Biscuit's foot issue

[calcaneus]

A bit over a week ago I thought I noticed Biscuit behaving oddly on his feet - just being a bit more tentative than usual. After a few days when it seemed fine again, he was really limping on one foot, so I made an appointment with the vet I've been seeing (Pet Care in Virginia Beach). Up until the day I took him I thought it was a problem with the foot he'd been avoiding, but the morning I took him I noticed that both of his feet looked red and irritated.

Anyhow, I took him in last Monday and the vet said they didn't look terrible but that he seemed to react when they were touched, it could be irritation from him sitting in urine or something. He didn't sound convinced that they were already infected, but prescribed me an antibiotic 'just in case,' and said he thought they might be vulnerable to infection (? that seemed odd to me).
He prescribed:
-HEALx Soother Plus cream, which I've been applying twice a day
-Enrofloxacin Suspension 20mg/ml Small (0.3 ml/day)
-Metacam 0.5mg/ml (0.2 ml/day) (I'm a little worried that this dosage is over-enthusiastic based on other posts here, so I gave it him once or twice but haven't been giving it to him every day. He was eating fine before the vet visit, so I wasn't sure if his feet were hurting him enough to justify the dosage - he only weighs 450g!)



I didn't realize that the antibiotic was the same thing as Baytril, or I would have asked for a weaker one, but you guys can imagine what happened next. I did give him Lifeline the same night I gave him Baytril, but though he was eating right after I gave him his meds he stopped eating in the night much. He's been eating only 1/4-1/2 of his normal hay intake and almost none of his pellets. After realizing that this was happening, I took him off the antibiotic so he hasn't had any of it since last Tuesday, and spent most of last week trying to get him to eat again (he was always eating small amounts of hay, and I continued giving him Lifeline). He was never in stasis, as he produced droppings every day, but at one point they were very, very small. I was about to go to the vet again with him when he started improving. So, now he seems to be back to normal again in terms of droppings and food consumption, and I've been weighing him daily and he hasn't lost weight.

But now I go back to the feet... I've attached a photo, so what does this look like to you guys? I would believe the irritation suggestion that the vet made - he tends to pee a lot right by his food bowl and then sit in it and munch on his pellets. I definitely haven't noticed his feet this colour until I noticed these problems, and he's never seemed cautious on his feet before. He has no wire platforms or cage bottom - he's on aspen shavings with wood, lave ledge, and fleece surfaces.

Since the foot issue started I've washed his fleece elements, cleaned his cage out, and have been selectively scooping up soiled shavings so he can't sit on them for ages. I was also worried about the bumblefoot syndrome that has been in a few threads lately - his feet don't look bad compared to them, but could it be in early stages? The photo makes the feet look more alarmingly red than they appear in regular light, but they definitely are inflamed looking.

Any suggestions? Opinions about the metacam dose and use of antibiotics? Experience with foot infections? Experience with the soother cream?

Also - does he have a runt-sized tail or what?! I included a full-body shot of him too. He looks so inadequate in the tail department compared to his sister, and it's got a bit of a kink in it too!

 

[Stackie]

He looks like his has a bit of bumblefoot going on judging by the splaying out of the rear of his pad.

I have dealt with bumblefoot..I have one chin who has it chronically. I did not notice the first infection until it had travelled up his leg. Sulfa was enough of an antibiotic to get rid of his infection. He also had vigilant chlorhexidine washes of his feet and legs- I believe these really helped with the infection the most. I have heard differing opinions about the creams- some say the cream cause bacteria to become "stuck" inside the foot and doesn't allow it to heal as quickly. Diesel only had one application of cream and that was at a vet visit. Otherwise, the cream was never used. He was kept on SMZ, metacam, and the chlrohexidine washes for two weeks. I cleaned his cage twice daily by switching out his fleece liners while he healed.

You can read through this thread to get a bit of an idea on the treatment: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14769

Feel free to ask questions.

 

[caiti]

I can't offer advice--Stacie is the reigning bumblefoot expert here and I've never had my chin prescribed anything other than trimeth/sulfa so I don't know the dosing for metacam or anything else off hand.

Just wanted to say I hope he gets better soon and you should also know that someone named Laurie is going to come and steal your clock...

