• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

What Else Can I Do?

Amysmom

Amysmom

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Messages
979
Reaction score
86
Points
370
Location
West midlands
It's been a horrible year, first we lost Daisy, then Millie, then Lottie and more recently Cookie who had to be PTS-he was six. Now it's not looking good for our last girl of the herd Bonnie who is six. We rushed her to the vets after noticing that her front foot was double it's size and she wasn't moving around much. I felt gutted when the vet said she has bumble foot, I felt like a bad owner but the vet said that it's because of her arthritis and that's she's probably been putting all her weight into her one foot.

She's put her on 0.5mls of Baytril twice a day and Metacam 0.2mls
She does not look well in her eyes and stays in her house all day because she can't walk on her foot. When I picked her up today to give her meds to her she squealed with pain. I have read of people bathing the foot but she is in too much pain with it. We have to go back to the vets in two weeks time. Is there anything else that we should be doing?
 
You need to go back to the vet sooner than two weeks. They can give you the Hibiscrub to use if you want to bathe it. Or if she is in terrible pain then they will either give you more/stronger pain relief or discuss her quality of life with you.

I had a boar with bumblefoot and he was on antibiotics and pain relief. He was happy and eating though so we opted to bathe it.

It sounds like it's advanced far enough that the antibiotics alone won't cure it so you need to do something more.
 
Jaycey said:
You need to go back to the vet sooner than two weeks. They can give you the Hibiscrub to use if you want to bathe it. Or if she is in terrible pain then they will either give you more/stronger pain relief or discuss her quality of life with you.

I had a boar with bumblefoot and he was on antibiotics and pain relief. He was happy and eating though so we opted to bathe it.

It sounds like it's advanced far enough that the antibiotics alone won't cure it so you need to do something more.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that it's advanced because there are no scabs? It's just red and very swollen. She is an arthritic piggy so there has always been some swelling but not to this extent. She's eating happily but because she's not moving around the cage I am syringing her water occasionally and giving her wet veg. Our vet is very experienced with Guinea pigs and she did say that she will need long term anti biotics.
 
I've taken a pic of her foot, it's not great quality but you can see that there are no splits or scabs, it's just very swollen and slightly more pale than her other feet.

IMG_9031.webp
 
That's definitely not bumblefoot.

Hopefully the Metacam should help with the pain and inflammation.

Changing to a softer bedding would definitely help. My last 7 year old boar had arthritis and he hurt his front foot somehow (my guess is twanging it on the side of his cage). It didn't swell up like your girls though, he just wouldn't use it.

He started to use it again after a week or so and I kept him on Vetbed during and after so walking felt softer for him.
 
Jaycey said:
That's definitely not bumblefoot.

Hopefully the Metacam should help with the pain and inflammation.

Changing to a softer bedding would definitely help. My last 7 year old boar had arthritis and he hurt his front foot somehow (my guess is twanging it on the side of his cage). It didn't swell up like your girls though, he just wouldn't use it.

He started to use it again after a week or so and I kept him on Vetbed during and after so walking felt softer for him.
Click to expand...

Strange, I didn't think it was when I was reading symptoms of it but as soon as my vet saw it she said it was bumblefoot. It's a bit of a relief to think it might not be so I really hope the swelling goes down.

She's on fleece with extra fleece where she's lying because she's not moving to wee, I'm changing it a few times a day.
 
To be honest, I've seen bumble foot start with a swollen foot and of course it can go worse if left unchecked. Does the foot feel hot to touch? Do you know if your vet checked for any broken bones, and free movement in the leg. To be honest the fact she's squealing so much doesn't sound like bumble foot and yet the picture would indicate the start of it.

Bathing her foot isn't actually going to hurt her. Don't forget to weigh her and keep a check on that, and of course some probiotic to settle her stomach.
 
Mother Hubbard said:
To be honest, I've seen bumble foot start with a swollen foot and of course it can go worse if left unchecked. Does the foot feel hot to touch? Do you know if your vet checked for any broken bones, and free movement in the leg. To be honest the fact she's squealing so much doesn't sound like bumble foot and yet the picture would indicate the start of it.

Bathing her foot isn't actually going to hurt her. Don't forget to weigh her and keep a check on that, and of course some probiotic to settle her stomach.
Click to expand...

The vet did say that her foot felt hot and she got my daughter to feel who agreed that it felt hot. She also checked for free movement in her leg which was okay. She only squealed the once, we have held her since and she's been fine with very gentle handling.

Which probiotics would you suggest?
 
I've just purchased Vetark Pro C from Amazon-hope that will be okay for her.
 
Doesn't look like bumblefoot to me either - and my Bumble had 3 cases of it - one very severe - these always came on after a bladder stone operation because his immune system was lowered - has the foot been x- rayed? My Bumble was on long term septrin - 3 months - but his feet were red, swollen and then had the scabs on (and puss under the front pad ) - good luck.
 
Bonnie was at the food bowl this morning but her poops have gone tiny with a bit of mucus so I hope the probiotic arrives soon. I'm going to start giving her critical care today.
 
TAN said:
Doesn't look like bumblefoot to me either - and my Bumble had 3 cases of it - one very severe - these always came on after a bladder stone operation because his immune system was lowered - has the foot been x- rayed? My Bumble was on long term septrin - 3 months - but his feet were red, swollen and then had the scabs on (and puss under the front pad ) - good luck.
Click to expand...


