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Webbed back toes

Watsoon

Watsoon

New Born Pup
Joined
Jul 17, 2019
Messages
36
Reaction score
90
Points
200
Location
Oxfordshire, UK
Hi all,

I work in a petshop and we recently received a litter of Guinea Pigs, one of which has two toes webbed together on both back feet, so it looks as if she has 2 toes on each back foot.
it feels as if all the bones are present and it is not painful to touch for her. When I have googled I can’t find anything about it, only extra toes (polydactyly).
is there any advice anyone can give?
Her toes on one side are less fused and the nails appear separated, however the other has fused all the way down the nail and seems to limit movement in the foot.
I want to make sure she has the best care possible so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I will try and get pictures tomorrow to attach onto the thread!

thanks in advance!
 
Watsoon said:
Hi all,

I work in a petshop and we recently received a litter of Guinea Pigs, one of which has two toes webbed together on both back feet, so it looks as if she has 2 toes on each back foot.
it feels as if all the bones are present and it is not painful to touch for her. When I have googled I can’t find anything about it, only extra toes (polydactyly).
is there any advice anyone can give?
Her toes on one side are less fused and the nails appear separated, however the other has fused all the way down the nail and seems to limit movement in the foot.
I want to make sure she has the best care possible so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I will try and get pictures tomorrow to attach onto the thread!

thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome

It is the first time I have heard of webbed feet in guinea pigs - and I have seen tens of thousands of the treads on here over the last decade. It is THAT rare a genetic defect! That is also why there is no information on it.

If possible, contact an exotics vet as to whether something can be done surgically. Since I don't know which country and what pandemic restrictions you are currently operating under, any elective surgery may need to wait if necessary.

It would really help us to help you better if you please added your country, state/province or UK county/world city to location in your accunt details (by clicking on your username on the top bar). This makes your location appear with every post and allows us to tailor any recommendations to what is relevant and available where you are straight away. We have members and enquiries from quite literally all over the world and from very different backgrounds, climates, vet and rescue access or medical brand names. Thank you.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi and welcome

It is the first time I have heard of webbed feet in guinea pigs - and I have seen tens of thousands of the treads on here over the last decade. It is THAT rare a genetic defect! That is also why there is no information on it.

If possible, contact an exotics vet as to whether something can be done surgically. Since I don't know which country and what pandemic restrictions you are currently operating under, any elective surgery may need to wait if necessary.

It would really help us to help you better if you please added your country, state/province or UK county/world city to location in your accunt details (by clicking on your username on the top bar). This makes your location appear with every post and allows us to tailor any recommendations to what is relevant and available where you are straight away. We have members and enquiries from quite literally all over the world and from very different backgrounds, climates, vet and rescue access or medical brand names. Thank you.
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hi,

thank you for your reply!
Sorry I didn’t even think about putting locations on. I’m from Oxfordshire in the Uk, so we are currently going into a 4 week lockdown by midnight tonight.
we as a shop will stay open as we are essential! Vets have very strict restrictions at the moment so I may be able to get a phone consultation for her.
I will get pictures of her toes today in work to attach onto here
 
I have never heard of webbed guinea pig toes, but their giant semi-aquatic relative the capybara has webbed toes so there is a gene for that somewhere in the cavy family tree! As @Wiebke says worth a vet check in case the webbing restricts her ability to properly distribute her weight across her foot, piggy back feet support a big fat bottom so if the weight distribution is uneven the feet may get calloused or sore on the weight bearing side as she gets bigger.
Very intrigued to see photos!
 
Thank you for adding your county. It means that we can adapt our recommendations to the factors that are in play in your area. The forum is UK based and is most active during UK daytime hours, but we have members and equiries from a surprising number of countries around the world.

Especially this year, having an idea where you are and what the current pandemic measures are/how they impact on your local vet/care product access plus climate change extreme weather events can all make a real difference when support members through an ongoing illness.
 
Bill & Ted said:
It definitely happens in nature. one of my grandmas had webbed toes
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Lol my great grandma had gill slits in her neck like a fish apparently! From what my late nana told us she wore a lot of very high necked frilly blouses to hide it, the few photos we have you can see her blouses have huge collars right up to her ears and chin! Funny what genes turn on when they shouldnt...
 
PigglePuggle said:
Lol my great grandma had gill slits in her neck like a fish apparently! From what my late nana told us she wore a lot of very high necked frilly blouses to hide it, the few photos we have you can see her blouses have huge collars right up to her ears and chin! Funny what genes turn on when they shouldnt...
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Wow, that is really strange 🤨 I have seen a lamb born with three front legs many years ago
 
Thank you to everyone for your replies! Nature can be very strange at times indeed.
Here are the pictures of our sweet girl as promised.
she seems okay in herself, quite skittish but that’s to be expected considering she only came to us yesterday.

sorry the underneath ones were hard to focus! But you can see that the right one is completely fused, whereas the left isn’t as bad.
it seems to keep her foot in a more bent position than normal so I'm not sure if that will cause problems in the future as @PigglePuggle and @Wiebke said above
CCFE81D8-2D48-4CE9-9F6B-FA9CA97A7C9D.jpegD63B51E1-953C-4D8D-A9FA-C4F1B95B4698.jpeg18605F9A-2541-4150-8652-A5062AD5583D.jpeg 0550FEDB-8F65-4F63-8738-3715D7F30D6E.jpeg
 
Aw how adorable those wonky little feetsies are, this isnt webbed toes it is ectrodactyly!
I doubt there is much a vet could do here but worth getting it checked out anyway, maybe an xray, might just be a case of watch and wait as she grows and see how her mobility is affected... what a special girl!
 
