Can something else than just dirtiness be wrong with my brothers guinea pigs feet?

Question

My brothers guinea pig doesnt seem to clean his feet as he often gets hard balls of poo rolled up, stuck to his feet next to his little front toes. We have left it too long again to clean it off and it is too hard now for me to wash it off (I am afraid of hurting him). We are gonna take him to the vets again to get his front feet cleaned and nails trimmed but could having these clumps cause any other symptoms such as swelling, numbness to the little toes or even somehow breaking the toes? Before we take him to the vets we would like to know what could be possibilities if there is something worse as a result. It doesnt seem to bother him at all but is painful to wash off (we've had them cleaned off at the vets before - this also must mean that there is feeling in his toes still, surely). It's just that when i took a look, i could manipulate his toe quite abit. Could he have lost feeling because of the clump or is this normal of guinea pig toes? Please help

Answer 1

how often do you clean his cage? if you keep his cage clean this should not happen. but if it still happens with a clean cage let him sit in very shallow water that should not come above his belly every so often to keep his feet clean! also i have researched and the worst that could happen from having poop stuck to him is getting small sores from chemicals in his urine.

Answer 2

This only happens in filthy cages. Keep him very clean and you won't have this problem! For now, just soak him in 1/2 inch of warm water with a little dish soap. Wait until the balls soften and gently work them off his feet. Rinse well. He can get very severe foot infections from the bacteria and wetness stuck to his feet. Not good. :(

Answer 3

How often do you clean the cage? If you clean the cage every week or so and use a recommended bedding (like aspen or fleece), then this should not even be happening. If you are cleaning regularly and using a recommended bedding and notice that this is still happening then you should clean it as soon as you notice it.

I know that my girls often step in their poop, but the poops do not stick to their feet. This leads me to think that he may have diarrhea. What food are you feeding him? He should get timothy based pellets, timothy hay and fresh produce twice a day.

Answer 4

If he's getting poo on his feet that bad, somebody if not taking good care of the poor little thing. He really needs his cage cleaned more often if it's that bad. He won't live very long if he is not taken care of properly, imagine living in your poop. How would you feel.