Wiebke's Guide to Feet, Legs and Mobility Care

[Wiebke]

1 Toes and Nails
- Extra toes
- Nails
- Nail cutting tips
- Ripped nails and cuts to the quick
2 Feet
- Bumblefoot infection and the importance of the callus
- Development of bumblefoot (pododermatitis)
- Foot spurs
- Removing stuck poos from feet
3 Legs
- Leg injuries
- Minimising the risk of injuries from falls and blind jumps
- Back leg paralysis
4 Care Tips for Reduced Mobility
- Adapting the bedding area
- Daily health monitoring and grooming support
- Common secondary complications
- Companionship and enrichment


Being able to move around is vital for guinea pigs. This time I am looking feet and legs and at all the illnesses and care issues that can face owners, including practical tips for looking after guinea pigs that do not move around much or not at all.



1 Toes and Nails

Extra toes
Guinea pigs should have 4 toes on their front and 3 on their back toes. If they very occasional have extra toes, then this is called polydactyly (‘many toes’); a genetic defect. Most common is an extra toe on the back foot. If it is only loosely attached or impeding the mobility then please see a vet for safe removal.
Extra toes on the front paws or all feet are always the result of some major inbreeding; thankfully this is much rarer.

If you have concerns about a toe, compare it with the same toe on the other foot. That way can best spot whether it is actually a swelling or whether a lost nail is simply making the blunt tip of the toe look thicker next to its neighbours.
Sometimes one of the small toe bones can crack and cause a localised swelling.
Please see a vet if you notice signs of a potential infection – red and/or swollen areas that are noticeably hotter to the touch.


Nails
At the tip of each toe and reaching into the nail is the quick, which brings a blood supply in the live growing nail. This is the part of the nail you should never cut into. It is however invisible in black nails and can be tricky to spot in some red-skinned nails. If you have concerns, please clip those nails a little more generously; if they have a light skinned counterpart on the other foot, you can use that to get an idea how far out the quick is reaching.

When baby nails start growing out can vary enormously; from a few weeks to several months or even a year in the case of the front paws of my Ffion. The first hint is that they are getting very sharp and scratchy. I would recommend that you just clip off the very tip once you can safely do so, keeping in mind that your baby may wiggle.
Getting your piggies used to having their feet manipulated during cuddling sessions from the start will help. You can also remind wigglers as to who is the boss by gently squeezing the tip of an ear between your fingers – the same as piggy mothers deal with a misbehaving youngster.

Live nails are always smooth but nails can thicken, twist, curl or corkscrew tightly as your guinea pigs age while others stay smooth and straight right into old age. The gradual changes in older guinea pigs are actually not just bad – any grooves, growth rings, twists and curling only happen in the dead part of the nail beyond the quick. This is a great help with nails where you can’t spot the quick. If you want to be on the safe side, cut about 1 mm above where the growth changes appear and you won’t be cutting into the quick.

The growth rate of nails also changes over a lifetime; once nails start growing out, they do so rather quickly over the first year or so and then usually slow down very, very gradually to a much slower growth rate in old age. There is therefore no set nail cutting time; it can range from every two weeks to about a month. A quick look at the nails should be ideally part of the regular life-long once weekly body onceover and weigh-in health check; cut them whenever they are long enough.


Nail cutting tips
Whether you prefer clippers or small pet nail scissors is down to you and your personal preference. The same also goes with how you hold and handle your piggies; especially the more uncooperative and wiggly customers.

If you have a persistent screamer or drama queen of either gender, then a handful of fresh grass or a mouthful of veg can come in handy but you need to stay tough and get on with the job. It can help if somebody else is holding and distracting the piggy.
What you always need to do is to hold the toe firmly and only clip or cut when you are sure that a piggy won’t be able to pull back the foot or twist their body at the last second. Rather take your time and do only a few toes in a session with a wiggly piggy. Hand nipping piggies you can tell off with the ear squeeze but don’t let them get the impression that they have scored on you – the latter is an invitation for more.

