Sore feet, any suggestions?

[PigsInTransit]

Hi GPF, one of my pigs Lisa has a little sore spot on one of her back feet. My vet found it at the pigs latest check up and i've been keeping an eye on it. She doesn't seem to be in any sort of discomfort, but i know pigs can hide things like that quite well. I've been keeping their cage as clean as i can, changing out the hay every other day and spot cleaning their fleece, i'm going to change their hay every day now just to be safe, so i hope it isn't anything to do with their cage setup. I also went ahead and bought some of the F&M ointment from gorgeousguineas.com which I'm going to try out. I guess i'm just hoping for any tips, or just some reassurance that i'm doing okay as i've never encountered this problem with her before. If the problem continues i will take her back to the vet, but as i'm sure you guys know, vets aren't always cheap and my pigs being quite nervous little ladies, i'd rather be able to sort this out myself. (I cleaned her foot but she did have a bit of poop on it in the 1st photo)

 

[PigsInTransit]

forgot to include this picture of their cage setup:

 

[Danielle Smith]

My pigs are like this but worse, most have bright red hind feet despite spot cleaning the fleece at least once a day, completely fresh hay once a day, and pee pads changed out every couple of days (and whole cage cleaned every 7 days). I'm very keen to hear what others say.

One of my sows who is generally not quite right (think ovarian-cyst like behaviour but no cysts) is actually on the verge of bumblefoot proper, and soaks and F&M cream do very little unfortunately. I wonder if it's because my pigs are lazy and don't enjoy moving about much no matter what I put in the cage or out at floortime?

Your setup looks absolutely fine, @PigsInTransit. Snazzy red correx!

 

[Mother Hubbard]

I have to agree, your set up is great, no problemo. I do have some piggies whose bottom of their feet is a little redder than others but it's not scalding or anything.
Just keep things clean and encourage movement by scattering veg so they have to hunt for it.

 

[PigsInTransit]

Thank you, that's a bit of a relief then , I'll try some veggie scattering and see if the F&M does anything at all, I suppose even if it doesn't it can't hurt. They do spend a lot of time sitting in their hay loft and when I get them out for floor time they mostly spend it just hiding so I do wonder if they are a little lazy or if it's just shyness, but then again they love running around their pen outside when it's nice What I would give to know what's going on in their little world!

 

[GuineaPigs4]

Good evening, you can be assured that this is an issue that can be fixed. This would be an example of bumblefoot, or pondodermatitis. This is typically a bacterial infection of the feet. My guinea pig has this issue as well, and my vet recommended a few tips that significantly helped. I used to use fleece but my vet advised me that it holds bacteria, and this can seep into the guinea pigs pads on their feet. She told me to switch to bedding instead of fleece. Also cleaning the cage more frequently, and using Vetericyn on your piggy's feet and cleaning her feet with this each day will help to cleanse the wound. This will help to treat the infection, and also to provide relief for your piggy and it is safe to use. I would rinse her feet, and use a Q tip to put a bit of medicine on her feet then place her on a towel to get rid of any residue. This should make her feel better, and you can also go to a vet as well.

 

[Lymaine]

I put coconut oil on my pigs feet every couple of weeks as I read it helps prevent problems... not sure if it does but I’ve not had any issues yet. Hope that helps x

 

[Flutterby]

I have always used the F&M ointment from Gorgeous Guineas for sore feet and found it fab I must admit!

 

[eileen]

I wondered if vet bed would be an option as it is so soft ,it drys very quickly,needs an absorbent layer underneath e.g towels,puppy pads,fleece liner.change the vetbed every 3 to 4 days.