Bumblefoot? Have pics, I´m slightly panicked...

[dragsil]

Sorry for making another thread but I would really, really appreciate anybody´s opinion on what could be happening with Silver´s feet. After his right foot started bleeding today I started looking at chin foot photos and noticed that his look different, larger around the heel area. Here are some photos, sorry they are massive, I dont know how to resize.....

His left foot, not bleeding and pictured as normal

Right foot before I got it cleaned up

Right foot after being dabbed with a saline solution and gauze (excuse the poo!)

I´ve been freaking myself out reading at bumblefoot and I´m worried about his heel being larger than it seems normal is, he is dry around the backs of them but the bleeding happened for the first time today. He is six years old and I´ve had him almost two months.

He really was wonderful during the whole ordeal, he stayed nice and calm during the ordeal of inspecting his feet and taking the photos, like he knew we were trying to help him

 

[AZChins]

Is it swollen or has his paw pad always been shaped like that?

 

[dragsil]

This is the closest I´ve been able to see his feet but i think they have been shaped like that since I got him two months ago. Is there much variation in chin feet? Both seem to be the same size and only the right has bled, he moves around normally and often stands sits up on his hind legs to beg for sticks, i read that if it causes them pain they try hard to evenly distribute the weight but I have not noticed that with him, he is active and happy.

 

[Hammie]

Any bleeding requires a visit to a vet, unfortunately. I'm not a chin person, but I do know infections and that is an infection risk. Poor sweetie Hope he's ok.

 

[Stackie]

The splaying of the pads is a sign of bumblefoot. It definitely looks like he has it to me. A round of antibiotics and feet soaks will help. When I treated a bumblefoot case, the treatment regimen consisted of antibiotics twice daily, pain medication, and soaking the feet with chlrohexidine washes twice daily.

 

[dragsil]

We are taking him to the vet tomorrow.

I´ve read different things about bumblefoot, was your chin ok Stackie? I dont know how bad it would be or how long he has had it since I got him a short while ago but I really really hope it can be cured, I would hate to see him suffer at all

 

[Stackie]

Diesel is fine now. He has to be kept on fleece because his bumblefoot is chronic. He gets bag balm weekly on his feet to keep them from getting too dry.

 

[dragsil]

Just wondering how long it would actually take to develop a condition like this? I´m worried that he might have had it for a while since before i got him. We will see the regular chin vet tomorrow but have an appointment at a skin specialist on Friday if we need more treatment.

Just hoping my boy feels better soon

 

[Claire D]

The splaying of the pads is a sign of bumblefoot.

As an aside, that's not necessarily always the case. Chins which develop bumblefoot can have that kind of splayed pad but not always.

Splayed pads can also be a sign of abnormal pressure loads or altered gait. An example of this is a chin with back leg issues which throws their weight forward onto their front paws - the front paw pads will splay due to the extra/abnormal pressure/weight but they don't necessarily break down into ulcers.

Splayed pads/paws can also be caused by infection (swelling or build up of pus under the skin) or chronic non-healing wounds in the inflammatory phase (again, usually due to swelling or excess granulation tissue being produced by the wound bed).
Splayed pads don't always break down but they are more prone to doing so.
Chins with bumblefoot/foot ulceration can have normal looking pads too.


Having said that, I agree that the chin does look to have some form of foot ulceration.

Just wondering how long it would actually take to develop a condition like this? I´m worried that he might have had it for a while since before i got him. We will see the regular chin vet tomorrow but have an appointment at a skin specialist on Friday if we need more treatment.

There's some info & a couple of old case studies on my website here which might help: (http://www.davidson-chinchillas.co.uk/pages/bumblefoot.php)

Bumblefoot (ulcerated pododermatitis) can be a condition which develops slowly over months. He may well have been developing it before you got him - it may also take a while to clear the ulceration, depending on the depth of the ulcer, infection (or not) etc.

Ulceration of the foot can also occur due to excessive grooming - removing dry skin a little too quickly can tear the skin & form a small wound (foot wounds bleed like a stuck pig & the cage can look like a massacre has happened over night) - these generally heal fairly quickly since the wounds are usually superficial. What slows down any wound healing is infection & that's one the of the biggest problems with foot wounds because the chins are walking on 'dirty' surfaces. Cleanliness is really important to healing foot ulcers.
Another cause is foreign body penetration of the skin on the foot ( a splinter, for example).

