Specialist URI, Bumblefoot, anything else?

[HowlBear]

Hey all,

Just posted in the introductions thread and feel this should be my first post!

We got Bruce and Brian, 2 brothers I'm told, from someone claiming to be a rescue.
After arriving and leaving, getting home, and the last few weeks passing. I can say with a high degree of certainty. They were NOT a rescue.

Bruce has since had yellowish discharge from his left nostril, vet next morning as we spotted it at 1AM. 30/06/2019 Given Baytril and Metacam - never been to this pets @ home vet before.

Since coming home, I'm not sure if she should have done an all round check of his health at that appointment, but...
They both have what I suspect is bumblefoot- which would certainly be possible from the state of the cage when we got home. Deep clean isn't the WORD for what we had to do.

I went back to p@h yesterday at opening times and spoke to vet nurse, asked about the speed of progression of bumblefoot and whether I could be doing anything in the mean time.

I was told it's fine to wait till Sunday for them to both come in together at Bruce's 7 day check for his URI based off my description of their paws.

They're both extremely skittish boys still but warming up. When I got home I managed to get a better look at their feet and saw what looks like plasma in a few spots, to me, in humans that means a wound that's healing. So I immediately rang the vets and told them the new find. She put me on a cancellations list due to my insistence but kept saying they'd be fine TILL Sunday.

Is this right? Will they be?

Should I be Epsom, or hibiscrub, or betadine soaking their paws? Is there anything I can do? Can they go outside? I don't want to make them worse. If I need to get them in a.s.a.p. I'll phone any vet I need to and drive to wherever they want, I don't care, these boys are now our family.

They're currently in a 120cm ferolast cage they came in, albeit a lot cleaner. We were doi g fleece and two towels underneath but they were soaking it in a day and don't want to make it worse. So they're now on, fleece, towels, puppy pads at the bottom, checking throughout the day and changing when I need to, putting dirties in the wash straight away (using Almat detergent, is that ok?) and getting them on the line to dry.

I haven't let them out on the stone patio or the lawn since seeing their paws, they were out in the living room night before last, is that ok?

Anyway, sorry to ramble, any help greatly appreciated.

Love from our crew.

 

[Alfieboy]

Hi! I rescued my little one after he lived in terrible conditions and he had terrible bumble foot on both front paws. He was in the vets before he came home to me as I got him from support adoption in pets at home. They nurses bandaged his foot (my sister is a nurse so admittedly it was easier for me) manuka honey worked wonders with a bandage wrapped around and he was on baytrill and metacam. It was so hard trying to get it managed initially as when it wasn’t bandaged he’d pull at the scab. I found towels didn’t help as they seemed to irritate it and he ended up on vet beds in his cage and when out for cuddle time which worked wonders too. I cleaned him out every single day which was hard work but I wanted to make sure he was as clean and comfortable as possible. In the end it just looked like a small scab on his foot which didn’t bother him and it didn’t flare up again. I had him 2.5 years and only recently lost him to something totally unrelated. Hope you get them sorted xx

 

[HowlBear]

Hi! I rescued my little one after he lived in terrible conditions and he had terrible bumble foot on both front paws. He was in the vets before he came home to me as I got him from support adoption in pets at home. They nurses bandaged his foot (my sister is a nurse so admittedly it was easier for me) manuka honey worked wonders with a bandage wrapped around and he was on baytrill and metacam. It was so hard trying to get it managed initially as when it wasn’t bandaged he’d pull at the scab. I found towels didn’t help as they seemed to irritate it and he ended up on vet beds in his cage and when out for cuddle time which worked wonders too. I cleaned him out every single day which was hard work but I wanted to make sure he was as clean and comfortable as possible. In the end it just looked like a small scab on his foot which didn’t bother him and it didn’t flare up again. I had him 2.5 years and only recently lost him to something totally unrelated. Hope you get them sorted xx

Thanks for the reply! We've got some vetbed ordered, I meant to say that but forgot in the morning school rush , that's going down asap. The top layer is fleece so hopefully that keeps wicking the urine away as it has been and the towels underneath aren't irritating them but I'll keep a closer eye now on that too!

