Digby Feet Update

We had another vet visit yesterday and we went to a different vet. The vet took one look and diagnosed Digby with bumblefoot. :(

For those who don't know what bumblefoot is, bumblefoot, or more accurately pododermatitis, is a bacterial infection in the foot. It's usually caused by poor husbandry, either dirty perches or incorrect perches (in birds, that is). Birds who are obese and/or inactive are prone to it. It can also be caused by poor nutrition. Birds who are immuno-compromised are also more likely to get it. It causes abscesses or ulcers in the feet and, if it gets bad enough, can infect the bone and require amputations. (Side note: Guinea pigs are also prone to bumblefoot, especially if kept on wire mesh floors or very dirty cages.)

The vet said it doesn't look too bad yet and we should still be able to get it cleared up without having to worry about long-term effects. He told us to put vitamin E oil on her feet everyday and take her back in two weeks. The vitamin E oil should loosen up the top layer of the scabs so that the vet can scrape that off to allow us to do topical antibiotics where the cuts are.

We aren't completely sure how she got it. I've done what was necessary to prevent it--clean perches and perches that are different diameters and textures. The vet at first thought maybe she came to us with it, but she didn't. I asked if it was possible that she had it before we got her and something just triggered it and made it come back, and he said that is possible.

On a positive note, everything on her bloodwork came back "perfectly normal" and her gram stains were normal as well. It looks like we're only dealing with bumblefoot and nothing else. Hopefully we can get it cleared up quickly.