Diesel's Bumblefoot Update

[Stackie]

Background can be found here: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14690

His feet/legs are a lot worse than I thought. I honestly feel terrible because I feel like I should have noticed something this bad sooner. I guess it just goes to show how well chins can hide their injuries/pain. Like I had said in my previous thread, the first thing I noticed a week ago was just a tiny cut with dried blood on one foot that didn't even seem to bother him, so I treated it and didn't think much of it. Then, two days ago, he started limping. Yesterday I noticed oozing and swelling. Today at the vet, they cleaned up the crusty stuff, shaved his leg and got the rest of the fur off that was matted from the oozing by washing with warm water..this is what we found:

This is the right leg, which wasn't seeming to bother him all that much and wasn't even the leg that was swollen. Vet says she thinks the infection must have started in the pads, and travelled up the leg to that point. The raw skin was caused by the oozing and the fur getting matted to the leg from the oozing.

As far as treatment, we are doing:
Pain medication: Buprenorphine .1cc 2x daily for one week
Oral Antibiotic: Sulfatrim .3cc 2x daily for two weeks
Wound management: Chlorhexidine wash 2x daily for two weeks

Kept on soft bedding until wounds are healed, change out daily with clean bedding (I'm using a layer of fleece over two towels)

For those of you who have dealt with bumblefoot, do you think I should be applying blu-kote in addition to the chlorhexidine wash?

 

[Jenn]

Stacie, how does a chin get bumblefoot?

I'm so sorry poor Diesel is going through this and I hope he heals quickly.

 

[Stackie]

Well from what I understand, usually it is because there is pressure on areas of the foot that go unrelieved- usually it is caused by wire mesh cages. An ulcer forms on the feet, which crack open and allow bacteria to get in, hence get infected. Claire has a good article on her website: http://www.davidson-chinchillas.co.uk/pages/bumblefoot.php

That's why I'm sort of at a loss; Diesel is kept in a FN cage (no wire) on fleece liners and has multiple ledges so the feet have different pressure points (a squiggle bridge with varying curves, and a flagstone perch in addition to wooden leap n ledges). I change the liners out every 2 days, and wipe everything down with peroxide and water/vinegar once a week, so it couldn't have been caused by unsanitary cage conditions either.

 

[mishellyshel]

stacie--don't blame yourself! he may have just gotten a cut from something and it escalated from there.
you will continue to take excellant care of him and he will be fine.

since you are doing the wash 2 x a day, maybe before you go to bed put a little blue kote on it???? i dont have any experience with this, but it probably wont hurt.

 

[Claire D]

I wonder if he is a chin who sits on an area where he pees?

Bumblefoot is not always associated with wire cages. Soggy bedding in solid bottomed cages can also lead to bumblefoot & if Diesel is a pee-spot sitter then that may be the cause. For example, if he grooms the skin on his feet & then sits on a soggy bit of fleece then that can lead to infection getting under the skin.

I suspect that has been building under the skin for a little while (you probably would not have seen it unless you shaved the fur off) but most of the problem looks pretty superficial up his leg.
I would be tempted to use blue kote on the upper bits above his heel/hock since they look to be more macerated than deeper ulceration. Blue kote will dry that out nicely.

What are the bottoms of his feet like & did they assess his other foot as well?

 

[Stackie]

The bottoms of his feet look pretty normal- it was the sides that all that crusty stuff was hidden under the fur.

The vet didn't seem too concerned about his other foot. The swelling had gone down since yesterday and there was a small area that looked infected, but not near as bad as the right leg.

I'll put some blu-kote on the legs tonight, thanks )

 

[Sandi]

Aw poor Diesel. Me and the boys are sending tons of positive vibes Stacie!

 

[Olallie]

Aw I'm sorry this happened with your Diesel. Hope everything clears up good!

 

[Claire D]

Hmmm....... I'd be concerned that there are ulcers on the base of his feet & that the pus/infection tracked up his legs. On that second photo at the top his right foot looks like it has some pus trapped beneath the skin (the yellow area) with surrounding inflammation. That needs to be released so that the pus can drain out & so that it does not track around the side of his foot as well.

 

[Stackie]

Hmmm....... I'd be concerned that there are ulcers on the base of his feet & that the pus/infection tracked up his legs. On that second photo at the top his right foot looks like it has some pus trapped beneath the skin (the yellow area) with surrounding inflammation. That needs to be released so that the pus can drain out & so that it does not track around the side of his foot as well.

I think I remember the vet mentioning something about that area. So..back to the vet to get it drained?

 

[Claire D]

Sorry Stacie - the time difference sucks

Yes, I would be tempted to go back & ask the vet to have a good luck at his other foot. There's something going on under that skin.