Glad he got better and sorry you lost him ❤❤❤

 

[Wiebke]

Hey all,

Just posted in the introductions thread and feel this should be my first post!

We got Bruce and Brian, 2 brothers I'm told, from someone claiming to be a rescue.
After arriving and leaving, getting home, and the last few weeks passing. I can say with a high degree of certainty. They were NOT a rescue.

Bruce has since had yellowish discharge from his left nostril, vet next morning as we spotted it at 1AM. 30/06/2019 Given Baytril and Metacam - never been to this pets @ home vet before.

Since coming home, I'm not sure if she should have done an all round check of his health at that appointment, but...
They both have what I suspect is bumblefoot- which would certainly be possible from the state of the cage when we got home. Deep clean isn't the WORD for what we had to do.

I went back to p@h yesterday at opening times and spoke to vet nurse, asked about the speed of progression of bumblefoot and whether I could be doing anything in the mean time.

I was told it's fine to wait till Sunday for them to both come in together at Bruce's 7 day check for his URI based off my description of their paws.

They're both extremely skittish boys still but warming up. When I got home I managed to get a better look at their feet and saw what looks like plasma in a few spots, to me, in humans that means a wound that's healing. So I immediately rang the vets and told them the new find. She put me on a cancellations list due to my insistence but kept saying they'd be fine TILL Sunday.

Is this right? Will they be?

Should I be Epsom, or hibiscrub, or betadine soaking their paws? Is there anything I can do? Can they go outside? I don't want to make them worse. If I need to get them in a.s.a.p. I'll phone any vet I need to and drive to wherever they want, I don't care, these boys are now our family.

They're currently in a 120cm ferolast cage they came in, albeit a lot cleaner. We were doi g fleece and two towels underneath but they were soaking it in a day and don't want to make it worse. So they're now on, fleece, towels, puppy pads at the bottom, checking throughout the day and changing when I need to, putting dirties in the wash straight away (using Almat detergent, is that ok?) and getting them on the line to dry.

I haven't let them out on the stone patio or the lawn since seeing their paws, they were out in the living room night before last, is that ok?

Anyway, sorry to ramble, any help greatly appreciated.

Love from our crew.

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry. Anybody in this country can call themselves a rescue or a breeder without licensing or welfare supervision, and the results can be accordingly.
We have a recommended UK rescue locator on the top bar for that reason; right next to a recommended UK vets locator. Our recommended and carefully vetted rescues have a mandatory quarantine, vet care and pregnancy watch for any incoming sows. Piggies will only be put up for adoption once they are back to full health and ready for a new home. Welfare standards and good practice are observed at any stage of the whole process.
Please be aware that p@h vets are basic no frills general vets. Guinea pigs and other small rodents are unfortunately still classed as exotics even though they are common pets.

Did the vet check whether there was anything stuck in the nostril? Is the eye gunky, too, or not?

Can you please post pictures of the feet so we can have a better idea of the scale of the problem you are dealing with and tailor any advice accordingly to the severity of the problem?
There is no one single effective treatment for bumblefoot. Any measures recommended by our medically more experienced members (the ones with the health/illness badges) will depend on how badly your boys are affected.

As to them being skittish, you may find the tips via this link here helpful. It discusses prey animal instincts, how you can avoid triggering them and communicate with your guinea pigs in their own language (piggy whispering): Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

The link above is just one section of our comprehensive new owners guide collection, which addresses specifically all the areas we get the most questions and concerns about in a practical and precise way: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

@Jaycey @helen105281 @Abi_nurse

 

[HowlBear]

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry. Anybody in this country can call themselves a rescue or a breeder without licensing or welfare supervision, and the results can be accordingly.
We have a recommended UK rescue locator on the top bar for that reason; right next to a recommended UK vets locator. Our recommended and carefully vetted rescues have a mandatory quarantine, vet care and pregnancy watch for any incoming sows. Piggies will only be put up for adoption once they are back to full health and ready for a new home. Welfare standards and good practice are observed at any stage of the whole process.
Please be aware that p@h vets are basic no frills general vets. Guinea pigs and other small rodents are unfortunately still classed as exotics even though they are common pets.

