My vet says it's fine, but to me looks inflamed and painful - Piggie foot (bumble foot?)

[MoruMum]

Hi,

My poor lonely piggie (cage mate passed away - but we have just applied for a new piggie adoption! ), has a red patch on his hind leg.
A year ago, it was smaller.
I put Sudocrem and when I am diligent doing it every day, it seems to calm down. But it never goes away.

Background info:
Soft fleece liner and separate hay area.
The main liner changed weekly, but the wet ho spot area changed daily.
I was told he was slightly on the heavy-side (used to be 1.4kg) but since his recent neutering he has lost weight (1.2kg). The weight is stable now.
He used to be a school guinea pig until we adopted him. While in school, the cage was flat surfaced with hay and wood shavings and soft bedding materials inside the house.

My vet says it is not a bumble foot, but to me, it looks a bit sore
I read about manuka honey and royal jelly... wonder if these things are better than Sudocrem...

Has anyone had similar experience on this kind of foot?
Any creams that worked?

 

[Piggies&buns]

This does not look like bumblefoot. Bumblefoot are open sores and wounds on the foot pad.

Piggies do sometimes have red feet without there being an issue.
Putting anything on the feet can cause more issues than it solves. They need their skin on their feet to be tough and adding creams can soften the skin and then cause a problem where there was not one.
Sudocrem can be quite drying and not always advisable.

 

[MoruMum]

Hi!
That's good to know. I feel bad putting something on and it might have aggravated it. I will stop Sudocrem.
I will monitor his foot Thank you!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!
That's good to know. I feel bad putting something on and it might have aggravated it. I will stop Sudocrem.
I will monitor his foot Thank you!

Hi and welcome

Your vet is right.

While the pee wicks through the fleece, tiny particles remain on the surface and can cause a bit of irritation on the callus of the back feet where the body weight hits fully. Please do not soften the hardened skin on the soles (callus) with creaming on spec; even in this reddened state, the callus is still a working immune defence that will not lead to bumblefoot if left alone. Check whether the nails are generally a bit too long but arthritis can also lead to an unevenly distributed weight and reddening on the soles. A softened callus is much more prone to ripping - and then you get bumblefoot issues of your own making indeed.

Sudocrem (UK product) particularly dries out the skin and can cause tiny cracks in the softened skin through which bugs can get into and cause bumblefoot (infection of the skin of the feet). We do not recommend it. If you ever need to any cream anywhere on the body, please always apply as thinly as possible.

Red sores that can develop into bumblefoot (pododermatitis) are initially usually very red punctual dots that feel distinctly hot to the touch and that are often slightly raised compared to the surrounding area and the corresponding part on the other foot. If the whole foot/sole is the same temperature as the red area, then you are not dealing with an infection - it is as simple as that.
Please see a vet for an antibiotic if you really have a clearly defined small hot spot to prevent difficult to treat open sores/scabs as you can never predict what kind of germ or fungal spore has got through. I hope that this helps you?

Well kept piggies mainly at risk of bumblefoot other than the over-creamed ones are the really frail oldies or ill ones that do no longer move around much or at all and that are therefore much more prone to sitting in their excrement. Very often the blood circulation in the limbs is no longer working optimally, either. In these cases bumblefoot is generally a secondary complication to a failing heart and immune system at the end of life.
In this case, our very practical care tips will help:
Looking After Guinea Pigs With Limited or No Mobility

 

[MoruMum]

Thank you @Wiebke for the info. So glad I post my concern here.
Yes I have stopped Sudocrem and checked his pad which does not feel hot.
Will keep an eye on his little feet in due course. Thank you so much!

 

[PoptartShop]

You could try coconut oil, but he should be fine.