If you feel really unsure about nail cutting, ask your local vet whether a nurse with guinea pig experience could show you how to go about it or do the nail cutting for you against a small fee. A few rescues also offer health checks and grooming services.

Mostly, nail cutting is very much a matter of practice and gaining confidence which will transmit to your guinea pigs. If they feel that you mean business, they won’t try to get away with all sorts of shenanigans, as they will try do if they sense your apprehension and your fear of hurting them.
That is why starting slowly and not overtaxing yourself will help more towards building up your own confidence rather than aiming for an expert trim right from the start. Each piggy has their own quirks and tricks, and getting to know them will also help. Don’t be afraid of trying different positions, tricks and clippers/scissors to find the best method for you.
Cut further out initially and only do as many nails as you feel you can do. The first time often goes better than the second time because by then your piggies know what is coming and they usually won’t be happy. Please be generous with praise and encouragement throughout and have a special treat ready at the end.


Ripped nails and cuts to the quick
Accidents and injuries can and do happen to us all at some point or other. Please take a deep breath and calm down, first and foremost. It is always a nasty shock when it happens but there is no need to panic.
Any bleeding should ideally stop within 10-15 minutes and this is what happens in all but very few cases. A piggy won’t bleed to death during that time; the blood loss is too small for that even though it can look alarming. Styptic powder may or may not stop the bleeding (more often not). Please do not use any flour or cornflour. It is usually just enough to soak up the blood with some kitchen paper or a clean rag. It is of course always an anxious wait until the blood clotting is kicking in.

Please contact your vet clinic for advice if the bleeding continues after 15-20 minutes, either with heavy bleeding or with a continuing dripping from an injured quick, which is thankfully extremely rare but can be potentially fatal if not seen to. Bleeding that doesn’t stop counts as an emergency at any time of the day or night. Staff is trained to talk you through possible measures and to assess the situation.

You can disinfect the wound with any mild antiseptic once the bleeding has stopped. If you haven’t got any at home, simply boil 250 ml (or 1 pint of water), let it cool and then stir in 1 teaspoon of water to make your own saline solution.

An exposed quick may wither but the good news is that it will regrow again within the nail once that is growing out. Depending on how badly the root bed is affected, the nail may eventually regrow thickened or deformed and – only very occasionally in the case of major damage to the toe – not at all. It will however not impact on your piggy’s mobility past the initial pain of the accident or injury.

 

[Wiebke]

2 Feet

Did you know that next to the ears, the feet are second most important area for shedding excess heat via increased blood flow through the skin? If your guinea pigs have suddenly very red and warm feet, then they are feeling very warm but they are not ill. You will see the same intense pink on pale skinned ears, noses and lips at the same time in light skinned guinea pigs; it is not visible in guinea pigs with darker skin colours.

Front and back feet have different functions and therefore very different shapes.
The sturdy, short front feet are the weight being ones. They are straight and have thick shock absorbing pads underneath as the toes are spreading out to anchor the legs better. The limping always looks worse when the front leg/foot is impacted because it is more difficult for a guinea pig to move around when they have to balance the main weight on just one leg.

The longer, more muscular back legs and feet act as propelling springs at top speed. The soles have hard, firm skin (callus) on the underside.


Bumblefoot infection and the importance of the callus
It is generally unknown in our show-clad society that cherishes soft feet that the hard skin on the soles of our feet or on our hands in manual labour is actually a working part of our immune system. The hard thick skin acts as an important barrier in order to keep germs from getting into skin in constant contact with rough and dirty surfaces where the usual defences of the skin surface are not enough. The skin itself is actually not just our biggest organ but the microbiome that lives on its surface is an important part of the body’s immune system, as is the body hair – and why bathing and the frequency of bathing guinea pig is something that also needs to be carefully considered.