Did the vet check whether there was anything stuck in the nostril? Is the eye gunky, too, or not?

Can you please post pictures of the feet so we can have a better idea of the scale of the problem you are dealing with and tailor any advice accordingly to the severity of the problem?
There is no one single effective treatment for bumblefoot. Any measures recommended by our medically more experienced members (the ones with the health/illness badges) will depend on how badly your boys are affected.

As to them being skittish, you may find the tips via this link here helpful. It discusses prey animal instincts, how you can avoid triggering them and communicate with your guinea pigs in their own language (piggy whispering): Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

The link above is just one section of our comprehensive new owners guide collection, which addresses specifically all the areas we get the most questions and concerns about in a practical and precise way: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

@Jaycey @helen105281 @Abi_nurse

Thank you for the reply Wibke! I'll go through it in detail later, just got home from sports day but didn't want to ignore the reply.

Quickly though, hate that they're still classed as exotics, its daft! Ill check the vet recommendations on here when I get a moment.

Vet didn't check up his nose, blindly treating for a URI, said if no joy will check nose via sedation and possible surgery and xrays.
Read the Guinea pig whispering page and putting it into practice.

Reporting the "rescue" to their council's licensing dept. They said they will send someone once I email the details.

Will get pics asap too

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for the reply Wibke! I'll go through it in detail later, just got home from sports day but didn't want to ignore the reply.

Quickly though, hate that they're still classed as exotics, its daft! Ill check the vet recommendations on here when I get a moment.

Vet didn't check up his nose, blindly treating for a URI, said if no joy will check nose via sedation and possible surgery and xrays.
Read the Guinea pig whispering page and putting it into practice.

Reporting the "rescue" to their council's licensing dept. They said they will send someone once I email the details.

Will get pics asap too

We are all with you on the classification. There is some pressure to have them reclassified and better integrated into a general vets curriculum. Many general vets that work in practices seeing guinea pigs and other small rodents on a regular basis will read up on rodents eventually. Larger chains often have got online access to an exotics specialist, but until the reclassification happens guinea pigs fall unfortunately into the gap of not being a general small pet but too common for many exotics buffs.

 

[HowlBear]

Bruce is meant to have his URI check up tomorrow morning.

Today is going to be mental busy, my dads coming to decorate, I've got to go get the car from the garage after a failed MOT and subsequent repair (thank you speed bumps) I'm driving kiddo nearly an hour away to my mums and coming back, then hepling dad.

But...I'm not happy with the boys. They've gotten increasingly less mobile, lots of lying down, lying on their sides looking thoroughly depressed, Bruce still has discharge from the nostril every day before his meds so its either something stuck or the worse case scenario.
I'm calling the vet today and they're getting seen. Screw the food budget, screw two big birthdays this month, screw being at the overdraft limit, screw everything, they're getting seen today.

Send us some good vibes guys, we'll all need it today!

Hope everyone has a good Saturday.

 

[HowlBear]

Front right paw, back right, front left has 2 pics because he was struggling, back left.

These are only Brian, Bruce is in better shape but probably not far behind. Bruce is probably better from being on Baytril and Metacam this last week.

Not leaving this till tomorrow. He needs medical care now.

 

[HowlBear]

UPDATE!

Sorry I didn't update sooner, mad weekend!

Not as bad as I feared!
The vet was awesome, she saw Bruce for his URI, said that we will go for another week as it's responding when dosed and could have been caused by the stress of the move. If still no joy, we will try another antibiotic that I can't remember the name off, begins with a D and it would be used off license.

