# Maxwell our special needs tiel



## Tielzilla (Mar 31, 2009)

WE got him from a terrible, terrible pet store on June 14--There was a large aviary with budgies & tiels together..I noticed a movement in the shavings on the floor..it was a little tiel scrabbling toward the ladder..He had practically no tail and looked very beat up..as he scrabbled upwards several budgies came after him..I started screaming for the clerk..She said he gets along..then he finally made it up the ladder and got attacked by two more budgies and a tiel..at that point I started screaming..Dub came running & said let's get him out of there..WE took him to the front and noticed then that his one foot was messed up...I asked the manger why he wasn't separated & she said "survival of the fittest" I t hought my husband was going to jump over the counter & kill her..we kept quiet..we just wanted to get him out of there..When we got him home we noticed his other foot is bad too..according to the vet his right leg is totally paralyzed..he cannot use his left foot and he is missing one toe...He can sort of walk on his right elbow & uses his wing for balance..We have a large rodent cage for him.not that he is ever in it..he spends his days on Sam's cage top..happy as a lark..& sing, does he wing..and he flies..he just cannot land as he is so horribly crippled..the vet suggested amputation but we are resisting that notion..for now, he is happy & well adjusted & just the light of our lives. & he doesnt have to scrabble for food anymore...[URL="







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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Oh my goodness!!! How could they do that to this poor little angel? Thank you so much for saving his life! Those people should be reported!!!


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## morla (Aug 15, 2011)

Stupid manager! Who would do such a thing!


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## geenz (Apr 4, 2011)

Oh my gosh that poor little fella  I don't know how they could stand to see him get treated like that and just leave him there. You've done a wonderful thing taking him in, he looks very happy


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

it is very heart warming to hear you took him in. that store is horrid


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## punk4life2882 (Aug 29, 2011)

*Spike has a "bum" foot too.*

My cockatiel Spike has what i call a "bum" foot. We are not sure what happened but the vet thinks that he got his foot stuck in his cage somehow. Anyways, a scab formed and cut off the circulation to the foot and now his toes are pointing up and he walks on the joint right above foot. The vet said as long as he still had some blood flow to the toes he would not have to amputate it. This has been several years ago and he can do anything any other cockatiel can do (well not hang up side down or anything like that). He has a normal cage and he climbs all over it and walks around (with a limp which is actually really cute haha). Best of luck!!
You can see what i am talking about in this photo:
<a href="http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d60/punk4life2882/Spike/?action=view&current=IMG_00782.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d60/punk4life2882/Spike/IMG_00782.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


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## Jessica E (Aug 4, 2010)

Good thing for that little guy you were there when you were. People in pet stores make me mad sometimes, they don't care what happens as long as they get paid. You definatly did a great thing saving him.


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## AMSD (Nov 2, 2010)

This story brought tears to my eyes! That is so disgusting but I'm glad it has a happy ending. That store should be reported.

Thank you for saving him  He looks so happy!
He is beautiful.


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

I totally agree this horrible pet store needs to be reported ASAP

He sure is adorable


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## Tielzilla (Mar 31, 2009)

thanks for all the kind replies...both myself and the vet reported the store..(the vet has reported it several times)..but no one much cares about birds here...more for dogs and cats...the vet actually vets the birds at the store and had previously given antibiotics and recommended that he be separated...(2 weeks before)..but he says they rarely do anything so the vet does what he can...We used to go to that pet store all the time for food as it is a lot cheaper there but we will never set foot in it again...we never noticed anything like that on previous visits...on the surface it all looks good...but when I saw the budgies & tiels together it made me nervous and then I saw the little one scrabbling on the bottom....He literally had peck marks all over him...Now our budgie Baby Boy Blue goes after him once in a while (BN aby Boy Blue is only out of his cage three times a day for an hour at a time because the tiels hate his guts & it creates complete chaos in here) but we are always there and we make Baby Boy Blue go elsewhere...Maxwell seems to know that and he never reacts badly..he knows we are going to be there to defend him against Baby Boy Blue...he is totally in love with my big loggerhead Princess Mitch...She is twice his size...131 grams of pure beauty and you should hear him sing for her...I love this little guy to pieces..


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## Storm (Aug 29, 2011)

It's really great that you came along to save this tiel from that pet-shop. I really don't know why these people haven't had their shop closed down. 

But your tiel really found a wonderful home, I think he couldn't have found more fantastic owners !. And despite the foot he's still looking great !


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## Annie (Nov 20, 2009)

Awwww, you were Maxwell's knights in shining armour and he sure is a lucky fella!

Yeah I'm all for reporting that pet store but it sounds like it's not doing much. Maybe we need to approach this with a new strategy. You said that people in that area care more about cats and dogs than birds. In that case, maybe you guys should sneak back into that store again and try to find faults with the way they are housing their cats and dogs (is the drinking water dirty? is the cat litter clean?). If they are neglecting the birds, most likely they are also neglecting other animals on the whole. Take pictures and video clips with your phone or something then post them on YouTube with big headline "Animals Abused in Pet Store!!!". This seems to be the way to go nowadays---put it on YouTube for the whole world to see and the whole world will gasp and side with you!  Then you can sneak in your story about Maxwell being locked in a prison full of bullies and is now suffering from long-term disabilities. Pet stores like that should not be allowed to exist. Imagine being locked in a cage with people who beat you up everyday. Breaks my heart to think about it. As tiel owners and lovers we have a responsibility to prevent cruelty against tiels everywhere!


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## Sar (Sep 22, 2010)

'Survival of the fittest'? That manager is an idiot 

Bless you for rescuing that darling little tiel from a horrible short life.

I hope you can do something about that pet shop - do let us know if you want us to make comments on a blog or you tube about them xx


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## Shotoetoe (May 1, 2011)

That's just horrible, but sadly it's not too uncommon 
'Cheaper' animals are often treated poorly in petshops, and there's very little to be done about it. I for one would never shop in such a crappy shop again.

He's really lucky to have been saved by you and gets the love he deserves! :blush:


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## Archie.n.Emilio (Aug 11, 2011)

Your story made me very happy - in a teary kind of way  He's so handsome!

I noticed you said teils and budgies shouldn't be kept together - the birdstore i go to i believe has them together - they have lots of large cages but i'm sure i recall some budgies and cockatiels in the same cage. I never thought anything of it as these storeowners love their birds to bits. Why can't they be kept together or have i misread something?


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## Shotoetoe (May 1, 2011)

Because cockatiels are pretty gentle birds and budgies are far from :blush:
It odd when you think about it, but generally budgies will bully the heck out of a timid cockatiel, and they usually go for the feet. They can cause huge injuries.

Generally it's not a good idea to keep them together, especially not without supervision. Of course, as with all things, you might as well get some who get along.


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## Em&Me (Jul 31, 2011)

What a sweet story, he is very lucky to have had his own angels come rescue him from his prison  he is a beautiful baby, it is so hard to think that we are the same species as some people like the pet shop owners, who could ever have a heart as dark and cold as to be able to just sit there and watch them suffer like that, and all for stupid things like money  im so glad he is doing better, he is so beautiful!and sounds like quite the singer


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## chloe92us (Jul 12, 2011)

AAWAWAWWWWWW!! That's such a wonderful rescue story! Bless you.


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