Totally unsuitable wire surface cages (especially in tropical/warm countries), surface cleanliness and the hardness of the callus are both crucial factors in the occurrence of bumblefoot (ulcerative pododermatitis), with long term general neglect (resulting in the additional weakening of the immune system), blood circulation/heart problems especially in older guinea pigs and the inability to take weight off the front feet in guinea pigs with long term mobility problems, especially with arthritis or long term back leg paralysis providing additional factors that help to cause bumblefoot and tht can make a recovery more difficult.

Fleece has great advantages as bedding for guinea pigs and is therefore a favourite for indoors cages. It has however one major drawback: Urine and poo particles build up on the surface, even when it is regularly ‘poo patrolled’ and specially rinsed during washing. A softened callus and often longer nails and different distribution on the body weight can then provide the condition for bumblefoot to happen.

What makes bumblefoot (and its counterpart cheilitis ‘lip infection’) so difficult to treat is the vast range of germs that can get into skin through tiny cracks in the skin, so there is not a single treatment that fits all cases. The most common cause of bumblefoot infection is staphylococcus aureus, which is a very common environmental bug.


Development of bumblefoot (pododermatitis)
Reddened areas on paler skin that are not symmetrical to the sole on the other foot are usually the first sign of an irritation but one where the natural immune system is still in control. Unfortunately, many owners make the mistake to step in with creaming immediately and as a result softening the callus, therefore making the skin on the soles much more likely to rip and develop cracks. They basically promote what they aim to prevent. It is much better to just leave the feet as they are because the skin defence is not breached at this stage and to just keep an eye on the soles during the once weekly body check and weigh-in grooming session.

Please see a vet as soon as you notice a dark red small localised area that is slightly raised and hot to the touch – the skin defence has been breached and you are now dealing with early stage bumblefoot.
A swollen, firmer front pad (always compare with the other foot before you panic) can also be the first indication in guinea pigs with darker skin.
You also need to see a vet promptly if an area of the skin of the soles changes in texture and is starting to develop slowly into a hardened skin scab, which when it comes off will bleed and leave a dark open bumblefoot sore.
Gorgeous Guineas F&M ointment used temporarily at this stage can sometimes prevent an infection from going any further but if in any doubt, please see a vet promptly and do not home treat on spec.

Sadly, once you are dealing with open sores, you are in for a lengthy fight. Longer courses of antibiotics can help in some cases (a culture may determine which is most effective); epsom salts (which are caustic and can permanently damage eyes so you need to watch a piggy during soaks to prevent the salts from coming into contact with other body parts) or chlorhexidine solution soaks (very drying on the skin) or a combination of chlorhexidine and betadine soaks are widely used as treatment – including a combination of a longer term course of antibiotics with soaks may work. Bandaging in between treatment to prevent any contact with a compromised surface in between soaks in more difficult or advanced cases can also help.
The condition is very painful so additional painkillers may also be needed, especially when the appetite is impacted.

Advanced bumblefoot with severely swollen foot pads/feet or that is tracking into the legs may not be able to be healed; especially once the infection reaches the bones and dissolves them (osteomyelitis). A leg amputation is often the only way to save a life. Thankfully, ‘tripod’ piggies can have a perfectly normally active and happy life. Untreated bumblefoot will eventually kill in a slow and very agonising way.


Foot spurs
While a bumblefoot infection typically happens in the middle of the foot pads where they are in direct contact with the ground, quite a large percentage of guinea pigs develop harmless hard grows of dead skin (horn) on the sides of the front food pads where there is no pressure on them. These are best left alone unless they grow out on the outside of the feet where they could catch and cause a bleeding rip on edge between live and dead skin that can get infected.
However, cutting back too close to live skin is extremely painful and can cripple, so it is best left to an experienced vet.

An additional hard skin area on the side of the sole of a back foot is not a sign of bumblefoot but of the weight not coming down on the foot in the way it should and the skin compensating with growing extra hard skin.


Removing stuck poos
Soft poos can occasionally get stuck to the feet and dry on. They can look a bit similar to a callus but they do not look like a bumblefoot scab. Unfortunately, they do not come off easily.
The best way is by soaking the foot in some baby warm water and then gently working it off. It may take more than one round of soaking. This method prevents any skin coming off when a poo is just ripped off.

