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Swollen foot

  • Thread starter Thread starter BlueRose120
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BlueRose120

okay, so my pig has had a swollen foot for awhile now and it keeps growing corns and stuff on it the vet had prescribed fifty dollar medicine but even that didn;t do any good. he sometimes looks a liittle like he is favoring that foot so i wonder if it hurt s him any. i hope not. he might have some infection going on inside his foot. over the holidays, i am going on vacation and will be boarding him at the vet while i am gone so i will ask if there is anything more we could be doing for his foot. any suggestions?
 
Oh! poor little piggy :'(
Have you thought about maybe changing the bedding, if he's not already on a fleece bedding maybe that'd ease it a bit. Can you order online from Gorgeous Guineas? They do a foot cream that's got a really good reputation. Sorry! I don't know what else to suggest.
 
It sounds like it could be bumblefoot to me. Sometimes its can be made worse by woodshavings. If thats what you are using I would change to fleece, or even just hay on the floor.

Gorgeous Guineas foot cream is what I would suggest too. Can you order it? Sorry, I dont know where you are.
 
Yeah I thought it could be that too - that's why I asked about the bedding.
Take a look at this - maybe it looks similar
http://www.petplace.com/small-mammals/pododermatitis-in-guinea-pigs/page1.aspx

(although please don't think for one minute that I'm suggesting you are neglectful - it's strongly hinted at here. Some guineas are just prone to skin problems and it's no reflection on their care.)

Good luck O0
 
The theory that pododermatitis(bumblefoot) is caused by abrasive bedding or unhygenic envirement has now been disproved.Pigs kept on vetbed in spotless housing can still get it.The actual cause is still unknown.It is a fairly common dondition and seems to affect boars and sows equally.It mostly occurs in older pigs,but younger ones can get it as well.

If a scab is present ,lift a corner about twice a wheek to make sure there is no sepsis.,be very careful with this because the pads can bleed like mad if the scab is lifted.I feel that the scabs help to prevent infection so are best left alone rather than bathed off every day.

If the pad does not bleed and the underlying flesh looks a bit necrotic,bath 2 to 3 times a day in diluted Hibiscrub.Dry thoroughly and massage some of GG pad cream in.I put a layer of Bepanthen or any nappy rash cream on the top to work as a barrier against urine.

On alternate days use GG Lavender and Mryhh lotion instead of the pad cream.This works very well.Bumblefoot is notoriously hard to cure and in most .instances the pig will have the problem lifelong.As long as infection is kept at bay there is no problem.

Bumblefoot can affect the pads of the hands or feet,and I have found that infected hands are more serious than the feet.They tend to be more prone to infection.

If the FRONT of the hand or foot is puffy,this indicates a deeper infection and the pig should be put on a course of Baytril asap.Untreated infection in the pads can go deep and cause osteomylitus.

Any pig with sore pads should be kept on vet bed or some kind of soft fleece,and if the pads become soiled with urine they should be washed asap.Even the best kept pigs will sometimes get urine on their pads.
 
Thanx Mary, thats interesting.

I just did a whole assignment on illnesses and diseases, and studied pododermatitis loads! All the info I found said that unhygenic bedding can be a cause, and that woodshavings tend to irritate it. I hope I dont get in trouble for getting it wrong!

Can I please ask where you get the info from? I could add it to my assignment then. Thankyou!
 
It has always been thought,why I cannot understand,that bumblefoot is caused by wire florring or other abrasive flooring.Dirty bedding has also been implicated.Yes I can understand that dirty bedding could cause an infection in the pads,but not many owners(hopefully)keep there pigs on abrasive floors or in dirty bedding.

I am only going on my own and other peoples observations.I have been keeping piggies for many,many years,and have always used paper and hay or vet bed.My pigs bedding is and always has been changed at least twice a day.Yet,over the years I have had several cases of bumblefoot both in sows and boars.
I know other people who keep their pigs in very hygenic housing that have had cases of bumblefoot.Peter Gurney had several pigs with the problem as well.
It is also thought in some circles tghat the cause could be fungal.but none of the pigs of my own or that I have seen have had a fungal problem.The truth is that no one seems to know,but my vet and I think that some pigs are just prone to it.Maybe they have a impaired immune system.Some of the pigs I have seen have had other prob lems, i.e, cataracts,diabetis.In fact over the last 25 years or so I have had 8 pigs with bumblefoot and 5 of them had cataracts,and 2 of them had kidney problems.Diabetiic [piggies often have cataracts as well,and in humans,diabetics often suffer from leg and foot ulcers.I wonder if there is a link here somewhere.
A lot more research needs to be done on this very common problem.
Uninfec ted bumblefoot does not seem to bother the piggies and most of them can go to 6 or 7 years with the problem.
 
Thankyou Mary, thats really helpful.

I've never encoutered bumblefoot, as I've only been keeping piggies for a year. I clean them out twice a day because I have always thought that would prevent bumblefoot. Obviously I'll continue to clean them out just as often, but I wont worry about it so much now.

I think I'll go and have a read of Peter's websites.

This info is all very useful for me, as I everntually hope to become a rodentologist.
 
okay thanks guys for all the replies. well as for bedding, i use CareFresh bedding, i definitely do not use woodshavings or pine or anything like that. i have been using carefresh for pretty much the entire time i have had him. i clean out his cage 1x a week and i think i should do litter changing more often now if only to keep him from getting other problems, which of course i don;t want. oh, and by the way, i also do not use wire flooring underneath i took that out and put it... somewhere... doesn;t matter where since it is bad for piggies i know. oh, and his left front paw is the one that is swollen. and i forgot to mention before, the vet did say it was bumblefoot for sure. i had been for awhile (not now though) been putting some Neosporin cream on his foot but it didn;t do anything to help. so i have quit using it. i should try the Gorgeous Guinea;s foot cream since alot of you are saying it is really good for that condition. otherwise, he is pretty healthy and only had a MINOR minor mite condition , but not anymore. the vet took care of that. other than that, i have not noticed any other problems/conditions with him. his other front paw, though, has a little minor swelling on it but not anything near as bad as his left foot in front. his left paw does have small little scabs on it and i have been wondering what to do about that, maybe i should try washing his foot at least 1-2x per day and putting some Neosporin on it several times a day as well as clean out any wet areas in his cage every day. i have been doing that somewhat but havenot really been keeping up on it, bad me, i know, but i am going to do better. i will try and see if i can take him back to the vet (since i don;t drive, my mom has to take me) and see if there is more i could be doing for my piggie. thanks for all the info. :) :)
 
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