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Feet Foot Peeling?

Snugglybutt

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May 21, 2018
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Hello! I was trimming Hippo's nails tonight and noticed that the skin on one of his feet is peeling off. I wiggled it around and pulled on it gently and it doesn't seem to be painful for him. What is the cause of this? His other feet look healthy and are not peeling. It was really hard getting a picture of the foot in question!
70917149_1235973846608475_7874088441405767680_n.jpg
 
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Snugglybutt

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Thanks for the link! I think it's a spur now that I actually know what those are :^) Some threads say to clip the spur off and others are saying to simply leave it be, which is correct?
 

Soecara

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Personally I trim any spurs that could potentially catch on something and tear off. That ends up being most spurs. Looking at your photo I would probably trim that spur.
 

ItsaZoo

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Mine gets small spurs like that as well. It feels like a thick hangnail. As Soecara recommended, I carefully trim them so the edge doesn’t get caught on anything. I also moisturize her feet using a natural lip moisturizer stick made with coconut oil and no sunscreen or petroleum products.
 

MerryFriarTuck

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My Friar Tuck had a small foot spur on each front foot once. They might have been a little smaller than Hippo's, and they weren't sore/inflamed/touchy or bothering him at all when he walked. I was a little nervous to trim them so just decided to keep an eye on them. Lo and behold, after a week he trimmed one off himself! And then he did the second a week after that :) I had been checking them everyday, and they were neatly trimmed a tiny distance from his skin both times.
He hadn't had any before then and hasn't since. If I needed to trim them I would've, but it was such a relief he managed it himself! I don't know if that was lucky or if it's common among piggies. I have read 1 in 3 piggies will get foot spurs at some time in their lives, and often the cause is simply genetic.
If it's long and looks like it could get caught on something I'd trim it....I didn't myself with Friar Tuck because the spurs were short and his cage is one level with carefresh bedding... nothing that I thought would pose a risk of a spur getting snagged or torn.
Hippo is such a cute name!:)
 
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