Feet Possible bumblefoot?

[Agrimony]

Hello all, it's been a long time since I've been on but have a concern about my 6.5 year old boar, Bird. He has severe arthritis in his back legs, feet and lower back. I just looked at his feet and they seem to look sore. He is on carefresh bedding spot cleaned daily as he does not get around much. He is on medication for his arthritis so we are doing our best with that, but still he carries all of his weight in his heels, his toes do not touch the ground when he stands. Could this be from poor circulation? Is there a way to keep him more comfortable? Does this look like bumble foot or something else? His feet are quite cold as well.
Thank you!

 

[bpatters]

It looks like the beginning of bumblefoot. I'm sure that area of his feet has very poor circulation, which would aggravate the problem.

I would consider bedding him on fleece. He probably wouldn't burrow, so you could do it with smaller fleece pads. Those could be changed more easily, and moved around to keep him on clean bedding. The fleece would be softer on his feet.

I'd also gently massage his feet daily with cold pressed virgin coconut oil. That would help the circulation, and also keep the skin supple.

Is he on pain medicine for the arthritis? My senior pig with severe arthritis is on daily metacam, and it makes all the difference in her activity level.

 

[Agrimony]

Thank you for the quick reply. I'll consider switching him to fleece for his comfort, I never liked fleece but if it will help him I'll change it. He is on metacam and a CBD supplement for inflammation, he also occasionally gets vitamin C injections at the vet office for a boost. Not much seems to make a difference. The CBD did initially help a lot but lately hasn't done much, I may increase to twice a day. The coconut oil foot massages sound like they will be helpful for sure. I use it on his skin already. Do you think antibiotics will be needed for his feet? I will probably bring him to the vet soon anyway since this is new.

 

[bpatters]

He probably won't need antibiotics for his feet unless the wound is open. If the skin is abraded a little, use a triple-antibiotic cream and apply it sparingly twice a day, rubbing it in well. If he's got arthritis, he's not likely to try to lick it anyway.

You can soak his feet. There are some suggestions at https://www.guinealynx.info/pododermatitis.html.

 

[Agrimony]

So an update, the sores on his feet are not yet bumblefoot but are a very early sign. His heart sounded healthy so she believes it's is because of the pressure he's putting on it and immobility. We are doing a package of 6 laser therapy sessions over the next couple weeks and he was prescribed Gabapentin for pain as it works on nerves, just have to make sure he doesn't become too lethargic. Acupuncture was recommended as well and I'll consider that after the laser therapy is over

 

[Agrimony]

Update one Bird, laser therapy didn't help, steroids didn't help, accupunture isn't helping, and he is down from 950 grams to 670 grams. I think he is just nearing the end and we can only keep him comfortable. He is still on gabapentin and doing weekly accupunture. He eats treats but isn't interested in hay or pellets. The vet seems confident he isn't in pain, when I leave for work I bring him there in the morning and pick him up in the evening so I'm very thankful for the vet office taking such great care of him. I just want him to be comfortable at this point.