I have treated many chins with bumblefoot over the years, from chronic non-healing to simple acute episodes - each chin is different & may need different treatment regimens. However, the keys are good pain relief, antibiotics, pressure relief & cleanliness. Wounds can be treated in different ways - from leaving the ulcers open (some people use Blue Kote for superficial ulcers) to full bandaging & using wound management products.


Clean, soft padding for the cage floor (fleece if you have it) & cleaning the feet with saline (as you have already done) is a good idea before you get to the vet - that way the vet ill be able to see the feet clearly for assessment.

 

[AZChins]

I could be a deformed paw pad...but if it's bleeding and it's not just a tiny scratch, you may want to think about taking him into the vet. It could be a foot infection, but I can't tell from the pictures.

 

[dragsil]

Thanks for the insights, I know it´s hard to get an actual diognosis from photos but I really appreciate all the suggestions

We have lined the main flooring of the cage in fleece which he is sitting on at the moment, so hopefully it feels better for him. I´m planning on giving the site another gentle saline wash tomorrow although i´m a bit scared of reopening the wound so I just dabbed a bit to remove the excess blood. Have also already wiped down all the shelves and changed over all the toilet bedding to minimize the chance of him coming into contact with bacteria. I felt the area and could not notice any warmth in the foot, it felt pretty much the same as his other feet.

What would I expect with a vet visit? I can´t even bring myself to hold them by the tails so I´m dreading the actual trip tomorrow since I hate seeing them in pain, would this be a situation where they might need to drain the foot area? I´ll be there no matter what, but hoping it is as stress free for Silver as possible. Might bring my other chin along just for a general checkup since he has not been since I got him and it might be a good idea while we are there.

The fleece is not properly fitted for their cage but is a temporary one, they have already bunched it up in the corner and made a big mess of things :S

 

[Claire D]

I'd take both chins (the second as a travel companion) but unless there is something specific, vet checks are not really worth the money imho.

The chin with the foot problem will need to have the feet examined to determine the depth of the ulcer(s) & whether there is any infection present - treatment will depend on the examination TBH.

 

[dragsil]

I dont think they are too happy with me at the moment, I opened the cage door to sweep the shelves for poo and check for blood and both of them gave me a few not so friendly nips and tried to jump up my arm-think they are angry about missing their usual playtime and sandbath because I didnt think it was a good idea. Poor Dragon has to be cooped up too because if I let him out alone silver runs around the cage like crazy.

Silver did get some Lifeline which he was happy about, I´ve only just started giving them small amounts and they love the stuff.

Ahhh, fingers crossed for the best outcome tomorrow, I´ll do whatever it takes to get him healthy again.

 

[dragsil]

I saw the vet today and she checked his feet and felt the area for heat, I have an antiseptic gel to use on his feet twice a day to help with any swelling and if there is no improvement in a week I have an appointment with the specialist.

He was the best boy ever for the whole thing, I got to hold him and he stayed super quiet and still and then went back to his carry case to chew sticks. Dragon came along too and got a once over, everything is fine with him but he was not a happy chin, I can tell you that :|

 

[dragsil]

The splaying of the pads is a sign of bumblefoot. It definitely looks like he has it to me. A round of antibiotics and feet soaks will help. When I treated a bumblefoot case, the treatment regimen consisted of antibiotics twice daily, pain medication, and soaking the feet with chlrohexidine washes twice daily.

I was given Viatop which contains chlrohexidine but no antibiotics. I noticed today that his feet seem a little warm but it could be ebcause I just woke him up from sleeping in the same place. I´m monitoring it and I think we will go to the specialist on Friday since it´s still worrying me. I am the biggest fusspot when my animals get sick

 

[dragsil]

Gahhhh we actually dont have a specialist appointment today, it´s just the regular vet again :S

His feet are really warm even after applying the gel for a few days but he was acting normally (if anything, he is more active now so I think it is providing some relief) but his feet are consistently hot every day, I am going in at 1pm today which is good because I noticed this morning that his poo seemed a fair bit smaller (constipation??) and they didnt touch their pellets last night when they usually eat about half of what I put out.

After this is over I will be taking out pet insurance on them both, really should have thought more about that when I got them :S