 

[Wiebke]

3 Legs

Guinea pigs have two rather short and sturdy weight bearing front legs and two much longer and more muscular back legs, which act as springs at full speed. We don’t usually notice because they are much more folded up compared to our human legs. While they are ground roamers that need space to really get up to full speed, they can also jump onto surfaces above their heads.


Leg injuries
All that jumping can come with a risk of injuries, whether that is a bad landing after a popcorning jump or after fall or blind jump. Many owners make the mistake when their guinea pig is limping and trying to put as little weight on their feet to assume a foot injury when in fact a sprain or can happen anywhere from the shoulder or hip joint downwards – we humans limp quite as badly with a knee injury, a sprained ankle a pulled muscle or an injured toe; the same goes for piggies as well. It is always worth checking the full length of the leg for a painful area. It is normal for the toes on the front paws to pull against each other as soon as there is no weight on them; they spread out, the more weight is there. Bones can also break.
A useful way to triage the severity of the limp s to whether you re dealing with a break or a more serious sprain by gently pushing on the sole of a foot. A broken leg can’t push back, and the pain is unmistakeable. If there is a bit or a fair bit of resistance, then you can be relieved that you are not dealing with an emergency. You may still want to have the leg vet checked if your guinea pig is avoiding to put any weight on the leg if at all possible.
A leg that is sticking out funnily from a joint, is likely dislocated if it is not broken; be contact a vet as soon as possible because it may not be possible to put it back if you want for too long.
Amputations are always only ever a last resort when a problem in the leg cannot be resolved or cured but the pain is too great or the leg in question is impeding mobility. ‘Tripod’ piggies are thankfully soon s able and quick to get around as their healthy companions. You my come across them more commonly as permanent rescue or sanctuary residents because of untreated injuiries and neglect in their previous place.


Minimising the risk of injuries from falls and blind jumps
There are some very easy measures that we can use to avoid the really bad leg or spine injuries from bad landing from a height:

• Don’t carry guinea guinea pigs on your arm or in your hands; especially not new ones and especially not by children. A cardboard box with cut out handles for more than one piggy or a cardboard tunnel for just one can be both used for the weekly weigh-in on your kitchen scales on grooming day (just take away the weight of the box or tunnel to get your piggies’ weight. Please also use your conveyance to take your guinea pigs back to the cage; more jumping accidents happen on the way home.
• Don’t let your guinea pigs see the cage upon return. If you are holding your piggies in your hand, put them back in the cage or hutch with the back end first so they cannot break their front teeth or badly injure their mouths when they make a sudden jump too early; if they jump facing you, they will impact on your much softer body and you have a much better chance at catching them.
• Sit on the floor for cuddles and any grooming, especially with newer guinea pigs. If necessary, do this in a restricted area so a piggy cannot escape far but it can also not get injured badly by jumping from a table or sofa. Provide a little hide (like the transport tunnel or the cardboard box with a cut out entrance) near to you for your piggy to seek shelter so you can retrieve them without a long chase that triggers their prey instincts. This works best with wigglers and skittish piggies – or the very compliant and ‘docile’ ones that are just waiting for a chance to escape – whether that is nail or hair grooming and cutting or a cuddling session. You can then train some of your piggies to come to you or even climb into your lap eventually.
• Please do not let your children carry and handle guinea pigs unsupervised; even more so outdoors. Guinea pigs are territorial but new arrivals have not yet got that bond and can very easily get lost.
• Please never use your sink for bathing your guinea pigs if you really need a full body bath. It is a very stressful exercise for most guinea pigs and the risk of blind jumping accidents is very high. Rather use a basin on the shower or bath tub floor. This also restricts any escape routes for frightened guinea pigs.

Back leg paralysis
It always comes as a shock when a guinea pig of yours suddenly or gradually loses their mobility. Overnight back leg paralysis, which is the one that is most present in any online research, is actually just one of quite a large range of possible causes. Please always see a vet for a hands-on diagnosis and further checks.

