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Dora's foot :/

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sazmatazz

sazmatazz

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Hi everyone, I noticed a few weeks ago that Dora seemed so have a 'weird bit' on her foot. At first I thought she had something stuck on her foot, she's an absolute nightmare for being a scruffy little pig, sitting in the spot where she's just had a wee etc. As she's totally white, she ends up really mucky!
I looked at her other foot to compare and it looked similar so I didn't think anything of it. I then cut her nails a few days ago and again, thought she had what looked like poop stuck on her foot. I tried to wipe it away and couldn't, she seems to have a little lump stuck to her foot. I was thinking about soaking it in case it is just something that's stuck on. If that doesn't work, I'll take her to the vets. She doesn't seem to be in pain at all. I was just wondering, if they have to remove it, will they need to sedate her? I know this can be dangerous for piggies and I don't want to do anything too risky, particularly as it's not bothering her anyway.

Thanks

Saz
 
It could be a foot spur, which basically is nail growing through, its not painful and is common in older pigs, you cant just cut it off. My Male Lilly has these.

This link might help you determine if what i have said it the case.

http://www.guinealynx.info/feet.html#spurs
 
Hmm... I wonder if it is? It doesn't look like the thing on the picture as the foot it's on is black with black nails rather than pinky colour. I think I'll get her out this evening and have another look. I would describe it as sort of looking like a 'skin tag' that humans get, if that makes sense? it does seem to have got a bit bigger than it was but it doesn't seem to be attached by much, just a little bit of skin maybe. She's a wriggly one and she hates having her nails cut so if she thinks that's what i'm upto she wont be very happy! rolleyes
 
just to add, both my pigs were 2 years old in April this year, so they aren't particularly old.
 
By the sounds of things it is a foot spur, however if you are unsure a vet visit will confirm
 
Sounds like a foot spur- some pigs just get them. I have two pigs in the same housing and one always has foot spurs and the other never does!
 
I've got her booked in at the vets in the morning just to check. I'll **** get there and the vet will pluck an encrusted bit of poop off her foot or something!
Actually the more I examine it (much to her dismay) the more sure I am it's a foot spur. But we'll see!
Will update tomorrow when we've been on our first ever piggy trip to the vet!
Thanks everyone! :)

edit - ooh I must've typed a swear and it starred me! I can't even remember which... I must just do it without even realising! Argh!
 
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It sounds likely that it is a foot spur. A lot of my pigs have them and they're all various ages. Harvey (he's about 5) is the worst for them and I just cut his back when I do his claws but if you're not 100% confident doing that, don't worry, it's not going to bother her.

A vet trip probably isn't necessary but I guess that's up to you, they may be able to show you how to clip it off if needs be.
 
I think it probably is and I'll feel silly at the vets! mallethead
 
sazmatazz said:
I think it probably is and I'll feel silly at the vets! mallethead
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Lol, don't worry about it, everyone has to start somewhere and if you don't know, it's best to just ask :)

I remember my first piggy vet trip... my brother's guinea-pig, Nutmeg, had beaten up my guinea-pig, Pepper, and left him with 3 top lips rolleyes
 
Hi everyone, just an update. Dora has been to the vets (she's definitely fallen out with me now) and everything is fine. It seems she's just got a bit of 'hard skin' on her foot, it's not actually a lump as such and the vet doesn't think it's a foot spur either. It's a slight thickening of the skin really. She was very well behaved and the vet took a bit of a shine to her! I did feel very silly but at least it has put my mine at rest.
May be piggy bath time to soak those feet!
 
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The way you are describing it sounds exactly like what my Wispa has, I thought it was a bit of poo stuck at first! I'm going to the vets tomorrow to get her nail clipped (not confident enough doing it myself), so will ask to confirm it then.
 
Rhiannan said:
The way you are describing it sounds exactly like what my Wispa has, I thought it was a bit of poo stuck at first! I'm going to the vets tomorrow to get her nail clipped (not confident enough doing it myself), so will ask to confirm it then.
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Can you take a picture of it....

Does it look anything like this:

http://www.guinealynx.info/pododermatitis.html

When you and the original poster described it as looking like poop stuck to the foot pad i instantly thought of bumblefoot...
 
I am aware of bumblefoot but the pad of her foot isn't swollen.
I thought she had something stuck to her foot, not on the pad of her foot but sort of to one side at the base of her toes. It's not swelling, it's like a hard bit of skin sort of towards where her wrist is.
I agree everyone needs to be aware of it and keep a lookout for bumblefoot but as it's an infection I think it would be much more unpleasant than a foot spur so you'd be able to tell the difference.
You can also compare feet to see what the other feet look like, bumblefoot wouldn't start out in all the feet I don't think.
Plus Dora has been checked by a vet so that's calmed my nerves!
 
Sodapops said:
Can you take a picture of it....

Does it look anything like this:

http://www.guinealynx.info/pododermatitis.html

When you and the original poster described it as looking like poop stuck to the foot pad i instantly thought of bumblefoot...
Click to expand...

In the end it turned out to be a bit of dead skin stuck to her foot! Has been cut off now with only a small amount of protesting from Wispa. She was bribed with veggies after though :))
 
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