I would presume that an X-ray will be the next stage. Loooking at pictures of bumblefooot I would agree that it doesn't look like it but our vet is very experienced with guineapigs so I would be very shocked if she had got that wrong. I'm going to bring Bonnies appt forward and get her seen a week earlier.
 
Amysmom said:
It's been a horrible year, first we lost Daisy, then Millie, then Lottie and more recently Cookie who had to be PTS-he was six. Now it's not looking good for our last girl of the herd Bonnie who is six. We rushed her to the vets after noticing that her front foot was double it's size and she wasn't moving around much. I felt gutted when the vet said she has bumble foot, I felt like a bad owner but the vet said that it's because of her arthritis and that's she's probably been putting all her weight into her one foot.

She's put her on 0.5mls of Baytril twice a day and Metacam 0.2mls
She does not look well in her eyes and stays in her house all day because she can't walk on her foot. When I picked her up today to give her meds to her she squealed with pain. I have read of people bathing the foot but she is in too much pain with it. We have to go back to the vets in two weeks time. Is there anything else that we should be doing?
Click to expand...

I am very sorry for your bad streak; unfortunately, things rarely happen nicely spaced out.

Please see a vet sooner if she is not well at all and if necessary weigh daily. Bumblefoot is sadly quite common in older guinea pigs with limitid mobility and reduced blood circulation.

I found that the gorgeous guinea pig salve helped with my 8 year old Nerys' bumblefoot.

Please step in with syringe feeding and watering asap in order to keep her alive!
Her poos show clearly that she has not eaten and drunk much in the last two days and is in danger of her guts slowing down and then closing down if you do not step in asap. She is running on empty, and that is contributing to her discomfort.
If necessary have her seen for a subcutaneous fluid injection. Mucus and dry poos are signs of major dehydration. the size reflects the food intake from 1-2 days earlier. Add dioralyte to any water you syringe - as much as she wants.
Take the time to carefully read our guide and prep your syringe as shown if you used mushed up pellets or a mix of pellet and recovery food.
Weigh her daily at the same time to monitor the food intake.
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Clean out the are where she sits 2-3 times daily. Ideally you get hold of some vetbed bedding; it is the best for piggies with mobility/bumblefoot issues.
Gently wipe her bits with warm water as she won't be able to clean herself.
 
Thank you @Wiebke
We've been through the critical care regime many times but it's always good to have a refresher of the instructions

I've given her some mashed up pellets and she took them readily along with syringes of water. When I put her back she was much perkier so I'm going to be busy today! She's currently on fleece so I've ordered some vet bed from Amazon on next day delivery. Ive ordered two pieces as I was considering changing over to it anyway. Trying to remain positive but I've been through this before with older pigs and they haven't survived.
 
Amysmom said:
Thank you @Wiebke
We've been through the critical care regime many times but it's always good to have a refresher of the instructions

I've given her some mashed up pellets and she took them readily along with syringes of water. When I put her back she was much perkier so I'm going to be busy today! She's currently on fleece so I've ordered some vet bed from Amazon on next day delivery. Ive ordered two pieces as I was considering changing over to it anyway. Trying to remain positive but I've been through this before with older pigs and they haven't survived.
Click to expand...

All you can do is try your best. You can ultimately never control what your guinea pig is dying from (the same as with humans), but you can do your best to make your piggies' stay on earth a good one.

It is the quality of life, not the quantity that is the important thing. As a caring owner you are doing that. The fact that you are battling old age problems means that you also have given your girl a good life span. ;)
 
Wiebke said:
All you can do is try your best. You can ultimately never control what your guinea pig is dying from (the same as with humans), but you can do your best to make your piggies' stay on earth a good one.

It is the quality of life, not the quantity that is the important thing. As a caring owner you are doing that. The fact that you are battling old age problems means that you also have given your girl a good life span. ;)
Click to expand...

Thank you
I just didn't think I would lose my herd of four girls all in the same year, then three weeks ago my daughter had to have her old boy who was six put to sleep. She had done well seeing him through a heart condition and arthritis but it was obvious to see with him that it was time to let him go.
 
Amysmom said:
Thank you
I just didn't think I would lose my herd of four girls all in the same year, then three weeks ago my daughter had to have her old boy who was six put to sleep. She had done well seeing him through a heart condition and arthritis but it was obvious to see with him that it was time to let him go.
Click to expand...

I am very sorry - I've lost 5 piggies this year; two of them only three days apart and 7 since last August bank holiday, equalling my other bad year in 2014 when the first Tribe generation stampeded to the Rainbow Bridge.
Sadly, deaths come in bunches and never nicely spread apart when you have groups. I have been suffering from 'grieving indigestion' by May when I unexpectedly lost my 5th piggy this year (one every month) and just couldn't catch up with processing it all. :(

Take pride in that yours have lived to a good old age and that they are all reunited again at the Rainbow Bridge. My Elderlies group went that way in 2014 and my Cataract group was just a few months behind.

The loss of their mates is an added stress factor in older piggies and can bring underlying issue to the fore. In older/frailer groups it can be like a domino effect. Even if you inevitably feel at some point like you have failed, you haven't! You just can't stem the tide and hold back nature. Piggies live shorter and age more quickly than we do, so you get all the problems that can also plague elderly humans in fast forward. :(
 
Just catching up on this thread.
ain't that the truth that you get a bunch of deaths.

Fingers crossed for Bonnie and she starts responding to the syringe feeding and meds. I've also used the foot ointment from Gorgeous Guineas and it's been good for one particular piggy.

Paws crossed x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top