About Dr. Brian Speer, DVM
Avian veterinarian Dr. Brian Speer was raised in a small town on California's coast. He received his BS in Biology…
Ask An Expert: Dr. Brian Speer, DVM
Browse by category: Parrot Care, Behaviour and Training, Conservation, Ethics and Welfare, Housing and Environmental Enrichment, General, Health and Nutrition
My question: Is it possible to eradicate gape worm in cockatiels? Every so often I notice my birds stretch their necks and shake their heads with their beak open. My avian vet applies a wormer which prevents this happening for 6-7 months and then I notice this occur again.
Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:
Syngamus trachea infestation (gape worm) would be a pretty uncommon diagnosis in such a small bird species. Simply considering the overall size of the parasite and the comparatively narrow tracheal size of the host. I would suggest that you ask your veterinarian to re-confirm this diagnosis in your bird as a first step, and then, if the parasite is confirmed via tracheal endoscopy or other modalities, have the environment and intermediate hosts of the parasite completely and effectively removed.filed under: Health and Nutrition
We have a 2 year old Galah cockatoo who is playful. The other day he had an accident – we have an electric oven and he one of the rings had not cooled
down and he walked over it (there is glass above the ring). He seems to be OK but a little subdued and has a small sore on his left foot. Is there
anything you recommend we do, does he need to see a vet in case of infection? He is weight-bearing on his other foot. I feel terrible about this as I am normally extremely careful around the home with him.
Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:
When there are concerns about the health and welfare of your bird, a proper physical examination by a veterinarian is appropriate, and I certainly recommend it for your bird if there are problems here.filed under: Health and Nutrition
We have a female African Grey approximately 30 years old and until recently been in good health. Our avian vet. found cloaca papiloms which were
successfully removed with silver nitrate. Upon recheck they had returned. A more complex surgery was rejected as a treatment due to age and possibility
of recurrence. We have tried Acyclovir with limited success. We are looking for any other reasonable treatment but have not found any. Any possible
treatments that have a possibility of success that we should investigate would be greatly appreciated.
Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:
Overall, infectious papillomatous disease is comparatively quite rare in the grey parrot. My first recommendations would be to ask your attending veterinarian about the specific manner in which this diagnosis has been confirmed. Proper diagnosis requires biopsy with correlating histopathology. There is a facial papillomavirus infection reported in grey parrots, and there has been one grey parrot reported to be infected with Psittacid herpesvirus, but this bird did not have cloacal papillomas as has been seen in South American species of parrots. Acyclovir has been used in active herpesviral infections to help stop viral replication, but this drug has not been shown to have merit in the treatment of papillomatous disease associated with Psittacid herpesviral infections. Other considerations you may have to keep in mind here could include mechanically induced cloacal inflammation, bacterial cloacitis, or cloacal carcinoma. A carefully selected and diagnostic biopsy will get you quite far towards accurate diagnosis, with potentially an aerobic culture sample from the biopsy site. Once diagnosis is clarified, treatment should become much more straightforward.filed under: Health and Nutrition
Dear Sir, I would be very much obliged if you kindly go through the contents of my letter and advise me the medical course to be followed.
We are three in my family based in Bhopal, MP and about five years back my daughter brought one baby bird (parrot)and since then we have been so fond of parrot that in todays condition it is really unbelievable that we cannot live without parrot with us.
Today we have four parrots and two love birds in our fault and they all remain open out of their cage and their presence at all places in my small flat is felt. Things so far was very very enjoyable for us. About 15 days back we have added one more baby bird (parrot)who is hardly 25 / 27 days old and feathers have just started appearing all around body. We were taking extreme care for his growth, but one unfortunate incidence which happened on 22.02.08 (6-20 p.m.)has changed the total environment of my family.
The baby bird fell from our hand at an approximate height of 6 ft straight on to the floor and since then he has been struggling. Immediately after the incidence I rushed to a medical centre and based on their advice I gave 1/2 Ciproflox 250 mg and combiflem 1/2 which he vomitted immdiately and the condition of the said bird detoriating. After about one hour we took him to a nearby doctor of a dog and other pet centre where he was administered an injection containing medicines (vetcort .2 ml I/M + Melonex .2 mg I/M). This was the course of medicines that were applied on him on the day of incidence. The doctor said that it needed a life saving drugs that's why this injection was given and if god wants it will regain its normalcy. Next day morning after seeing him struggle for the entire night we again took him to the same doctor who after thoroughly checking the baby bird (parrot) confirmed that there has been several internal injuries in the lower part of its body as it had straight fallen from a height of 6 ft and couldn't take off his weight by opening his wing at the time of fall, otherwise part of his weight could have been absorbed. There has only a few feathers that have so far appeared in his body is in upper part of the body covering his wings which is not enough for flying. There may be several fractures in his neck and the abdominal zones. Doctor applied spray around his body to soothe his pain and also multivitan syrup was given thrice on the next including glucon D and from evening the combination of Ceflixime and ibugesic plus syrup @ 2 drops each are being given three times. It seems he has little improved but in our opinion he is still in danger. We want him back like other days and would be very much thankful if you could advise us the name of medicines that could better work at this moment and the name if there is any doctor available in Bhopal. We are constantly monitoring the situation but unable to do anything more because of non availability of any scope in Bhopal. Meanwhile, in three days besides several vomitting, it had toilet twice, today and yesterday which was full of clotted blood. We cannot measure whether he is still having bleeding inside. Since you are associated with a cause that's simply best so far as we are concerned we feel we must seek your guidance in the matter. Can you really advise me as what I can do right now and the details of medicines that the baby bird needs a t the moment. I am eagerly awaiting your reply in the matter, for which myself and my family would personally remain ever thankful to you and your organization.
Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:
I hope your little bird has continued to recover from its injuries with the supportive care advice that Phoebe G. had provided. Looking back through your description of clinical signs, treatments administered and how this bird was doing, there are concerns that come to my mind but these would be most realistically tempered by the response of this bird to nursing and supportive care. 1/2 of a tablet of Ciprofloxacin would be about 125 mg, which would be the dose typically administered to a 6 kilogram bird, and no parrots are in this large of a weight range. Presuming that this youngster is a typical youngster, that dose should have been considerably higher than optimally desired. When administered in a tablet form, sometimes these products lodge in the esophagus, and cause mechanical irritation, which theoretically could have a role with the continued discomfort in swallowing that you describe with this young chick. I am not familiar with the specific brand names or drug concentrations mentioned (Vetcort and Melonex), and cannot comment on their potential merit or problems. Many products ending with "cort" are cortisone or corticosteriod drugs, which generally are not recommended for use in birds, particularly in youngsters. Sometimes, in an urgent "life saving" situation, however, these types of drugs may be used. Your greatest probability of this chick recovering from a mechanical injury will be through simple supportive care, and not through the use of drugs, overall. Fluid support (administered by gavage or parenterally) is huge in this regard, as is the delivery of good nutrition and warmth. I hope this bird has recovered, and wish you the best. Thanks so much for trying so hard to help this feathered soul.filed under: Health and Nutrition
Hello! I have a female cockatiel who is about 8 years old. Today I noticed that she has an injury near her ceres. It looks like a cut or a scrape. I am concerned that a kitten I am fostering may have scraped her with a nail. I put some hydrogen peroxide and pressure on the injury to disinfect it (I have a small parrot emergency kit and the manual said to do this) Do I need to take her to the vet? How serious is a scrape from a cat? I know cats have a dangerous bacteria in their saliva, is it on their nails too? Please let me know what my options are.
Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:
Any direct or indirect contact with feline saliva and your bird, including feathers-only, should be followed by immediate veterinary physical examination and probably broad spectrum antibacterial treatment. At this point in time, if your bird is alive, you are fortunate and have dodged the bullet this time. Pasturella multocida infection and sepsis is a very very nasty problem when it happens, and I would advise that if there is another event in the future you immediately contact your local veterinarian for assistance.filed under: Health and Nutrition
Hello,My question is,I have a 19year old cockatiel . He is very tame and I sometimes take him with me in the car. Today when I had him in the car he looked a bit unsteady and then started to vomit. He seems to be O.K. now I have him home , but this never happened before. What do you think would
have caused him to vomit, as he was fine before I took him out, should I take him to the vet?
Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:
Car motion sickness can cause regurgitation in parrots. However, your bird is 19 years of age, and I would most definitely recommend a proper physical examination and diagnostic foundational workup if this is not current at present time.filed under: Health and Nutrition
i am from Bucharest/Romania and we don't have well prepared avian vet. i gave a baby african grey. he is 17-18 weeks. i bought him about one month and he is not weaned.now i am trying to wean him. i was to the vet with him for a test bcz his drops are wetly and the avian vet told me to feed him only with mango, apple, kiwi with seeds, baby wet formula, special bread, mix seeds, cow cheese. that's all. without banana or other fruits, without vegi. how is possible? he needs a lot of vegi and fruits. please you can explain me what diet i can give to him? what food he can eat. and please, i beg you advice me what to do bcz i don't know how the feces have to be. i read but i have no idea how is normally to be.
Best regards
Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:
Ideally, a pet parrot should be purchased fully weaned. With this, many of the health risks and behavioral problems that are encountered with the purchase of an unweaned bird can be avoided. Assuming that you are using a wet formula for handfeeding that is commercially manufactured, the same company should have a pelletized product available in your area. The diet you mentioned seems to be quite high in emphasized fruits, whereas we will generally recommend a combination of a commercially manufactured pellet with vegetables as the primary base. Cheese is generally not recommended as a daily portion of most parrot diets. In the absence of available commercially manufactured diets in your country, low-fat content seed mixtures, combined with vegetable material may be a somewhat acceptable base. Young parrot chicks, particularly when not fully weaned, should pass more urine than their adult conterparts. During the weaning process, it is advisable to offer a variety of the food items that we are teaching the bird to eat on a large flat plate, and to forage with the birds while they are exploring their environment and social interactions with you. Afterwards, offer a small amount of handfeeding formula, if the bird desires.filed under: Health and Nutrition
I have an African Grey (3 years old) who I rescued in February of this year. He/She was kept in a plastic box with no toys and no available food. The family were feeding him on pizza, chips and salted nuts. He weighed so much he made your arm ache! He had escaped once from the family and rather than clipping his wings properly they had cut his flight feathers right back to the bottom of the feathers he was a terrible sight with drooped wings. He was extremely frightened of women but we spend a lot of time with him and he is coming round slowly. We now have him in a big cage, he has daily exercise (as he can now fly), plenty of toys etc. He is now a very different shape from the heavey ball he was when he arrived. We feed him on Harrisons which he doesn't eat much of and various fruits (which he eats constantly) and nuts. We have always noticed ever since we have had him he drinks a lot and his droppings are always very runny but there is no blood etc. He is now a very happy bird and plays with men and talks a lot. We have noticed no change in his
behaviour at all. We are worried his previous diet has had an effect on him internally.
Answered by Dr. Brian Speer, DVM:
It sounds like you have done some good things for this bird's life. The clinical signs you describe: Polyuria and polydypsia (increased urinary output and increased water consumption) can be potentially meaningful. When you had your veterinarian examine this bird and run some baseline laboratory values, what was seen? Some hepatic functional and/or renal functional disorders can be seen with these clinical signs, and they also can be seen sometimes for merely behavioral reasons. If diagnosed and treated appropriately in a reasonable timeframe, most conditions associated with causation of polyuria and polydypsea can be managed if not resolved, medically. Your diet should be improved, however. With the still persistent diet containing primarily fruits (lots of simple sugars) and nuts, this bird is being bombarded with excessive energy in its diet, which can and will lead to a myriad of longer term medical problems, including but not limted to obesity, liver problems, cardiovascular disease, some kidney problems, etc. I would suggest that the diet be shifted to a predominately formulated base, with vegetable materials and limited fruits or seed as a general outline. Seed / nuts - if made available, should be used as environmental enrichments and positive reinforcers for additional behaivors, not simply dropped into the bird's food bowl.filed under: Health and Nutrition
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