guinea pig has swollen foot but no sore

Question
My daughter's piggie has a swollen left hind foot at the rear portion of her  foot.  She is reluctant to put weight on it.  I spoke with the vet and she suggested what to look for and to soak it.  I did that however there is no open sore. I can't figure out that she injured it in her cage.  She has soft bedding that is changed every week and cleaned periodically to skim out poop.  Any ideas?

Answer
Hello Kristi,

I'm assuming you give her timothy hay that she needs to be healthy? If so, it could be an infected hay poke. You wouldn't neccessarily be able to see the injury but it is most likely there. It's likely early bumblefoot (Pododermatitis). I advise taking her into the vet so he can check the foot out thoroughly and possibly get her on antibiotics. Feet injuries (even minor ones like hey pokes) can be particularly dangerous because of the high possiblity of infection and it is best to have them checked out. Good luck.

Note: While pododermatitis is generally associated with wire bottom cages and dirty cages, this is not always the case and it doesn't mean you've done anything wrong or not cleaned her cage enough, it just means she got an injury that got infected.

-kkat
http://www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs