Bumblefoot? Foot... spurs?
- Thread starter Anna
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Sandi
non-stop poop sweeper
I'm not sure what that is and I hope someone else can chime in but his fur seems to be urine stained. He may be sitting in his own urine or there might be something else going on. Do you know if she had him checked out at a vet?
Anna
I love my FurBlobs.
I have only males and I wasn't sure if that was a girl thing or not, but she's had that staining thing since she got her. No, she hasn't since I noticed the spur thing. But I only noticed it today.
alli713
..has a fleece addiction
On her left foot, the foot in the right of the photo, it looks like there's a sore starting there. Not sure about the other foot.
Is the chin on a wire bottom cage? Does she sit in her own urine?
Is the chin on a wire bottom cage? Does she sit in her own urine?
Anna
I love my FurBlobs.
No she kind of only pees in this one spot in her cage, which is lined with softwood shavings. I switched out the shavings and will tell my sis to do the same... how frequently would you say?
IMO her feet look a little dry. If sores are starting I don't know what the treatment would be, but once it's healed I would look into using some bagbalm. Perhaps other members with more experience in foot conditions can give advice.
Stackie
I bite.
IMO the splaying of the pad looks like the beginnings of bumblefoot. Claire is pretty good about spotting it, so hopefully she will get on soon and see these pics. She's overseas so her time is a little wonky. 
Laurie
I heart Leonard
If the chin pees in the same spot then I would clean that spot out daily. There is some staining from sitting on the shavings I'm sure. I agree with Alli and some bag balm would help. You might want to check with Stackie, Anna, she has a chin who has bumble foot and she's done a great job of helping him and getting him healed up.
How old is Sage & how much does she weigh?
From what I can see in those photos she has an are of callus developing on the outside edge of her right foot. This is indicative of abnormal pressure being put on that area of her foot (there can be a number of reasons for this) & may be happening when she is walking &/or when she is resting/sitting.
In layman's terms it is a bit like us developing an area of rough skin on the heel or on the inside edge of our big toe when we walk - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callus
It is very difficult to alter the chinchilla's gait (how they walk) to reduce the pressure being put on the foot so it is a case of trying to repair what you can, keep everything very clean, & monitor the area for signs of infection or ulceration. IMHO callus formation is the precursor to bumblefoot - chins with callus often develop ulceration under the hardened skin.
In humans we can have insoles put in our shoes to stop us putting more pressure on the area - that reduces the callus formation but obviously you can't give chins footwear.
I would use some bag balm to keep the skin from cracking BUT you have to balance keeping the skin supple with overdoing it so that the skin is too soft to provide a good walking surface. Skin on the foot is designed to be tough so making it soft can be counter productive.
The other important thing is to keep the cage scrupulously clean - all surfaces & change the chin's "toilet" area daily so she can't sit in damp shavings.
From what I can see in those photos she has an are of callus developing on the outside edge of her right foot. This is indicative of abnormal pressure being put on that area of her foot (there can be a number of reasons for this) & may be happening when she is walking &/or when she is resting/sitting.
In layman's terms it is a bit like us developing an area of rough skin on the heel or on the inside edge of our big toe when we walk - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callus
It is very difficult to alter the chinchilla's gait (how they walk) to reduce the pressure being put on the foot so it is a case of trying to repair what you can, keep everything very clean, & monitor the area for signs of infection or ulceration. IMHO callus formation is the precursor to bumblefoot - chins with callus often develop ulceration under the hardened skin.
In humans we can have insoles put in our shoes to stop us putting more pressure on the area - that reduces the callus formation but obviously you can't give chins footwear.
I would use some bag balm to keep the skin from cracking BUT you have to balance keeping the skin supple with overdoing it so that the skin is too soft to provide a good walking surface. Skin on the foot is designed to be tough so making it soft can be counter productive.
The other important thing is to keep the cage scrupulously clean - all surfaces & change the chin's "toilet" area daily so she can't sit in damp shavings.
Anna
I love my FurBlobs.
How old is Sage & how much does she weigh?
From what I can see in those photos she has an are of callus developing on the outside edge of her right foot. This is indicative of abnormal pressure being put on that area of her foot (there can be a number of reasons for this) & may be happening when she is walking &/or when she is resting/sitting.
In layman's terms it is a bit like us developing an area of rough skin on the heel or on the inside edge of our big toe when we walk - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callus
It is very difficult to alter the chinchilla's gait (how they walk) to reduce the pressure being put on the foot so it is a case of trying to repair what you can, keep everything very clean, & monitor the area for signs of infection or ulceration. IMHO callus formation is the precursor to bumblefoot - chins with callus often develop ulceration under the hardened skin.
In humans we can have insoles put in our shoes to stop us putting more pressure on the area - that reduces the callus formation but obviously you can't give chins footwear.
I would use some bag balm to keep the skin from cracking BUT you have to balance keeping the skin supple with overdoing it so that the skin is too soft to provide a good walking surface. Skin on the foot is designed to be tough so making it soft can be counter productive.
The other important thing is to keep the cage scrupulously clean - all surfaces & change the chin's "toilet" area daily so she can't sit in damp shavings.
She switched out the shavings last night, and will do it again today. I will go buy some bag balm and try to get it on her. I'm unfortunately going back to school in about 10 days so I'm going to have to instruct her on how to deal with this. Sage is about a year and a half and about 600 give or take grams
Hmmm..... :hmm: That is pretty young & light to have a foot which is showing signs of callus already. I'd make sure the cage floor is spotless, the shavings changed daily where she pees, she has different shapes & ares for walking/sitting on to relieve the pressure, & make sure she has plenty of exercise outside of her cage - watch the way she sits & walks to see if she walks on the outside edge of the right back foot.
Some bag balm will help too. Good luck :crossfingers:
alli713
..has a fleece addiction
I'm not sure if it would help, but I remember someone setting up their chin's cage with mostly natural branches in different shapes for perches to help with the callouses so that way they aren't resting on one spot of their feet all the time. Maybe that's something you could do?
Anna
I love my FurBlobs.
That's a good idea
)Yeah she's pretty young I don't know what's going on. She is missing a couple of toes on one of her front paws, could that have anything to do with it?
Stackie
I bite.
Diesel has chronic bumblefoot but I have modified his cage so that he hasn't had any flare ups since his first. I have one of Alli's squiggle bridges covered in fleece (which she also made). That way he has differing levels to stand on. I also have a good majority of his shelves covered in fleece. I swap out his liners every other day and make sure I wipe the shelves/pan down with vinegar to be sure they are clean daily. He potties in a pan (usually) which I dump every other day as well.
