Cracked, Bleeding Feet

[Zahrii]

Oh my goodness, I really can't get a break with these chins! I was doing a cage check this morning when I saw a pretty decent amount of blood splotches on one of my chins' ledges. After examinations, I saw that one of them had some dried blood on the bottom of his back foot, and some signs of cracking on the base (not much near the toes). I have an emergency kit, so what should I use to treat his foot and in what order? I don't want to make it worse. The stuff in the kit includes chin balm, blue fungicidal spray, antiseptic wound wash, and styptic powder. The kit has other stuff, but these are just the things for wounds (other than the vet wrap, gauze and ice pack, but I don't think those will be needed?) What should I do to clean it out? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Zahrii]

Okay, update. I gently wiped at the foot with a damp paper towel just to get rid of any excess dirt, and then I applied the antiseptic wound wash and then the fungicidal spray. A slight pat with a dry paper towel afterwards just to be safe. Some of his foot is now purple because of the spray, but that's normal. No idea if it'll return back to normal color though. During application of the spray, some of it spritzed onto his leg fur. I tried to pat it dry a bit, but I'm not sure how effective it was because he was squirmy. How would I dry his fur?Said foot also seems to be a bit larger at the base than his other foot. I'll be making a vet appointment soon just in case though.

 

[Amethyst]

If the antiseptic spray is blu kote then that is the right stuff, it does stain anything it touches though, but does wear off as new skin grows in. I would just pat any wet spray off his leg, it wont hurt him so no need to wash it off. If the chin balm is actually bag balm that can be used on the feet too, just know that a little goes a long way.

One suggestion for avoiding widening and cracking of the heels is to add perches to the cage, like you would have for a bird (1" or wider diameter). Flat surfaces are unnatural and allow the chin to sit back on their feet, where as perches force them to have rolling pressure over their feet which helps with blood flow, like those foot roller things people use.

 

[Zahrii]

If the antiseptic spray is blu kote then that is the right stuff, it does stain anything it touches though, but does wear off as new skin grows in. I would just pat any wet spray off his leg, it wont hurt him so no need to wash it off. If the chin balm is actually bag balm that can be used on the feet too, just know that a little goes a long way.

One suggestion for avoiding widening and cracking of the heels is to add perches to the cage, like you would have for a bird (1" or wider diameter). Flat surfaces are unnatural and allow the chin to sit back on their feet, where as perches force them to have rolling pressure over their feet which helps with blood flow, like those foot roller things people use.

Ohh, I didn't know that! Unfortunately I can't afford any at the moment or in the near future, so is it urgent to get them? I used a pretty hefty chunk of my budget to get them a better hay holder. Would it be possible/effective to just apply balm to their feet about weekly until I'm able to get some perches? I have about 9-10 ledges in the cage that they use, so how many of those could be replaced with perches? Four of them are just for leaping purposes to get to the second level of their cage and to get to bigger ledges.

 

[Amethyst]

Yes you can use bag balm to heal the feet for now. Just when you get a chance try to replace some of the ledges they just used for leaping with perches, even if you do it one at a time. On one side of the my cage near the top I have 3 (used to be 4 but they chewed one up) right next to each other so they can sit on a couple at a time, kind of like a ledge. I'm lucky though I'm able to make my own out of trees on my property, so most of the ones in my cage only cost me the few cents for hardware. I can show you my cage if I haven't already, if you want to get an idea of what my setup is like.

 

[Zahrii]

Yes you can use bag balm to heal the feet for now. Just when you get a chance try to replace some of the ledges they just used for leaping with perches, even if you do it one at a time. On one side of the my cage near the top I have 3 (used to be 4 but they chewed one up) right next to each other so they can sit on a couple at a time, kind of like a ledge. I'm lucky though I'm able to make my own out of trees on my property, so most of the ones in my cage only cost me the few cents for hardware. I can show you my cage if I haven't already, if you want to get an idea of what my setup is like.

Alrighty. I have an idea of where to place the perches once I get them, so I'm good on that end. If 4-5 out of the 9 ledges I have are perches, would that be good?

 

[Amethyst]

Alrighty. I have an idea of where to place the perches once I get them, so I'm good on that end. If 4-5 out of the 9 ledges I have are perches, would that be good?

Probably, even a couple would help so long as they are placed where they are used.

 

[ChocolatPocky]

If the antiseptic spray is blu kote then that is the right stuff, it does stain anything it touches though, but does wear off as new skin grows in. I would just pat any wet spray off his leg, it wont hurt him so no need to wash it off. If the chin balm is actually bag balm that can be used on the feet too, just know that a little goes a long way.

One suggestion for avoiding widening and cracking of the heels is to add perches to the cage, like you would have for a bird (1" or wider diameter). Flat surfaces are unnatural and allow the chin to sit back on their feet, where as perches force them to have rolling pressure over their feet which helps with blood flow, like those foot roller things people use.

Oh interesting, I've noticed Mr. B's heels getting kind of pink looking, so I'm going to try to get him some round perches to sit on!

 

[Zahrii]

Probably, even a couple would help so long as they are placed where they are used.

These are some of the ledges that would be replaced. However, I have a question. Could the lowest ledge be removed completely? It would make the perches purchases cheaper since I don't have to buy as many, so I could buy them quicker. However, if you think it's too risky, I won't do it. I've seen them jump from the cage floor to the middle ledge multiple times.

 

[Amethyst]

These are some of the ledges that would be replaced. However, I have a question. Could the lowest ledge be removed completely? It would make the perches purchases cheaper since I don't have to buy as many, so I could buy them quicker. However, if you think it's too risky, I won't do it. I've seen them jump from the cage floor to the middle ledge multiple times.

You could replace either of the bottom two with a perch, I just wouldn't replace the ledge below the top and bottom floors. You could even just add perches to what you already have there, no need to remove ledges if you don't want to. Cheap "perches" that seem to be getting popular are also clay pots, you put a washer and bolt through the drain hole and attach to the side of the cage. You can get little ones just for jumping on or bigger ones the chin can get inside.