# Bumble foot?



## aknapoli (Oct 20, 2012)

One of my boys has a small pimple on the bottom of his foot. I'm scared that it may be the beginnings of bumble foot, but I have no idea how he got it. I deep clean the cage weekly (vinegar, hot water, dawn on any super gross areas) including the plastic shelves, base, and the wire cage. I typically use aspen for the bedding in the base and towels to cover the shelves (changed daily), but have recently switched to fleece. He does think the litter boxes are beds, but has never had a problem until now.

Thanks.


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## RedFraggle (Jun 4, 2012)

Fleece is usually synthetic, i would switch back to towels which are cotton.


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## ratclaws (Nov 11, 2012)

Looks just like he's caught his foot to me... I doubt that's anything to do with bumblefoot! Also, it won't make a difference whether you use fleece or cotton. I don't think this is going to cause you an issue


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## aknapoli (Oct 20, 2012)

We switched to fleece because our other boy, Ampersand, managed to catch one of his claws on the terry cloth and rip it off--that was an expensive vet visit and fleece is cheap and easy. 

But I'm glad to hear it doesn't look like bumble foot. We're going to monitor Troy closely in case it does progress and it's not just a pimple. 


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## Jenzie (Dec 26, 2012)

To me, it does look like it could be the beginning stages of bumblefoot. Apparently a lot of what causes bumblefoot is genetic (I don't remember who on this forum told me that, sorry!) so it might not have anything to do with how you keep your cage. My oldest boy Ratigan started off with something that looked like that. Now, several months later, it is quite a bit bigger but still does not seem to bother him or make it harder for him to move around. I put honey on it twice a day for its antibiotic properties and I really think it's slowed down the growth of it a bit. There's no harm in starting up with putting honey on it (you can also use stuff like Neosporin... but ratties prefer honey), otherwise just keep a close eye on it. It could totally be nothing though, I hope it's just some minor issue!


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## aknapoli (Oct 20, 2012)

Oh dear. We have some Baytril left over from Ampersand's dose (we gave him the full course, but she gave us extra in case it spilled or he dumped a dose, etc). Would that help? I've also read about diluted tea tree oil and grape seed extract. Does anyone have any experience with that?


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## watts300 (Aug 3, 2013)

Off topic comment: Holy mackerel. Either that's a big rat, or you have two small hands.


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## aknapoli (Oct 20, 2012)

I have normal size hands for a 5'3" woman? lol 

Troy is huge. He's chubby, which I think might contribute to the bumble foot (bumblefoot?), but his dad was a monster too. Troy is about 11"-12" long from nose to the root of his tail measured along his spine and my food scale says he's about ~600g.

He eats the same food as our other, more svelte rat (he's ~9" nose to tail root and 491g at last vet appointment). We've recently gone from oxbow and veggies with grain mix for a snack to just oxbow and the occasional bit of veggies in an attempt to see if he's just genetically bigger or plain old fat and lazy.

They both run around a ton during free time, but Troy is definitely the lazier of the two.

Edited to add: This is Troy and a grande Starbucks cup on a standard sofa. The angle is a little off, but I figure it's better than nothing.


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## Daize (Jun 8, 2013)

You can get some Vetericyn and spray it on a few times a day. 

http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/veterinaryqa/a/Vetericyn.htm


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## aknapoli (Oct 20, 2012)

I've never heard of Vetericyn. Have you used it on bumble foot?


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## Daize (Jun 8, 2013)

I have not used it on bumble foot. I used it on my female rat after she was spayed. It's a broad spectrium antimicrobial. I posted a link so you could read about it. 

Here's a couple of links that can explain bumble foot more clearly. 

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/careofrats/p/bumblefoot.htm

[URL]http://ratguide.com/health/integumentary_skin/ulcerative_pododermatitis.php


[/URL]


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## aknapoli (Oct 20, 2012)

Yup, oh trust me, I read through those this morning  I just cleaned his feet off with diluted TTO—he doesn't seem interested in licking it at all—and I'm cleaning the cage twice daily now (much to their displeasure). 

I'm hoping that with TTO and constant cleanings, the bump will stay as-is and/or go away. If, after a week or so, nothing changes I'm going to look into GSE, blu-kote, and vetericyn. 

I was hoping to run into more people who've experienced this :\ I'm feeling pretty shitty about this because I had always read that bumble foot was due to dirty cage surroundings, but I clean their cage frequently (daily spot cleanings too) and I don't know what I could have done differently.


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Vetericyn is really cool and although on the pricey side, can clear up a lot of wounds. From my understanding it promotes white cell growth so wounds heal faster.

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## aknapoli (Oct 20, 2012)

Oh, okay. Good to know. Thanks!


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

That looks very much like the beginning stages of bumblefoot to me as well. That tiny ulcer will become more and more inflamed until it eventually consumes the entire foot if left untreated. 

http://ratguide.com/health/integumentary_skin/ulcerative_pododermatitis.php


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## watts300 (Aug 3, 2013)

I'm colorblind and I'm unable to see any spots on either foot. Can some one re-upload the picture with it circled so that I know for future reference?




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## Xerneas (Aug 6, 2013)

watts300 said:


> I'm colorblind and I'm unable to see any spots on either foot. Can some one re-upload the picture with it circled so that I know for future reference?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## aknapoli (Oct 20, 2012)

Does anyone have any suggestions for how long I should try each treatment? I've been doing diluted tea tree oil multiple times today. My boyfriend says it looks a little bit less red than last night, but I think it's just wishful thinking. Should I give the TTO a week to work and then try something else? Or a couple of days? I'll take him to the vet if I have to, but I'd really rather not just yet if I can handle it at home myself.


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## aknapoli (Oct 20, 2012)

Just wanted to post an update. Troy's foot is getting better. The little pimple is fading and I think with another couple of days of the tea tree oil treatment it might be gone. We've been changing the fleece once or twice a day depending on how messy the boys are and doing a full cage cleaning every day.

Thought this might help someone else who is experiencing the same thing.


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