Bumble Foot

Ulcerative Pododermatitis

What is it?

Bumble foot is the slang term for ulcerative pododermatitis. It's a bacterial infection usually caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Other bacteria may at times cause this problem but most often it is the S. aureus causing the problem. You have no doubt heard of "Staph infection" and that is what this is. S. aureus bacteria are everywhere in the environment including inside your nose. It's normal and doesn't always cause disease but it will when it gets into a place that it shouldn't be.

How does it happen?

With rats the problem most often begins with a wire floored cage. Walking on that wire all the time will cause abrasions on the feet this allows the bacteria to enter; then we have infection. Other causes are anything that breaks the skin then allows the bacteria to move in. It's very important to keep those cages disinfected and extremely clean at all times.

What does it look like?

The "bumbles" that grow are keratinized tissue that looks like an overgrowth of skin or basically a huge lump. These lumps will bleed off and on. This intermittent bleeding can cause anemia, a dangerous thing for a rat. When you see these bumbles you may think they are tumors but actually they are closed abscesses. If this infection is left untreated eventually it will spread to bone and/or the blood stream. If this happens then it can lead to fatal infection.

What to do about it.

Surgery is not a practical solution because these "bumbles" can bleed too heavily and may cause the rat to bleed to death. I have tried many combinations of treatments prescribed by veterinarians; even their own text- books do not provide cures for this disease. Steroids don't work, anti fungal creams and triple anti biotic creams will not work.

I have found one topical treatment that works but you need to consult your veterinarian so that he/she can provide systemic antibiotics to be used in conjunction with topical treatment.

Your first step when you begin treatment is to throw out the bedding in the cage. Old towels that can be changed daily are an excellent bedding substitute while the rat is being treated.

Get the rat on the systemic antibiotics prescribed by a vet.

The next step is to find the generic chlorhexidine or the brand name Nolvasan solution, you need to have it to flush these bumbles daily. This is an antiseptic/disinfectant. It's a very necessary component for the treatment. If you cannot find this at a feed store or through a catalog, your veterinarian can provide this for you. In my opinion, it's best to buy your own bottle of this because you can not only flush the feet with it, but you can use it to disinfect the cage everyday too when you change the towels that are your new bedding material. It is a concentrated product that you mix yourself at one ounce to one gallon of distilled water. There is no prescription needed for this, but it can be a little hard to find.

Next you need a product called Dr. Naylor's Blu-Kote. This is a farm animal topical treatment for skin infections. There is a similar product called Blue Lotion that is not the same thing and does not work. It must be the Blu-Kote. I have found Blu-Kote in farm animal catalogs, but you may be able to find this in a farm animal feed store. There is no prescription required for this product either, in the USA.

Finally what to do with all these products. Have your rat on the antibiotics prescribed by your vet and flush the feet at least twice a day with the chlorhexidine/Nolvasan antiseptic. Then once a day spray the Blu-Kote directly onto the bumbles. Using it more than once a day will cause too much irritation to the skin. Change the bedding daily and wipe down the cage with the chlorhexidine. It may take up to two months for this to work but you should begin to see some results after two weeks. The bumbles should begin to shrink and their bleeding should begin to occur much less often.
It seems that the combination of all of these steps is what will do the trick to rid your rat of this affliction. Leaving out any of the steps may cause your efforts to fail.

Written by Jan McArthur, R.V.T.

References:

The Biology and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents

By John E. Harkness and Joseph E. Wagner