# Question about new cockatiel with Big Eyes!



## spike09 (Dec 31, 2009)

Hello,

I just posted this question as a response to someone's original post so I'm sorry if this is a duplicate. I should have started a new post to begin with.

We just purchased our second cockatiel. We brought our first one, Spike, into the pet store she was purchased from for a trim and fell in love with a little cockatiel sitting in the cage by himself. The store worker told me he has big eyes, and when I saw him I was shocked how big they were. He is SO cute he ended up coming home with us. We were planning to get a second cockatiel anyway so it worked out well.

Anyway, now that I have a closer look at his eyes I'm realizing it's not just the eye that's big, its the lid around it. I did some searching on this site and I found some wonderful information from SR Tiels and I'm a little concerned. I'm posting some pics so you can see his eyes. I'm a little upset with the pet store, I specifically asked if the eyes were a problem or just that the bird has big eyes and she said it wasn't a problem, just big eyes. He has already spent the night with us so I hate the idea of bringing him back now but if this is a serious genetic defect that will lead to problems I'm not sure if we should keep him.

What do you think? Thanks for reading.


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## Hemlock (Aug 1, 2010)

If it were me.. it would really depend. I would talk to the store manager, tell them that you're concerned about the eyes, and would like him to see a vet. It's getting rather rare, now, but sometime the stores have health policies that if the animal gets sick they'll cover the vet fees.

The other thing is, if you've fallen in love with him, take him to the vet and let them decide if this is going to cause physical problems. It may be that he just needs eyedrops for the rest of his life so that he can keep his eyes adequately wet. I don't know anything about the problem you've researched, but I think it would be worth giving the guy a bit of a chance if you can afford to. 

Is it something that with early medical treatment it can be managed?

For example, I purchased Littlefoot long before he was ready to come home and long before his eye injury. In the end, he'll keep his eye, but he'll be on eye drops for the rest of his life - most likely.

Birds have a wonderful ability to adapt, particularly when it comes to their eyes.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Them sad puppy eyes i call them  just like in a cartoons bless


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