my guinea pigs paw pads appear to be slightly swollen on his front legs, any ideas what it could be?

Question

the actual paw pads look like they may be slightly fluid filled. my vets don't specialize in small animal care and know that they would just send me away or put him on antibiotics. i'd rather hear if anyone has any ideas before taking him. he doesn't appear to be in discomfort and is eating his usual diet. if anyone has any thought i would be very grateful to hear them?

Answer 1

In my case it was partly because of an infection and partly because of scurvy. I was out of town for a couple of months and my girlfiend wasn't feeding him veggies so he got a vitamin C deficiency. You might try giving more fresh greens and fruit or use those vitamin C suppliments that you can put in their water. See if that helps. At least it won't hurt.

Answer 2

It may be a bacterial infection, so DON'T use Lamisil, that is for a Fungal infection! Also, guinea pigs wash themselves, and that stuff may not be safe to eat!

If you have your pets in a cage with a wire bottom, then this will be a constant problem for you. Guinea pigs need a flat-bottomed cage. So get them in a proper pen as soon as possible!

Give them a bath with a pet shampoo made for rabbits and similar pets, you can find this at a pet store like Petsmart. Just make sure it is made for pets that wash themselves, and don't use dog shampoo! After their bath, you can put Neosporin on their feet before you put them in a freshly cleaned pen. Neosporin will not poison them. Then start replacing wet bedding daily, and doing a complete cage clean weekly, if this is not already what you do.

Try the website below for ideas on how to make a pet cage for guinea pigs that is less expensive than buying a new one at a pet store. We did it, and now our 3 darlings have 18 square feet of playspace for less $ than a 4 square foot pet cage!

Answer 3

Does your Guinea Pig have wire mesh for its floor? Guinea Pigs have rather fragile feet and the mesh may damage your piggy's foot.

Does the guinea pig live in a Morant Hutch? the triangular-prism like one?

Did you join a guinea pig club because they are good when you have trouble and need advice.

This is a good site that gives you free guineapig info by email...NO money needed.
http://www.guineapigsecrets.com/

Answer 4

If you put cotton balls or any other fibrous material in his cage he could have gotten fibers wrapped around his ankles. This can cause the paws to swell. If that's the problem, get a small pair of scissors and carefully cut the fibers off. I had three hamsters that had this problem.

Answer 5

I would call your vet to see if they know anyone who could help you or to see if you could bring him in because he sounds like he has some kind of infection of some kind and he could eat and have no discomfort and still have some type of infection..You could also call your local pet shop or if you have a Pet Co in our area or near by you could call them and they could help you and they could have some ointment or something to help get rid of the infection or tell you what it could be they also have books that could give some answers on what it might be...Take Care Good Luck..

Answer 6

It probably is just some kind of bacterial infection. One thing you can put on it before taking him to the vet is Lamasil T (made for humans) and see if that doesn't take care of it.

Answer 7

It could be bumble foot. Bacterial Pododermatitis most likely. It's most likely from the cage. guinealynx is a really great web. The top and bottom web has it for sure...happy pigging



http://www.ahc.umn.edu/rar/MNAALAS/GPig.html
http://guinealynx.com/
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGGL%2CGGGL%3A2005-09%2CGGGL%3Aen&q=guinea+pig+health&btnG=Search
http://www.ahc.umn.edu/rar/MNAALAS/GPig.html
http://www.talktothevet.com/VETERINARIANS/veterinarians.HTM

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/guineapig

http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/
.....good luck

Answer 8

its normal