 

[addictedtochins]

Claire, good catch. I don't know anything about this but first the round yellow spot on the R has like 3 little "rivers" 2 of which clearly empty to crusty spots on his feet when he is sitting normal and not held upside down

 

[Megan]

Stacie; I wouldn't use peroxide on him to clean it out. Peroxide can eat away at the good tissue as well as the bad. If you do want to use it mix it 50/50 with water to water down, and then flush the area with water after it's used

Edit; ack just saw you asked about the blu kote. You were talking about peroxide with the cage cleaning and I got confused. Going to leave it there as a warning for anyone else, though. I'd think the blu kote would be fine and shouldn't hurt anything.

 

[Stackie]

Thanks Claire, called the vet and they want him back in..earliest they had was this afternoon so we'll be going from there.

 

[Parkerspetchins]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery! Don't blame yourself for not catching that, the feet pads look pretty good (other than the swelling) to me, I would have missed Bumblefoot too. This will make me, and I am sure others, take a closer look when we are inspecting our chinnies for any health issues. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Stackie]

Oops, I forgot to update everyone after the vet visit...all this has made me a bit scatterbrained.

By the time we had gotten to the vet, both legs were very red, irritated, and inflamed. I asked that they shaved his fur around the area because when I would try to clean his legs, the fur would get stuck to the skin. When I went to get the fur off, it would just take layers of skin off with it. So...he got a hair cut.

They also attempted to lance the abscess with a syringe, but with little success. The vet said the skin was just thick and the pus was thick, so it would be hard to drain without making a larger cut. She didn't want to make a larger cut because his feet were already in bad condition and she didn't want to make yet another wound. She didn't seem too concerned, however, and said that the antibiotic should do it's job in helping that.

The vet also applied a topical cream to the infected areas and gave him an anti-inflammatory for all of the irritation and inflammation. These really seemed to work because tonight when I went to clean his legs, the swelling had definitely gone down and the redness was definitely a lot less severe than it was earlier.

They want to see him back Saturday morning to take a look at the skin and see if the healing is progressing. If not, they are going to call and consult some other exotics vets that have dealt with chins with feet/leg infections before. Here's hoping we get good healing...

As far as his behavior, he acts pretty normal (beside the fact that he is wobbly when walking.) I have him on 3 towels and two fleece liners, so I hope that is helping him stay at least somewhat comfortable. I'm changing out the liners twice a day to ensure he stays in a clean environment. I also have a wooden hidey house in there for him and put a fleece pillow on top of that. He likes to get on top and I didn't want his feet on the wood, so I figured the pillow would give him the cushion he needs. He also has a hammock hung low so he can get in and relieve the pressure on his feet as well.

He has been eating on his own but I've been supplementing him with a mixture of 50% Lifeline, 50% Critical Care. He'll sit and take that willingly. He also will willingly take his antibiotic and pain medication.

He's such a sweet little guy, the vet even said he was the sweetest chinchilla she has dealt with..he protests with little kacks but that s it...I hate to have to see him go through pain. He is apprehensive now when I have to get him out to clean his legs, but will snuggle into my arm and scoots up next to me. I just hope we can get him over this soon so he can wall surf and bounce around like normal again.

Sorry for the huge post and rambling..I'm just really worried about my little guy and wish he would get better soon.

 

[mishellyshel]

i just noticed you changed your tag line to octo-chin mom.........hilarious!

sounds like he is on the mend and you are doing everythign possible to make him comfy.

all paws crossed here for a speedy recovery!

 

[Brittany]

Good luck with Mr. Diesel! Lily, Lady, and Gus are sending their well wishes too!

 

[lauralynne]

Awwww. Hope he's feeling better very soon!

 

[Stackie]

Well the vet said that the leg looks like it is healing, it has dried considerably and a scab is starting to form. She wants to continue with the antibiotics & chlorhexidine washes, and reduce the dosage of the pain meds. They seem to be affecting his appetite so I am handfeeding. Once the pain medication is gone, she wants to put him on a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory. Going back again on Wednesday so she can see the progression of the healing and see how he's doing.

As for the abscess on his other leg, she is going to see how the antibiotic works on it and if it doesn't make any improvement by Wednesday, she is going to try to cut it open and drain it. She said she doesn't want to get too invasive just yet, but if nothing's better by Wednesday, then she'll have to.

He seems to do very well with the vet visits and takes them in stride. I don't see any sign of stress or anything, so I'm thankful for that. ) He really needs a dust bath..he is getting very greasy...so I've been rubbing the dust into his fur for now.