We have 2 Guinea pigs... both boys. And they have been healthy and easy to care for for years. They are 3 1/2 now. But we noticed one of them was losing weight and not running out when we brought the veggie treats outs. We took him to the vet who was familiar with small animals, but not an expert with guinea pigs. Our pig, Mojo, only weighed 20 ounces, down from probably 40 ounces. The vet xrayed him, checked his teeth, clipped his nails. According to the x-ray, his stomach lining was inflamed. She gave us antibiotic and we started hand feeding him Oxbow Critical Care a few times a day. It took probably 5 days, but then he started showing some interest in his food. But he still didn't want to move around much. I bought him a bed and apparently he just layed in it and peed because he was wet when I picked him up. What I didn't know was that the bed wasn't wicking any moisture away from him and he got urine scald...And then I noticed red sores on his pads. The Vet gave us a special wash to clean his paws twice a day and showed us how to cover the back paws with bandaids to protect them. So I have been hand feeding (supplementing) him, and cleaning and bandaging him twice a day for about 6-8 weeks. He gets a clean fleece pad twice a day to sleep on, and the whole cage has fleece on the bottom. At one point he also had soft stool (presumably from antibiotic), then got a respiratory infection (more antibiotic) and the last visit to the vet she heard a heart murmur. He is eating, and gaining weight (he is up to almost 29 ounces and does eat well, but now his back paws are swelling up as well as having these scabby sores on them. And he is not wanting to walk much again. I am encouraged that in some ways he seems to be improving, but this has been going on for sooo long. Is this normal for recovery to take this long? What else can we do to help him? Where is the magic pill or ointment that will fix this? I don't want him to suffer, and this is getting old, but he has too much life in him to put him down. I guess his entire health is so fragile he is susceptible to anything and everything. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
-
PLEASE NOTE - the TEAS facebook page has been hacked, take extreme care when visiting the page, for further information visit here
-
Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement
How To Treat Bumblefoot?
- Thread starter Edspookie
- Start date
- Status
pig in the city
*Rescue Buddy*
It can take a long time to heal, sometimes needing long term antibiotics for infection and pain killers. Soaking the feet in dilute chlorhexidine can help. Applying a mosturising ointment after cleaning helps too. I hope it settles down soon
helen105281
Senior Guinea Pig
It's interesting that your vet found a heart murmur as Bumblefoot can be linked to poor circulation. Is he on any heart meds? I have treated Bumblefoot in the past with a topical lotion called Zymox. It may be worth asking your vet about it. I used to get it on Amazon I think. It is a couple of years since I have used it though. Before I knew about Zymox my first heart pig Nigel had Bumblefoot and we bathed daily in Hibiscrub which seemed to help.
D
DM030819
It's worth asking your vet about antibiotics, in case of infection, and also pain medication, such as Metacam as if his feet are hurting he's less likely to move about.
Keeping him clean is really important. Change his bedding two or more times a day. Also, bed him on something like VetBed if you can. It's more cushiony on his feet so he might walk around more.
When I've had to treat Pododermatitis I've used both Hibiscrub and Epsom Salts, alternating between each.
My dilutions were (but please check with a vet first):
Epsom Salts - These are great but really, really drying so don't use too often. And they cannot get it in their mouth or eyes. 1/2 cup of warm water with 1/8 teaspoon of Epsom salts
Hibiscrub. You have to know which solution you have. 4% is the one you tend to get online, 2% is the one the vet gives you. But always check, just in case. the 4% needs to be diluted 1:80 (1 part solution, to 80 parts water). Yep that much. And 1:40 for the 2% one. It sounds really dilute but surprisingly it still really colours the water pink!
I've soaked feet at least twice a day.
It can take a really long time to fully recover from it, but it doe's get better in the end.
@helen105281 My last bumblefoot pig was on heart med's. It's wasn't a confirmed heart condition pig but he came from a very poor background and later in life the heart med's really helped his breathing. The vet said the poor circulation was contributing to the bumblefoot.
Keeping him clean is really important. Change his bedding two or more times a day. Also, bed him on something like VetBed if you can. It's more cushiony on his feet so he might walk around more.
When I've had to treat Pododermatitis I've used both Hibiscrub and Epsom Salts, alternating between each.
My dilutions were (but please check with a vet first):
Epsom Salts - These are great but really, really drying so don't use too often. And they cannot get it in their mouth or eyes. 1/2 cup of warm water with 1/8 teaspoon of Epsom salts
Hibiscrub. You have to know which solution you have. 4% is the one you tend to get online, 2% is the one the vet gives you. But always check, just in case. the 4% needs to be diluted 1:80 (1 part solution, to 80 parts water). Yep that much. And 1:40 for the 2% one. It sounds really dilute but surprisingly it still really colours the water pink!
I've soaked feet at least twice a day.
It can take a really long time to fully recover from it, but it doe's get better in the end.
@helen105281 My last bumblefoot pig was on heart med's. It's wasn't a confirmed heart condition pig but he came from a very poor background and later in life the heart med's really helped his breathing. The vet said the poor circulation was contributing to the bumblefoot.
- Status