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Guinea Pig Feet Question

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Sammysdct

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Hiya,

I was just wondering if anyone has some pictures of normal guinea pig feet. Particularly back feet/hock.

I suspect the piggies may have urine scald. Their back feet/legs look rather pink/red, possibly scaly and lacking in hair over a greater area than I would expect. My problem is that they are albino piggies, and its been 15 years since I had my dark ones.That and I've only seen them as they ran away from me.

Will be actually attempting to catch them for closer inspection tomorrow. Somehow. They go to the opposite end of the hutch/run to whatever I'm standing at, and its an eglu, meaning that I only have a door about 1 1/2ft as access to the run and about the same for 'pod' access. Even if I can trap them in their hutch/pod, they run around like crazy. One actually refuses to go in it if I'm there. Probably because the first time I met them, I cornered it in there to inspect a patch of fur that was dark red/brown, to check it wasn't from a cut. I struggled to get my hands on him/her but managed to get a look when it was buried its head in the straw.

I'm planning on taking a towel to help me corner/calm them. Get them covered with the towel and then pick up. Because of the set up, I have to approach them from above & they "don't like being handled" / not tame.

I've googled quite a bit, but really can't decide from looking at the pictures, the healthy ones don't show enough, & the ones under urine scald don't seem to quite match.

Any input appreciated.
 
Welcome to the Forum.

How long have you had your piggies, and why do you think they might have urine scald?
From your description it sounds like it could be urine scald or fungal.
Have they seen a vet?
If no one posts a picture of a healthy back foot and hock before the morning I will get one and post it for you tomorrow.

The catching sounds like a nightmare.
Is there no way you can open the back of the Eglu and herd them outside into the run part.
If you place a large cardboard box with a towel into the run, they should rush into this, and hopefully you can scoop the whole box up with them inside?
 
Sammysdct said:
Hiya,

I was just wondering if anyone has some pictures of normal guinea pig feet. Particularly back feet/hock.

I suspect the piggies may have urine scald. Their back feet/legs look rather pink/red, possibly scaly and lacking in hair over a greater area than I would expect. My problem is that they are albino piggies, and its been 15 years since I had my dark ones.That and I've only seen them as they ran away from me.

Will be actually attempting to catch them for closer inspection tomorrow. Somehow. They go to the opposite end of the hutch/run to whatever I'm standing at, and its an eglu, meaning that I only have a door about 1 1/2ft as access to the run and about the same for 'pod' access. Even if I can trap them in their hutch/pod, they run around like crazy. One actually refuses to go in it if I'm there. Probably because the first time I met them, I cornered it in there to inspect a patch of fur that was dark red/brown, to check it wasn't from a cut. I struggled to get my hands on him/her but managed to get a look when it was buried its head in the straw.

I'm planning on taking a towel to help me corner/calm them. Get them covered with the towel and then pick up. Because of the set up, I have to approach them from above & they "don't like being handled" / not tame.

I've googled quite a bit, but really can't decide from looking at the pictures, the healthy ones don't show enough, & the ones under urine scald don't seem to quite match.

Any input appreciated.
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome!

Here are our tips on handling and picking up piggies that are the least stressful for them; you may find them helpful:
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
How To Understand Guinea Pig Instincts And Speak Piggy Body Language
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig

Please be aware that white guinea pig feet are rather pink all over when the feet are warm (so are their ears). You need to go on alert if their are localised red dots in the feet that can indicate the start of an infection.

How old are your piggies and where are they from? How humid/warm (conditions for a fungal infection) or dry/air conditioned (dry, scabby skin) is their place? Are they sitting in the same damp spot for days on end without you cleaning their cage/hutch? Urine scald on feet builds up over time; it is connected to uncleaned cages/neglect, urinary tract infections with lots of pees, or arthritis/back leg paralysis in older guinea pigs where lack of mobility puts them at higher risk. it doesn't happen overnight.

Hairiness on the feet can vary individually. As a rule of thumb, if it is symmetrical, you do not need to worry.

Here is my Myfina's foot; it is a lot pinker when she is feeling a bit hot and can go to a slightly blueish hue when she is feeling really cold. You do not see this variation in feet with darker skin tones.
IMG_4587.webp
 
I've only just taken over the role of animal care assistant at my daughters' primary school on friday. I was shown around by last guy for 1/2hr, just basically shown where all the equipment was. Then I took over and went in to care for animals Sunday. And each day since. I haven't been given all of the information on the piggies yet. They didn't know when I asked at interview.

They were cleaned out on friday by last person to hold the post, but it seems me & they have different opinions on this & I believe its likely they have been sitting on soiled bedding for a prolonged period. There seems to be some sort of politics at the school (was son of staff member), and I don't want to say too much. Their food and water was outside in the run, and believing them to be cleaned out on fri I didn't look inside their pod until yesterday.

I'm just focussing on bringing everything up to standard at the moment. In the 3 days I have been there I've jet washed the chicken coop, jet washed another eglu to isolate a sick chicken, cleaned all the bowls/bottles, cleaned out the piggies again yesterday which is when I became concerned about their feet, the caretaker kindly cleaned out the water barrel for me and I've ordered some wooden cat litter for the piggies as the only thing lining their pods at the moment is straw.

This job is way more than the 90 mins a day advertised at the moment, but I don't mind as I want the animals to have the best possibe life they can. It's just going to take me some time.

