Infection elderly guinea pig has bumblefoot (or urine scald?)

[Kieri]

hey guys

back in may 2018, my elderly guinea pig developed a bladder infection. we treated the infection and began a pain management regimen for her arthritis.

unfortunately, while treating the bladder infection, obcy developed urine scalding that became swollen; it looked like bumblefoot to me. i was horrified, because i thought it only happened if you housed them on wire bottom cages. when i took her to her checkup, i asked the vet to look at her front paws. the vet barely seemed concerned and told me, "yeah, that can happen. a UTI allows urine to dribble onto their feet and it can ulcerate like this." i was annoyed, because if she had told me, i would've done all i could to PREVENT urine scald. i would've been doing soaks, applying ointments, anything!!!! secondly, why wasn't she concerned? they were ulcerated and swollen and warm to the touch and she said it was "normal" for pigs who had UTIs.

her feet were horrible. both front paws were ulcerated and very swollen. again, the vet wasn't concerned. i took to the internet and began epsom soaks and applying an ointment to help them heal. they began to heal slowly but surely. scabs fell off, feet began to shrink.

then, her paws flared up again. i've been trying to do the soaks more often, but i feel like i'm at a loss. i change the fleece out every other day to keep the cage dry and clean. i spot clean constantly. i move their hideout frequently to promote movement and to avoid her sitting on her own urine. it feels like a losing battle.

i don't know what to do. surely there's more i can do. my vet is cold, she cares more about mumbling condescending remarks than advice. she snapped at me for using a water bottle instead of a dish for their water. she got onto me because i told her i give them a tiny slice of cucumber once a day as a treat. i haven't given them cucumbers since because i feel like i'm an awful owner. every time i voiced a concern or asked a question, she'd say something rude without looking at me. i feel like the woman can't stand me and it takes all of my energy to remain professional and civil during visits.

i absolutely don't have the money to take obcy to different vets in an attempt to find one who actually cares about animal patients.

i'm so discouraged. all day i've been thinking about putting her to sleep, because i don't know what to do for her and maybe that's the kindest thing i can do. i'm so infuriated with my vet's lack of urgency with treatment, her condescending remarks, her barely making any eye contact with me, her ignoring my questions i ask during visits... i've been calling around different vets asking them if they euthanize guinea pigs, because i do NOT want that woman to be the one to put obcy to sleep.

i'm just overwhelmed at this point. what do i do?

 

[Kieri]

update: i got some recommendations from friend and a local guinea pig rescue. obcy has an appointment monday morning. i'll update then.

 

[Kieri]

update:

took obcy to the vet this morning. i worried i would have to put her to sleep. the vet assured me he's seen worse cases, and he seems optimistic about recovery. he started her on antibiotics and pain medication. we are doing cold laser treatments on her paws, and continuing epsom salt soaks at home. she has a check up next monday. i'm looking into probiotics for her in the mean time.

he was extremely sweet, very professional, and very gentle with her. he assessed her carefully, and backed off when she began to cry in pain.

her behavior is completely normal. she's very alert, wheeks for food, has a healthy appetite, poop looks normal.

 

[Snugglybutt]

That's great to hear! I'm glad you were able to find a nice vet. Hopefully your piggy gets better soon.

 

[Kieri]

update:

slowly but surely, obcy is showing improvement! she takes her medication like a champ. i follow up the antibiotic with probiotics throughout the day (giving time after the antibiotic to let it do its thing first).

one thing that has drastically improved in only 48 hours is her problem with bloating. after my first appointment with the bad exotic vet, obcy started having an issue with bloating out of nowhere. during her first checkup, i brought it up asking how i can reduce the bloating because it's dangerous. the vet blamed every veggie imaginable, so i reduced their fresh veggies to romaine lettuce only. still, bloating was an issue. i brought it up with the vet AGAIN, and she dismissed it and told me some pigs bloat anytime they eat. the thing is, she bloated randomly no matter what. whether she had just eaten or was sleeping, she'd become a balloon.

(obcy wasn't given real antibiotics from this vet for her initial bladder infection back in may. she was given a urinary tract health herbal mixture that had "antibiotic properties." i'm guessing this stuff was too harsh on her GI but the vet preferred to blame her diet.)

on monday, i started her on a mixture of probiotics/water and W O W. obcy looks so normal. she's finally the same size as elliot again. she looks like a normal guinea pig, i can't believe it. i keep walking over to the cage to look at her. all these months of giving her infant gas relief and all she needed was probiotics. i also discontinued giving her the urinary tract herbal remedy, it's already been trashed.

as for her feet, they appear to be healing slowly! she has another cold laser treatment this upcoming monday. she's walking better and is a little bit more active, so the pain management is definitely helping.

i can't stress enough how relieved i am to have found a good vet. i can't believe i put up with this other one for so long. i left them a pretty lengthy review on their yelp page warning other guinea pig and small pet owners about her. hopefully no one else falls victim to this vet's incompetency and lack of concern.

here's a photo of obcy being the same size as elliot for the first time since MAY.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

VERY glad to hear some good news about Obcy!