Watsoon said:
Thank you to everyone for your replies! Nature can be very strange at times indeed.
Here are the pictures of our sweet girl as promised.
she seems okay in herself, quite skittish but that’s to be expected considering she only came to us yesterday.

sorry the underneath ones were hard to focus! But you can see that the right one is completely fused, whereas the left isn’t as bad.
it seems to keep her foot in a more bent position than normal so I'm not sure if that will cause problems in the future as @PigglePuggle and @Wiebke said above
View attachment 157175View attachment 157177View attachment 157176 View attachment 157178
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Yes, her little toes are fused aren’t they, poor little mite, hope it doesn’t effect her movement too much x
 
Its difficult isnt it if she is in a pet shop, I doubt anyone would go to a pet shop to bring home a special needs piggy, if they had the time and experience and budget for a special needs piggy they would probably go to a rescue... and nobody can predict how special needs she might be, nail trims will be interesting! Possibly @Watsoon intends to keep her, but with pet shop being mentioned I just thought I should just say she might need a special home...
 
I would hate for her to go back to the ”suppliers” though. It would probably be a death sentence?
 
Bill & Ted said:
I would hate for her to go back to the ”suppliers” though. It would probably be a death sentence?
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Lets see what @Watsoon says, if she is going to keep special toes piggy herself or if she is looking for someone to rehome her. I doubt anyone here would let a piggy be sent back to a supplier as reject merchandise! But then that does raise issues of course if pet shop suppliers heard about this forum full of mad guinea pig people who take in wonky reject piggies that wont sell... but lets just see, the pet shop aspect may be incidental and @Watsoon may have fallen in love with those special toes and taken her straight home!
 
As others think she’d be classed as a special needs piggy, if you’re unable to keep her for yourself perhaps you could contact an experienced rescue about this and see if they’d be willing to take her if you purchase her? Some rescues keep special needs piggies as permanent residents or they make sure the home is very experienced
 
Wow so many helpful replies, thank you everyone!
Thanks @PigglePuggle for clearing up her condition! I will let my boss know. We will definitely keep an eye and if I see any effect on her mobility I’ll be straight on the phone to the vet.
Nail trims will definitely be an interesting one as they are completely 1 nail on the right foot.

Sadly I can’t take her home as I have a house full of boars! 3 bonded (my sisters, actually from the same breeder as this special girl) and my two boys who are brothers, none of which are neutered so I wouldn’t want to disrupt their bonds, but I do love her already! I do however have an experienced colleague with a lone female who lost her cage mate so she may be willing to take her on (fingers crossed).
I will search to find her the perfect home with an owner who understands her special condition and loves her for her:)
She is a gorgeous piggie with a lovely temperament so I shall be making sure she goes to the right home, whether that be a special rescue or an experienced owner!
 
PigglePuggle said:
Lets see what @Watsoon says, if she is going to keep special toes piggy herself or if she is looking for someone to rehome her. I doubt anyone here would let a piggy be sent back to a supplier as reject merchandise! But then that does raise issues of course if pet shop suppliers heard about this forum full of mad guinea pig people who take in wonky reject piggies that wont sell... but lets just see, the pet shop aspect may be incidental and @Watsoon may have fallen in love with those special toes and taken her straight home!
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I promise we’re not that kind of pet shop!
We’d never let anything like that happen. We’re all animal mad there and an independent business so no big head office telling us what to do!
I just want to make sure she has the right care so she lives her best life:)
 
Little Ones said:
As others think she’d be classed as a special needs piggy, if you’re unable to keep her for yourself perhaps you could contact an experienced rescue about this and see if they’d be willing to take her if you purchase her? Some rescues keep special needs piggies as permanent residents or they make sure the home is very experienced
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I will definitely be looking into this as a possibility if my colleague is unable to take her! Does anyone know of any places like that in or around Oxfordshire? Or how is the best way to find them?
 
Watsoon said:
I will definitely be looking into this as a possibility if my colleague is unable to take her! Does anyone know of any places like that in or around Oxfordshire? Or how is the best way to find them?
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Here is the link to the rescue locator:
Rescue Locator
TEAS is an excellent rescue though and Debbie goes above and beyond for all piggies. She deals with special needs piggies a lot and has many permanent residents at the rescue who have complex and/or ongoing issues. If it comes to it, I’d seriously consider her offer if I were you! :)
 
Little Ones said:
Here is the link to the rescue locator:
Rescue Locator
TEAS is an excellent rescue though and Debbie goes above and beyond for all piggies. She deals with special needs piggies a lot and has many permanent residents at the rescue who have complex and/or ongoing issues. If it comes to it, I’d seriously consider her offer if I were you! :)
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:agr:
 
Watsoon said:
I promise we’re not that kind of pet shop!
We’d never let anything like that happen. We’re all animal mad there and an independent business so no big head office telling us what to do!
I just want to make sure she has the right care so she lives her best life:)
Click to expand...
Aw that’s great, I know some pets shops are very good and care for there little animals x
 
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