Thanks for picture, it will really help me.

Would love to try and herd them into a box, but the set up just won't allow me. They are pretty wild, but I've got no choice as I've got to give them a proper check over. Still, if I can catch an injured wild goose by hand, do an agressive cat towel wrap and make a 11lb bunny burrito, I should be able to do this (trying to psyche myself up, I really hope they're not biters). Just got to try and keep it quick & confident. Its harder where I've had no time to bond with them, but they are very vocal whenever I go in to them. I love hearing their little wheeps. It just when I go near them they run.

Thanks for input, wish me luck...
 
All the best!

Glad that they have finally got somebody to really care for them. School animals are sadly far too often amongst the most neglected and traumatised - and that is compared to whatever else fetches up in a rescue, which is not necessarily for the faint-hearted!

Can you just wipe their feet and bums/genitalia with hand-warm water and treat them with a mildly disinfectant cream if necessary?
Here is our boar care guide and the body check guide to help remind you what is normal and what not:
Guinea pig body quirks
Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths
 
Well I managed to catch them. Turns out they are actually pretty easy to handle with the towel.

Looks like it was a false alarm though, as their feet seems less red now that they are not on soggy bedding. Certainly no different to the one in the photo, so thank you for that.

They actually looked quite healthy when I gave them a once over. Only thing I didn't check was their teeth/bellies, but I'd like to get to know them a bit better before that. Maybe sneak a peak if I can tempt them with some food.

Did more O/T today, getting another of the spare eglus hand scrubbed that has a nice long patch of grass/ greater plantain in it. It's currently getting some good old fashioned sunshine sterilisation as it dries. (They are out of animal cleaner, and head is away ATM so order pending) One of the receptionist have said they will pick up some wooden cat litter for me tonight, so I will move them across to new enclosure tomorrow. Planning on setting up a "pen" attached to this, so that whilst I'm there I can actually interact with them. Will be a nice place for the children to interact too, if I can get the piggies tame enough.

I hoping that 1 more day on just hay will be ok, it was fresh hay yesterday, so should I don't see why it wouldn't be.

I've already been chatting to 2 of the teachers (my youngest daughters reception class is right next door to the animal enclosure). They asked about bringing children in, but I've told them I'd like a bit more time to clean up. After that I'm going to be encouraging them to come. May even look into setting up some kind of rota, so that all the children in the school can shadow me on a basic feed/water day. Whenever it is I actually have one of those.

The animal area was described as "under-utilised", but I'm hoping to turn it into not only one of the best homes for the animals, but a great resource for the school too.

Thanks for the resources and links. Will be doing much much reading tonight.
 
Sammysdct said:
Well I managed to catch them. Turns out they are actually pretty easy to handle with the towel.

Looks like it was a false alarm though, as their feet seems less red now that they are not on soggy bedding. Certainly no different to the one in the photo, so thank you for that.

They actually looked quite healthy when I gave them a once over. Only thing I didn't check was their teeth/bellies, but I'd like to get to know them a bit better before that. Maybe sneak a peak if I can tempt them with some food.

Did more O/T today, getting another of the spare eglus hand scrubbed that has a nice long patch of grass/ greater plantain in it. It's currently getting some good old fashioned sunshine sterilisation as it dries. (They are out of animal cleaner, and head is away ATM so order pending) One of the receptionist have said they will pick up some wooden cat litter for me tonight, so I will move them across to new enclosure tomorrow. Planning on setting up a "pen" attached to this, so that whilst I'm there I can actually interact with them. Will be a nice place for the children to interact too, if I can get the piggies tame enough.

I hoping that 1 more day on just hay will be ok, it was fresh hay yesterday, so should I don't see why it wouldn't be.

I've already been chatting to 2 of the teachers (my youngest daughters reception class is right next door to the animal enclosure). They asked about bringing children in, but I've told them I'd like a bit more time to clean up. After that I'm going to be encouraging them to come. May even look into setting up some kind of rota, so that all the children in the school can shadow me on a basic feed/water day. Whenever it is I actually have one of those.

The animal area was described as "under-utilised", but I'm hoping to turn it into not only one of the best homes for the animals, but a great resource for the school too.

Thanks for the resources and links. Will be doing much much reading tonight.
Click to expand...

Good news!

You may find our new owners guide collection helpful in refreshing your knowledge. so much has changed in the last few years in the piggy world! You can also find lots more information at the top of our various Care guides, but you are always welcome to ask any questions you may have along the way.
New Owners' " How To" Starter Kit

As hay is making around 80% of the daily food intake, and is actually what keeps the fast growing back teeth ground down (so that the self-sharpening pick up/cutting front teeth stay nice and even) as well as the guts balanced, just living on hay is fine for a few days. In the longer run, you want to add an ideally balanced mix of veg (see our diet thread that is included in the guide collection) and a few pellets; about 1-2 tablespoons per piggy per day.

When guinea pigs are frightened, they become unresponsive in order to cause a predator to lose interest and let them escape another day. In your case, it has worked to make them easier to check. You can find more about the various prey animal instincts in our guinea pig instinct guide. ;)
 
What can I say but WOW! You have certainly taken on a lot. Well done you! I wish you luck with your school piggies and any other animals you help! A rota system with the children is a good idea and gives them an insight into looking after pets.
 
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