And I'm also glad to hear you've found a new vet that you can trust, and that seems to know what they're doing. Believe it or not, getting proper medical treatment can actually LOWER your vet costs, because when it's done right the first time you don't necessarily need repeat costly visits.

Very happy for you and your little ones!

 

[Kieri]

yup. i wasted easily $1,000 or so all summer going to this awful vet. she never helped, only pushed her "herbal remedies" onto me every time. obcy needed real medications and the woman would never do it, even though she said we would if the remedies didn't work. "next time you visit we will see how she's doing and look into doing antibiotics if she isn't better." yet that never happened. she'd get offended when her remedies clearly WEREN'T WORKING, as if it was obcy's fault.

i realize in hindsight how manipulative this woman was as well. i was a mess when i first saw her and she knew she could guilt me into whatever she wanted. then, afterwards, whenever i'd question her during check ups, she'd immediately criticize my ability as an owner and made me truly feel like i was a horrible person. at first i tried to stand up for myself in a polite manner, but she'd shoot me down and talk over me. i've spent the past half year blaming myself for everything, breaking down crying when her feet weren't healing and her arthritis wasn't looking better.

she was trying to milk me of everything knowing she wasn't going to ever actually treat obcy. it infuriates me.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Remember this:

You didn't give up on Obcy. I realize you were at the end of your rope in thinking that the kindest thing you could do was put her to sleep. That's NOT an easy decision to come to, and I can say at least from my personal experience that it's something that I live with every day and will continue to do so. It hurts.

Instead, you grasped at that last straw, and now Obcy is doing SO much better. I'm glad you did, and I'm sure she is too. You know now that you have a good vet, and things will get better from here on out.

 

[Kieri]

thank you so much :'(

there have been many moments where i finish up a foot bath and i'm putting ointment on her feet and i break down crying, wondering if i'm doing enough, if i'm doing the right thing. it's been rough.

i had to put my childhood dog to sleep a few years ago, and it was the hardest and most haunting experience. i don't want to ever do it again, but i know i owe that decision to any and every animal i own. the other morning, i walked into the new vet's office anticipating saying goodbye to her. i started to choke up as soon as the girl told me the vet would be in shortly. and i broke down when he came in and asked how i was doing.

the new vet seems optimistic, because obcy is alert/curious, she's highly interested in food, her poops are normal and healthy looking. when i asked if he thought it was best to just put her to sleep, he said he wanted to try because he's seen guinea pigs in worse conditions. i wish there was justice for what the previous vet put obcy through. all i can do is leave my review and hope it saves someone from taking their guinea pig to her.

i'm praying SO hard that the infection hasn't gotten into her bones. i worry it's too late for her. if this kills her i know i'm going to end up calling the old vet or going in there and ripping into her for allowing this infection to kill my animal. i know that isn't productive though, and it won't bring her back. but i'm so MAD. i'm. so. mad. this could be the end of obcy's life, suffering and infection. i'm furious. sorry for being so negative i'm struggling with this atm.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

What Obcy needs now, is for you to be POSITIVE. You've taken all the right steps now, you have a good vet and she's already showing improvement. I completely understand you second-guessing yourself. If your new vet is optimistic, then I believe you should be, too. Keep doing what you're doing.

Forget about the old vet. She's NOT worth dwelling on. Focus on you, on Obcy, and on Elliot and where you go from here.

 

[Kieri]

thank you ♥ taking it a day at a time and hoping for the best. i'll keep everyone updated, she has a checkup this monday.

 

[Kieri]

update:

things are looking optimistic for obcy! her feet are healing quite nicely. her front paws still have quite some ways to go to fully heal. the swelling has gone down a bit and they aren't hot to the touch anymore. the ulcerations are scabbing up nicely. we are continuing laser treatments, epsom soaks, and antibiotics.

here are some progress photos.

these are before treatment. this is what the previous vet dismissed every time i tried to bring it to her attention.


these are today!
i know her nails are a bit rough. trimming has been difficult, because spreading her toes & applying any pressure has been painful. i plan on giving them a nice trim in a few minutes!!

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Glad to see she's making some progress. Keep up the great work, and definitely keep us updated!