There is a very simple trick how you can check whether your guinea pig has two paralysed back legs or just one, or whether they still have a little mobility left: Place your piggy on your lap and then gently pull the affected leg or legs back so they stick out behind the piggy. A healthy guinea pig will automatically pull the leg back underneath the body; a paralysed piggy has lost that reflex fully or partially.
This trick can also help you to assess the recovery when you are dealing with a temporary issue, which is actually not rarely the case.

Possible causes for back leg paralysis are:

• Severe arthritis can affect the spine or a leg and result in restricted mobility or sudden back leg paralysis or more frequent flling over and being unable to right themselves in older piggies with athritis in the spine (falling over can have other causes as well).
  Metacam (active ingredient meloxicam) or in severe cases tramadol or newly gabapentin, as well as glucosamine can help if a vet check/x-ray confirms arthritis.
• A sudden drop of calcium levels in older guinea pigs (‘overnight paralysis’). This is generally reversible, but it may take a few weeks and mobility may not come back fully. Osteocare can help in this case. It is however a one off and will not happen to your guinea pig again.
  I have seen a marked decrease of this type of paralysis in guinea pigs cropping up after we have started to recommend a marked reduction in pellets and dry mixes but so far this is only a personal observation and would need some research.
• Spine injuries or neurological problems
  Spine injuries after a bad fall can take up to two days to develop fully. They will need a scan. Neurological issues in guinea pigs are sadly still rather beyond the veterinary horizon when comes to guinea pigs and treatments.
• Sciatica, a blood clot in major a spinal vessel or neurological problems are rarer but do happen.
  The pain from sciatica or blood clots can be so intense that your guinea pig will twist or scream in pain, which can also cause loss of appetite and full or partial GI stasis – this is an anytime of the day/night emergency!
• Intense pain from a bladder, urethral or kidney stone or bad infection. Less extreme pain radiating into the lower body from ovarian cysts, kidneys, bladder stones or issues in the penis shaft can also impact on the back leg mobility.
• A build-up of fluid in the body can also affect mobility. This can be caused by a failing heart, an internal mass or it can start with another organ struggling. In my Nerys's case, her temporary fluid build leading to a temporary back leg paralysis up started around the adrenal gland.
• CBS (calcified bulla syndrome), i.e. the walling off of the middle ear capsule does cause intense vertigo and can affect the mobility amongst a raft of other issues (stumbling, falling/sliding to the side etc) or a neurological problem
  In this case, an x-ray of the head will show off the two middle ear capules as large bright splodges while healthy bullas appears as two rings at the back of the head behind the eyes.
  It is currently increasingly occurring especially in North America. CBS can develop gradually. In other countries it is usually diagnosed as a walled-off middle ear infection but it is much less commonly occurring.

Unless you are dealing with progressive problem, back leg paralysis will often revert fully or at least partially. As long as a guinea pig has an appetite for life and your good care, they can still have enough quality of life to go on.

 

[Wiebke]

4 Care tips for reduced mobility

The practical tips in the following do not just apply for guinea pigs with paralysis or advanced arthritis but generally for any guinea pigs that are not moving about because they are ill or frail, recovering from an operation or –thankfully more rarely – because they are pining badly after the usually sudden loss of a close mate.


Adapting the bedding area
Please change the bedding for piggies with reduced mobility 2-3 times daily depending on the urination. You want to switch cosies or use cut up vetbed bedding piece that you can just replace and then wash in order to minimise complications from lying in their own waste.

If a guinea pig is still eating on their own, place hay, veg and pellets within reach of the head. Offer water by syringe several times a day; guinea pigs with back leg paralysis will struggle to drink from a bottle and often ignores a bowl. Don’t squirt water into the mouth, just let them drink from the syringe until they have had enough
Fresh growing grass when in season and provided your guinea pig is used to it can help with combining the need for hay and fluid; it needs to be free from dog pee and unsprayed/not recently treated. Otherwise you will have to introduce it gradually in increasing quantities over the course of several days to allow the gut microbiome to adapt so you can avoid diarrhoea or serious bloating.