As for their feet!
She said Brian is the worse of the two but she reckons that doing the foot bathing and no hard abrasive surfaces should sort him out but if I'm worried at all, bring them in.

So at least that's some good news!
As an added bonus when I went to pay, I realised she hadn't charged me for examining Brian who hadn't been booked in (if I don't take them together they get extremely anxious).

Just hope the garage gets themselves sorted today and we get the car back, then it will have been a successful weekend!

 

[Claire W]

That doesn’t look like Bumblefoot to me. It looks like harmless foot spurs but I could be wrong. I hope you get your boys sorted soon x

 

[HowlBear]

That doesn’t look like Bumblefoot to me. It looks like harmless foot spurs but I could be wrong. I hope you get your boys sorted soon x

You think? That would be a relief!

Brian's front paws do look swollen though? Vet said the dark brown was scabs that the salt soaks would soften and help fall off.

I'll have a read about bone spurs after the school run and keep doing the baths just in case.
They wouldn't do harm to a healthy piggy would they?

 

[Claire W]

You think? That would be a relief!

Brian's front paws do look swollen though? Vet said the dark brown was scabs that the salt soaks would soften and help fall off.

I'll have a read about bone spurs after the school run and keep doing the baths just in case.
They wouldn't do harm to a healthy piggy would they?

No, foot baths won’t harm but like I say, the brown bits look like foot spurs. Both my piggies have them and my vet just trims then when she cuts their nails

 

[HowlBear]

No, foot baths won’t harm but like I say, the brown bits look like foot spurs. Both my piggies have them and my vet just trims then when she cuts their nails

Thanks very much for the info!

 

[VickiA]

What an introduction to piggies you have had. I agree that in one of the photos the foot does look swollen but it does look like there are no open sores. The antibiotic and your foot baths will help. I am hoping that they will improve, but just to caution you I have had rescue piggies who despite living on fleece with me still had very rough manky looking feet from their years of neglect elsewhere. One vet even commented once that one of my sows could do with a “fish pedicure” . But they gave no major concern after the initial,phase - just looked manky despite my attention to them.
I hope the URI clears up too. Are both boys eating and pooping OK?

 

[HowlBear]

I know right?!

The antibiotic is for the URI piggy who is the one with decent feet, but Brian will hopefully do ok with just the baths.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks!

Both are eating and pooping like machines! One thing I don't have to worry about for sure!

 

[VickiA]

I know right?!

The antibiotic is for the URI piggy who is the one with decent feet, but Brian will hopefully do ok with just the baths.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks!

Both are eating and pooping like machines! One thing I don't have to worry about for sure!

Sorry for getting the boys mixed up. I’m rubbish with names. Given that we inevitably have rescue pigs here my hubby never remembers names, just descriptors. So if he needs to give meds or feeds or treatments when I am at work or away, they end up with daft nicknames. So if your boys were in my house they would likely end up with nicknames like Snotty and Limpy. At least while they settled in

 

[HowlBear]

Sorry for getting the boys mixed up. I’m rubbish with names. Given that we inevitably have rescue pigs here my hubby never remembers names, just descriptors. So if he needs to give meds or feeds or treatments when I am at work or away, they end up with daft nicknames. So if your boys were in my house they would likely end up with nicknames like Snotty and Limpy. At least while they settled in

Ah it's fine
I'll have to see what interesting nicknames these guys end up with!

 

[rhymer]

So glad you rescued Bruce and Brian. They sound like they are now getting the love and care they deserve. Sending healing vibes to both of them.xx

 

[HowlBear]

So glad you rescued Bruce and Brian. They sound like they are now getting the love and care they deserve. Sending healing vibes to both of them.xx

Absolutely, me too.

Considering it was £20 for both boys, cage, food that was left, water bottle, hide.
I couldn't see them being sold for that price and how they were and not give them the money and take them.

