Disclaimer: This is not medical advise. This is just our experience with pododermatites in Guinea Pigs and the purpose of this post is to offer our experience in case it can help others. Please talk to your vet before administrating any treatment.
Worf had pododermatites to his back paws and one of the front. We didn’t realized and, by the time we got to the vet, it was pretty bad.
The vet we had at that time said it was quite common in Guinea Pigs and, unfortunately, there was not much we could do. But she proposed laser therapy.
After 14 sittings, he was cleared. His paws were “like new”.
The vet that performed the laser therapy suggested to use VetBed too, at least in his hidings where he loved to hide and sleep. By the time it was ordered and arrived, Worf got pneumonia and died. (I feel like crying now.)
Data had pododermatites. He has some soft poop, we are trying to clear that out now, and it gets stuck to his paws so the moisture got to him. Not as bad as Worf had.
The old vet noticed nothing. The new vet saw it immediately. We missed it, of course.
The new vet proposed Traumeel cream (composition for 100g: arnica montana radix D3 1,5 g, calendula officinalis Ø 0,45 g, hamamelis virginiana Ø 0,45 g, echinacea Ø 0,15 g, echinacea purpurea Ø 0,15 g, chamomilla Ø 0,15 g, symphytum officinale D4 0,1 g, bellis perennis Ø 0,1 g, hypericum perforatum D6 0,09 g, millefolium Ø 0,09 g, aconitum napellus D1 0,05 g, belladonna D1 0,05 g, mercurius solubilis D6 0,04 g, hepar sulphur D6 0,025 g). We had to apply this twice per day for about one month. Paws got cleared.
VetBed was implemented in their cage. Spock takes advantage of it too.
Archy had / still has some pododermatites. He used to have saw dust as bedding and most probably the wet one was not cleaned often.
I have noticed some dried “skin” hanging from his soles and clipped it while taking care of his nails. As it didn’t get worse, we leave it like this and mentioned it to the vet when we were last week. She showed me some scars (little ones) and said it was pododermatites, but almost cured so no need to do anything else.
Archy is on VetBed since 10 July and most probably this helped a lot. Vitamine C and the fact that he is younger too.
Our conclusion: bumblefoot can be treated. But, most important, it can be prevented!
- Use a bedding or clean the bedding as often as needed so it stays dry under their buts.
- If your piggy doesn’t move a lot due to age or other conditions, definitely invest in VetBed.
- Paws check should be part of the weekly routine, along with weighting and feeling for lumps.
Live long and prosper!
The Tales of the Guinea Pigs Gang 