Please help! Is this bumble foot?

[Olive_piggies]

Hi! I recently rehomed two amazing Guinea pigs about two months ago. I noticed they both had pinkish/red heels. However, in the past couple of weeks, it seems like they have gotten worse. They are in the midwestern cage and I took out the wire ramp to see if that might be causing an issue. I also clean out their bedding every 2-3 days (fleece) but I have paper bedding that I change every day in the corner. Their old owners did a lot of stuff differently so I’m still trying to find what bedding methods work best for me. I’m pretty sure the old owners did mention going to the vet because potato (bigger piggie) had reddish feet. Apparently it was just because he had more weight on his body and they switched up his diet and he went back to normal. My parents think I’m paranoid since they have lived in the same cage with similar treatment the past 3 years and have been fine, however, I would hate to have somehting happen to them. I am definitely a very paranoid person, esp when it comes to pets. I didn’t want to pay an expensive vet bill before getting some other opinions! Is this a cause of concern? Thanks for reading! iCloud
iCloud

 

[Siikibam]

Hi and welcome. You should now be able to upload the photo directly rather than use a link. Some people may not be comfortable using the link, or May not be able to access it.

Well done for removing the wire ramp.

The other thing we recommend is having a vet check a week after you have brought home piggies that aren’t from a rescue. So I would potentially book them in for a general check in any case.

 

[Wheekallweek]

His foot does look a bit red, however I wouldn't say its developed into bumblefoot yet.
You're keeping his bedding clean which is great, I had a piggy with arthritis who used to get quite red feet because of the way he walked, Vetbed worked well for him as its much softer on their feet with more give in it.
Good luck, he's lovely

 

[Free Ranger]

I was thinking the same - red but not a bumble yet. With bumblefoot you will see breaks and cracks in the skin which form open ulcers. One of my pigs gets this redness just on her back feet in the same place and with her it's always 'urine scald' as she is a long-haired girl. A bum trim usually sorts it as she can then pee without it catching in the fur and running down her legs. But your piggy has short hair and a dry bottom. Is it just on the back feet or on the front ones as well?

It might well be a bedding issue but nice soft fleece that gets changed out should be fine. Is there an absorbent layer underneath? Or perhaps there has been a change in washing liquid? I try to avoid anything 'biological' (which has enzymes in) and I don't use fabric softener - just white vinegar in the rinse.

It's a lovely photo!

 

[Olive_piggies]

T

Hi and welcome. You should now be able to upload the photo directly rather than use a link. Some people may not be comfortable using the link, or May not be able to access it.

Well done for removing the wire ramp.

The other thing we recommend is having a vet check a week after you have brought home piggies that aren’t from a rescue. So I would potentially book them in for a general check in any case.

thank you! I looked around for a way to post a photo but that’s the only way I could figure it out. I'm definitely planning on taking them to a vet soon because I also need to get their nails trimmed soon!

 

[Wiebke]

T

thank you! I looked around for a way to post a photo but that’s the only way I could figure it out. I'm definitely planning on taking them to a vet soon because I also need to get their nails trimmed soon!

Hi

We recommend to use the Attach Files button underneath the post when you write for uploading pictures; this works for every format. Our forum is not part of social media and is entirely run by voluntary member donations so we cannot necessarily run every possible support format all the time.

It is not fully developed bumblefoot. Please be aware that overtreating/creaming foot soles can soften them and make them actually more prone to develop cracks that can let germs in so it is very delicate balance to strike.

 

[Olive_piggies]

I was thinking the same - red but not a bumble yet. With bumblefoot you will see breaks and cracks in the skin which form open ulcers. One of my pigs gets this redness just on her back feet in the same place and with her it's always 'urine scald' as she is a long-haired girl. A bum trim usually sorts it as she can then pee without it catching in the fur and running down her legs. But your piggy has short hair and a dry bottom. Is it just on the back feet or on the front ones as well?

It might well be a bedding issue but nice soft fleece that gets changed out should be fine. Is there an absorbent layer underneath? Or perhaps there has been a change in washing liquid? I try to avoid anything 'biological' (which has enzymes in) and I don't use fabric softener - just white vinegar in the rinse.

It's a lovely photo!

I was thinking the same - red but not a bumble yet. With bumblefoot you will see breaks and cracks in the skin which form open ulcers. One of my pigs gets this redness just on her back feet in the same place and with her it's always 'urine scald' as she is a long-haired girl. A bum trim usually sorts it as she can then pee without it catching in the fur and running down her legs. But your piggy has short hair and a dry bottom. Is it just on the back feet or on the front ones as well?

It might well be a bedding issue but nice soft fleece that gets changed out should be fine. Is there an absorbent layer underneath? Or perhaps there has been a change in washing liquid? I try to avoid anything 'biological' (which has enzymes in) and I don't use fabric softener - just white vinegar in the rinse.

It's a lovely photo!

thank you for the response! I just checked his front feet and was unable to take a picture but it was slightly pink with a big star shaped lump in the middle (hopefully just his bone?) I would saw his front paws look pretty normal so probably from the pee. I'm going to change out their bedding where they sleep more often (I had fleece blankets but they were super thin so I think more moisture stayed at the top then I realized). I use arm and hammer detergent for clean and sensitive skin. I was told not to use arm and hammer but that’s the only detergent I had at the moment and I couldn’t find any online. I do use vinegar tho so let me know if you think I should change it!

 

[Free Ranger]

Their feet are naturally lumpy - it can look a bit freaky even when they're normal! Sometimes they develop harmless 'spurs' of hard skin that look even more peculiar. We get different detergents over here so I'm not familiar with that one. I try to get a detergent that is un-fragranced and doesn't have 'softeners' in or anything but personally I think the most important thing is to choose one without enzymes - this is actually because my mum gets eczema and she finds that what we call 'biological action' detergent (that has enzymes in to remove stains) will irritate her skin. So we get 'non-bio' which has no enzymes.

The thing about fleece is that you have to have a something absorbent underneath to soak up the pee. If you just have fleece layers on a plastic base the pee will go through but when they step on it it just soaks back up. The fleece itself is not absorbent because it isn't a natural fibre - it's man made. I have a fabric called 'zorb' (which is actually an american product I think) and I made a fleece/zorb/fleece 'sandwich' to line out the cages. The zorb soaks up the pee and holds it. Some people use puppy pads, some use towels, some of our american members use u-haul blankets (whatever they are!) all with a fleece on top. Perhaps this is your answer?