Bumblefoot

[red11159]

Hello I'm new here and in desperate help.I have 8 rats and I think 4 have bumble foot and I am too broke to take my little guys to a vet. What and how is the cheahpest way possible to treat this.I hate watching my rats hurt. I have lost 2 rats in 2 months. I never really noticed their feet being any different. Can this effect them internally.In the beginning I took 11 Rats in and saved their lives. I was doing a big favor.But now I need HELP!

 

[MadamBelladonna]

If the cage you are using has wire floors, make sure you cover them up with something. This can help prevent bumblefoot in the first place and keep it from getting worse for a rat that already has it. If it's a wire floor, get some linoleum flooring like you would use in a kitchen, cut it to size, and put it in the cage (this also makes it SUPER easy to clean). They'll chew on it a bit but it still lasts pretty long. Other than that, keep an eye on it for infection-keep the cage as clean as you can. You should probably put some kind of topical antibiotic (I've used generic neosporin on some of my rats' minor bumps and bruises and it works pretty well) on it just to be sure. Keep their feet clean-wash them regularly and put some old towels or fleece down for them to walk on as well.

PS-I have never dealt with Bumblefoot personally, what I know is just from research I have done. I recommend that you post a few pictures and the other people on this forum who HAVE dealt with it can probably give you more detailed advice.

 

[hopefloats]

I believe some use blu-kote on their feet. I am not 100% sure. If you can get a picture it may help. It is bleeding or infected looking or just red? Some chubby rats get red on their feet and it isnt bumblefoot. It is hard to say without seeing it. What part of the states are you from?

 

[MadamBelladonna]

Oh yeah, and welcome to the forum

 

[lilspaz68]

There are different stages of bumblefoot from a red raised sore that you just watch (more like a pressure sore), to a raised fleshy lump, to a nasty infected, bleeding lump that often has a hole in it.

The first one is watch and wait

The 2nd can easily be "treated" at home with Blu-kote (a large animal antiseptic, more info below)

and the 3rd needs antibiotics so you can get rid of the infection before going back to the Blu-kote.

I have only dealt with one infected bumblefoot case and this was prior to my keeping all my medical pics on photobucket, so I don't have anything for you.

This is moderate bumblefoot (not too big, no infection) prior to treatment

This is quite a few days later, the Blu-kote is shrinking it

Now Blu-kote is awesome stuff for this BUT it stains like crazy, any fabric is ruined if it gets touched. I would get the dauber bottle of Blu-kote (bought at tack stores, feed stores. online?, etc), and put it in a plastic zip-loc bag with a Q-tip. A large stainable towel would go on my lap with the rat. I would open the bottle, dip the end of the Q-tip in and daub the bumble carefully , then pat it with the edge of the towel until it didn't transfer the stain anymore. Done. Rats don't like to be put on their back for this so be quick and don't use too much LOL. If you get it on your skin, you can scrub it 9and the skin layers) off :laugh4:

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