They're absolutely wonderful little guys and we love them very much.

 

[Flutterby]

Sending healing vibes, well done for taking them on!

 

[HowlBear]

We had no idea what we were taking on but we're glad we did!

 

[Wiebke]

Front right paw, back right, front left has 2 pics because he was struggling, back left.

These are only Brian, Bruce is in better shape but probably not far behind. Bruce is probably better from being on Baytril and Metacam this last week.

Not leaving this till tomorrow. He needs medical care now.

Hi!

The brown bits are harmless foot spurs (dead skin growths) and not bumblefoot (scabbed sores on a swollen patch).
Please leave them be unless they are in danger of catching anything and ripping off. They are very common.
Guinea Lynx :: Guinea Pig Feet and Foot Problems
Guinea Lynx :: Pododermatitis

The back foot looks a bit swollen, but thankfully there are no open sores, so hopefully it can be sorted relatively easily.

I am sure that your boys are already feeling a lot happier!

 

[HowlBear]

Hi!

The brown bits are harmless foot spurs (dead skin growths) and not bumblefoot (scabbed sores on a swollen patch).
Please leave them be unless they are in danger of catching anything and ripping off. They are very common.
Guinea Lynx :: Guinea Pig Feet and Foot Problems
Guinea Lynx :: Pododermatitis

The back foot looks a bit swollen, but thankfully there are no open sores, so hopefully it can be sorted relatively easily.

I am sure that your boys are already feeling a lot happier!

Brilliant, thanks for the info again Wiebke! ❤❤❤

 

[HowlBear]

UPDATE:

No more discharge from Bruce for a few days so vet said he's good to be discharged!

Both boys feet looking fabby dabby doo, probably due to finally being on an appropriate substrate, go fleece!

Both boys living large and loving life!

Here's a pic of Bruce trying to get into the hay rack, daft piggy!

 

[Claire W]

That's wonderful news Well done!

 

[Lorcan]

Here's a pic of Bruce trying to get into the hay rack, daft piggy!

Hi!

I apologise if this comes off as condescending because I really don't mean it to be, but if he's trying to climb into the hay rack now and keeps doing it (and they usually do) you might be better off with hay in some kind of tray instead. They can get themselves stuck and injure themselves really quickly, especially if they're climbers...I used to just have the hay on the floor of the cage for that reason but then I wasn't using fleece.

I'm late to this thread but I'm so glad they're doing better, it's great news!

 

[HowlBear]

Hi!

I apologise if this comes off as condescending because I really don't mean it to be, but if he's trying to climb into the hay rack now and keeps doing it (and they usually do) you might be better off with hay in some kind of tray instead. They can get themselves stuck and injure themselves really quickly, especially if they're climbers...I used to just have the hay on the floor of the cage for that reason but then I wasn't using fleece.

I'm late to this thread but I'm so glad they're doing better, it's great news!

Don't worry about it, totally not taken badly

He's only ever done it that one time but I'll move it up a bit higher, I've also got a ball thing that hangs down with hay in it now and I'm adding a tray in for hay today too. I'll keep an eye and if he does it again I'll take it out.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Claire W]

Don't worry about it, totally not taken badly

He's only ever done it that one time but I'll move it up a bit higher, I've also got a ball thing that hangs down with hay in it now and I'm adding a tray in for hay today too. I'll keep an eye and if he does it again I'll take it out.

Thanks for the info!

Sorry but please don’t use the metal ball thing either. There have been horror stories of guinea pigs getting stuck in those too. Best to just keep the hay in a tray

 

[HowlBear]

Sorry but please don’t use the metal ball thing either. There have been horror stories of guinea pigs getting stuck in those too. Best to just keep the hay in a tray

Righto, that's coming out right now then!

 

[Claire W]

Righto, that's coming out right now then!

Potentially Dangerous Cage Accessories And Toys