Feet have been a big topic of discussion lately, with Pelusa’s rescue imminent and the condition of her feet. But she’s not the only one with foot issues.
Lovely Ramba has always had two areas of her feet that we suspected would cause problems later on. Because of this Ramba has received soaks proactively to try and prevent a much larger issues. Ramba has now developed a small hole in one of the nails we have always kept an eye on. Consu and Caro shared photos with us and we’ve given detailed instructions on how to proceed. Each step taken garners more photos and more very specific instructions.
While what shows externally is just a hole towards the bottom of the nail and an issue at her cuticle line, most likely it is all attached with an infection running deep inside of the nail. This is not going to be a new problem, but an issue from decades of being in the circus and living on hard, dirty surfaces, that has been slowly manifesting over the years.
Although not ideal, things could be much worse. It doesn’t seem to cause her discomfort throughout the day, but she’s not keen on having the cuticle area worked on much. We have Caro and Consu taking it slow with any work on it, due to how easily you can compromise the integrity of the nail, the foot and cause extensive amounts of pain. When Ramba arrives at sanctuary we will be more aggressive with her treatment, but this is due to decades of foot work experience and learning the fine line between helping and hurting.
The photo below is sleepy Ramba in the barn in Chile- with the picture in picture of her receiving her herbal foot soak, just one part of her foot care regimen.
RELATED ARTICLE:
Comment(1) 
JanetB. says
August 13, 2020 at 1:18 amTheir was mention of a video clip in the previous article “Ramba’s Feet And How They Relate To Other Captive Elephants” of you all working on Ramba’s feet. I couldn’t find the link for the clip. Could you help by posting it? I’d love to see it.
Subscribe to our Blog
Shop & Support Elephants
Visit our online store and and help spread the word about the need for sanctuary for captive elephants.
Give Through Our Wishlist
Shop and choose a treat or much-needed item for one of the elephants.
Categories
Archives