I came across information that said to trim their nails once a month, something I did not know. I have only had my guineas since November of this year, and since then I have not trimmed their nails. I quickly trimmed their nails and wondered if maybe an overgrown nail could be causing the swelling? Maybe a lot of pressure was being put on his little toe by the nail if it was digging in to the cuticle? The toe also has some blood on it, I imagine from him chewing out of irritation. I have been spraying him a lot with Bannixx anti-fungal anti-bacterial spray just in case it is bumblefoot or something fungal/bacterial. His foot besides his one toe looks perfectly normal. He favors his paw when he walks and has been resting a lot lately. Although is still eating and even zooming around with his brother at times. I had also seen some dry skin on his toes so I wonder if possibly that would have been an irritant? I am looking forward to purchasing some gorgeous guinea moisturizer for the future. I have also not been able to supplement extra with Vitamin C as we ran out just before quarantine and my order is taking forever to ship. I thought a day ago that the Bannixx had been making some improvement to the swelling and overall I do think it has gotten a bit better, it used to have a heartbeat and be hot, it is still warm but seems to be getting better and less red in color. I am getting a little nervous because it is super swollen, I envision it falling off. So that is every single detail of my story with this. If someone could take a look and give me piece of mind for tonight or possibly until I can get a vet to look at it. The picture I included was taken around 7pm last night.
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Guinea Pig Swollen Toe
- Thread starter kate4001
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I think you are doing all you possibly can at home, understand t he set are difficult circumstances.
I honestly don’t know so tagging in @Wiebke @PigglePuggle @Siikibam @furryfriends (TEAS) @Pound Shilling & Pig @pig in the city @Piggies&buns
I honestly don’t know so tagging in @Wiebke @PigglePuggle @Siikibam @furryfriends (TEAS) @Pound Shilling & Pig @pig in the city @Piggies&buns
PigglePuggle
Senior Guinea Pig
I would contact the vet, swelling and redness and heat usually indicate some sort of infection- its good that the spray seems to be helping, but if the piggy is in pain he would be more comfortable with some prescribed pain relief, and if there is an infection he may also need a course of antibiotic medicine.
Thanks for your reply, appreciate the support!
Thank you for this advice. I actually called the vet after I posted this and left a message to them. I have just looked at the paw again and it seems to look much better to me, but I understand that I should be getting the vet involved. Have a great night!
Pound Shilling & Pig
Adult Guinea Pig
Your vet may or may not think antibiotics are needed but your piggy would definetly from some prescribed antiflamatory pain relief. It is possible he has caught it on something or knocked it on something when charging about like young piggies do. It is unlikely that not having trimmed his nails caused the problem in the time you have had him.
Thank you for your knowledge. I have an appointment booked for tomorrow. I am happy to know that I most likely did not cause this but now I wonder if he could have a broken toe? I had thought this at one point but dismissed the idea as my anti-fungal spray was “working”, maybe the swelling has gone down on its own just over time. I’m not too worried as I have my appointment (they are having me hand him in his carrier through my car window due to corona). And I will write a note telling the vet of this advice, as the reason for my visit was listed under “toe nail trim” as I had said that that was my predicted cause. It is great to hear this opinion and it makes a lot of sense to me as he is still zooming around like crazy with his little brother even with the paw-they have tons of energy at moments.
Piggylove82
Adult Guinea Pig
Fingers crossed you get some answers and something to help him get better soon x
Daisylovepiggies
Junior Guinea Pig
Hope he gets better soon - I know how you feel, one of my guinea pigs is limping and I don't know why
Thanks so much
Sorry to hear! I hope both our piggies get better! Thanks for your well wishes!
Just an update to close off this thread. I took Nutmeg to the vet today and found out that we have ringworm 
Thanks to everyone who commented, your information was very helpful to me during the past few days. For anyone wondering how taking your guinea to the vet during COVID quarantine goes, it is not as bad as it seems. You converse with the vet and receptionist over the phone, tell them your issue and credit card info. Someone from the office comes to your car to take your animal in its carrier so the vet can check them and prescribe. They bring your piggy back quickly and that’s it. The people who were also there with their animals seemed to also come and go quickly. Stay healthy everyone! And thanks again
Thanks to everyone who commented, your information was very helpful to me during the past few days. For anyone wondering how taking your guinea to the vet during COVID quarantine goes, it is not as bad as it seems. You converse with the vet and receptionist over the phone, tell them your issue and credit card info. Someone from the office comes to your car to take your animal in its carrier so the vet can check them and prescribe. They bring your piggy back quickly and that’s it. The people who were also there with their animals seemed to also come and go quickly. Stay healthy everyone! And thanks again
The procedure is similar in the UK right now too, and we always welcome experiences from members where ever they live (I am in Switzerland and constantly blabbing on about how things work here).
Thank you for coming back and updating the thread and well done for getting your boy seen.
Hopefully he will soon be on the mend.
Merab
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Hope the treatment works well for your piggy.
The procedure for your vet trip is the same as I had to do on Monday for one of my piggies.
The procedure for your vet trip is the same as I had to do on Monday for one of my piggies.
Thanks for your well wishes and glad to know.
Thanks for the well wishes, I hope your piggies get better too!
Merab
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Thanks for your thought - Micah was signed off on Monday. His eye is better now.
Hope Nutmeg recovers quickly
I’m so glad to hear! Thank you!