A guinea pig that is not feeling well and not moving around much is – like frailer humans – more likely to crave warmth because the circulation is not kept going as much; especially piggies that have lost quite a bit of weight or that are older and frailer.
They will profit from a microwaveable snugglesafe pad that is half-heated.
During heatwaves, they will enjoy the coolness that comes from a snugglesafe which has been cooled in the fridge and that you can easily slide underneath the cosy or vetbed patch. You may have to change the snugglesafe pads fairly regularly but they do provide safe comfort for guinea pigs that struggle to move away from a source of more intense heat when they start overheating. Keeping the room at more steady comfortable temperature will also help a lot.


Daily health monitoring and grooming support
Please weigh any guinea pigs you have concerns about daily on your kitchen scales first thing in the morning for best day to day comparison to check their independent food intake and to compute how much you need to top up feed with recovery formula or whether they require round the clock feeding support.

Give the underside of the body a twice daily check and if needed wipe genitalia and belly with moist rag and baby warm water to remove stuck on poos and reduce the discomfort from urine scald. Please also check the undersides of all paws for stuck on poos or signs of irritation or bumblefoot infection.
Also give your piggies a daily brush, even short-hair ones since they are no longer able to groom themselves and need help.

Gently massage any paralytic legs unless your guinea pig is very uncomfortable with it.

You may want to consider discussing the use of vitamin B complex in long term paralysed guinea pigs with your vet. Unlike rabbits, guinea pigs produce most vitamins of the complex but they are no longer able to pick up and eat their poos for a second run through the gut; they do not produce caecotrophs (special poos) but their re-digested poos must be totally fresh from the anus in order to work.


Common secondary complications
Especially in guinea pigs with long term mobility issues you want keep an eye out on the following problems that can result.

• Urine scald and loss of hair on the belly
• Leucillin cream is currently the best freely available treatment for urine scald after you have gently cleaned the bald and sore area with plain water. Please apply only very thinly.
• Bumblefoot (pododermatitis)
  When the back legs no longer work to push them up, guinea pigs are unable to take the weight off their front paws. The enforced immobility can also impact on the blood circulation. This, in combination with sitting in their excrement sadly enhances the risk of it.
• Flystrike and skin parasites
• Frail guinea pigs with a lowered immune system and unable to clean themselves are at a higher risk of fly strike from bluebottle flies who lay their eggs into flesh. Please be aware that this can also happen to indoors piggies if a small blue iridescent fly gets inside. A lowered immune system can also make a guinea pig more prone to a mange mites or other skin parasites outbreak, which can sometimes hit with devastating speed and ferocity.
• Urination and bowel movement can also become affected by long term immobility with the digestion becoming tender due to lack of body movement, which also acts to stimulate the gut movement.

Companionship and enrichment
Some guinea pigs are real fighters and have a determined zest for life. As long s they are having quite literally an appetite for life, then you can support them with stimulating that zest for life.
Please do not separate companions if possible; once the initial hierarchy changing dominance is over (if the patient was the top pig), the companions are often very caring and vital in providing moral support. Only if the companion continues to nip and snatch food away for longer is it better to divide the cage with a small enclosure for the immobile piggy but still with easy contact through the bars.

Try different cosies or whether a little pillow as a head rest is welcome.
You can also adapt any enrichment activities to things that interest immobile but fully eating piggies – wrapping up their dinner in some brown paper, offering different fresh or dry forage or different treat hays.
Opening the window on a nice day to let in stimulating scents is also something your piggy will love, as they may do with a short trip to the (warm and dry) lawn or balcony on a perfect day but please do so only in your own presence. Remember, your piggy cannot move away if they feel too hot or cold! Be prepared to move them out of any direct sun as soon as they try to wiggle and turn their head away from the sunlight.
See whether a trip to the hay tray or kitchen is something your piggy will still enjoy.

These are all little things but they can make a huge difference for your guinea pig!