 

[calcaneus]

Just wanted to say I hope he gets better soon and you should also know that someone named Laurie is going to come and steal your clock...

Oh no, my precious clock - his hips gyrate and everything!

 

[caiti]

Yea, she's an Elvis freak. She can't help herself.

hehe.

 

[calcaneus]

Thanks for the advice Stackie! That post was helpful.
I'm a bit at a loss over whether to ask the vet for a different antibiotic, because I'm not sure I want to be attempting foot baths and lots of aggressive treatment on a chin who won't eat because of Baytril. When I called the vet with my concerns over him not eating, the tech said that the vet I saw didn't think the antibiotic was the cause.

What about bag balm, did you find that helped him or would it do the same thing in terms of trapping the infection in the area?

Does bumblefoot always involve an infection, or can it just be irritation sometimes as well?

How did those washes work, did you hold his feet in the solution for awhile, or just dab it on? Biscuit is a thrasher, especially now that he's suffered the indignity of cream on his feet, horrible tasting medicines, and aggressive handfeeding all in one week! I tend to get more of whatever I'm supposed to be putting on/into him...

You can read through this thread to get a bit of an idea on the treatment: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14769

Feel free to ask questions.

 

[caiti]

From what I've heard it is very common for baytril to cause a chin to go off their feed. Injectable baytril can solve this issue.

Bag Balm actually has an antiseptic in it. Just make sure he doesn't lick it off his feet, just rub it in enough so there isn't gobs of it still on him.

 

[Stackie]

Baytril usually causes them to go anorexic because of the taste. Most do not have chins go anorexic when they give baytril in the injectable form. So, if he isn't eating, it is most likely the baytril that's the culprit, despite what the vet thinks...you are right.

I did not use the bag balm until his feet started to dry up and heal. He had some dry/crusty skin on the sides, so I applied it to those areas once the infection appeared to be gone and his skin had dried up.

Bumblefoot is the actual infection of the foot. It starts as a scratch in the foot, hock, etc. and bacteria enters the cut. The bacteria then causes an infection, which is bumblefoot.

As for the washes, I did it several ways. Diesel calms down considerably when you hold him by the tail. When I didn't have any help, I held him up by the tail, sometimes allowing his front feet to rest on my lap when he wasn't squirming. I then drew the chlorhexidine up in a syringe and just squirted it over his feet. I think it would have been too irritating to let his feet soak. He did act like it stung when the wash was done, so I did it as quickly as possibly, then dabbed him dry.

Edit: Claire D is another good one to get advice from about bumblefoot. She has treated several cases and helped me out considerably in my treatment of Diesel. )

 

[Claire D]

Personally I would not be treating that with anything other than trying to keep the pressure off the feet a bit. It's not bumblefoot yet but it is heading that way - I see no broken skin or ulcers, just a little callus on the side of his foot which really isn't too bad. The redness is a concern but it is treatable - if you can relieve the pressure on his feet a bit the redness should reduce.

Changing the fleece, peed-on shavings, & any other bedding once a day, making sure he keeps his feet dry & trying to vary the platforms etc he sits on should all help.

 

[calcaneus]

Thanks for the extra info, Stackie and Claire!
Here's a photo of how his feet are today. So you think his feet aren't that badly off, Claire? I'm not sure what to change about his enclosure - he has aspen shavings that I am changing more frequently (every few days, but checking every day for damp spots and changing soiled shavings when I see them). He has wood and fleece ledges. The fleece was either washed today or a few days ago. He doesn't seem to soil his fleece, only his shavings (which he will insist on sitting in afterwards!) I can start changing things every day, but at that point the fleece is going to be taken out of his cage daily so he'll be sitting in bare PVC a few hours a day.
I've also decided to give him his dustbath less often - he loves them (especially if he's getting cream put on him and feels greasy) but I was thinking daily baths might be exacerbating the dryness.

He seems to be changing up the platforms he sits in himself, usually on top of his hidey house or some other fleece. I guess I'll stop putting the cream on him and just wait it out a bit, making sure to keep his cage clean. Would you recommend no playtime for him? He has a run around a few nights a week on a carpeted floor, so it wouldn't be more pressure than his cage but perhaps he just needs to give them a rest.