Skin and hair falling out, amung other things.

[emberstoashes]

My name is liz and I have a guinie pig named duncan. He has had an extreemly savere case of bumble foot for 1-2 years. We tryed everything we could to help him, but his feet do not even appear to be there anymore and the infection is too far gone. We do not have a vet in our area that will look at him. The only one is three hours away and it will cost $200 just for them to do a checkup+ meds and diagnosis, and we are poor. We have a dog and cat vet next door and he gave us some medicine that we read might help him. It didnt. that was about 6 months ago

Well he has also had bad skin for a long time too. Recently it is getting worse. It is all rough and flaky and falling off. He is shedding like crazy and I know he cant be happy. At this point, Im afraid to even use his shampoo we got him a long time ago for fear it will irratate his feet.

On more than one occasion, we have soaked his feet. The scab falls off and he starts spewing blood. Last time we thought he was going to bleed out. By the time we finaly got the bleeding under controll, my mom and I where covered in blood and there was a pool of his blood over half the kitchen. (that is not an exageration) Then he whent into shock and started running a fevor. It was not a good experiance.

Does anybody have any ideas what I can do to help with his skin?

[Kayleigh]

I am so sorry to hear you are having such a terrible time with Duncan. From the sounds of things you have been doing everything possible for this little man. Bumble foot can be extremly difficult to treat and its usually a lengthy process. When treating bumblefoot its advised the pig goes on baytril for the coarse of the treatment to help with the bacterial infections ect.

Please read the following article on how to treat bumblefoot ;
www.guinealynx.info/pododermatitis.html

Im sure it can help you out alot. If the worst comes to the worst im sorry to suggest but for Duncans sake it may be best to get him PTS. to ease his suffering.

Do try the above treatments if you can get hold of the salts ect.

I had to make a decision with one of my sows as she had recurring abcess's appearing over body. Once one was treated and healed she would get another in a new area. After 6 months i felt it unfair to keep going as i could tell she wasnt a happy pig anymore, she had lost weight and stopped her wheeking at veggie time, she would sit in her cage away from her friends and just stare into space it seemed.
Sometimes we have to do whats in our pets best interest and putting them to sleep can sometimes be the kindest option.

Please let us know how you get on with Duncan and what you decide to do.

Kayleigh

[emberstoashes]

Thanks for the reply. The article you posted is the article we have been getting home remidys from. None of them have helped. The medicine they recomended is what we ended up giving him two rounds of. They did nothing. He dosn't seen to be in very much pain. He is fat and seems to be happy. He is still eating well and walks, and even runs sometimes. We have thought long and hard about putting him down. We don't want to do that before he is in obvious pain. It dosnt help that if we decide to put him to sleep it will end up being one of us outside with a shotgun, or in a homemade gas chamber. I would give anything to keep him alive and happy. We realy love him.

[Kayleigh]

Bumble foot is a very painful condition so he may not look in pain or distress but im sure he is. You say you have a dog/cat vet next door. If you decided to put him to sleep then any vet would be able to administer the jab. You dont need a specialised vet to do this. I do not reccommend nor believe in self euthanasia, it can cause more pain and heartache than required. Please seek vet advise if this is what you choose to get Duncan pts.

Do you have a pigure of Duncan, his feet and the worst effected areas? This may help alot with possible aids.

Which medications have you used on Duncan, both topical and oral? any antibiotics?

Kayleigh