# life after 4 toes amputation



## barry1946 (Nov 30, 2013)

Hi:
my dear Cockatiel lamlam, has a bad injury on his left foot with a few bleeding an a massive damage to the nerves and vessels the way he could not move a single toe.
after many treatments the toes necrosis started and the vet had to amputate the two big toes completely and the two small ones from the middle yesterday.
generally he is doing good and the next morning he is super active! but I wonder how will his life be after the bandages are opened and he has to use the foot without the fingers.
any recommendation or guideline will be appreciated.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I'm sorry your tiel had to go through that but I'm glad he's doing okay. I think quite a few members have tiels with missing toes and hopefully they can better answer. You can try platform perches and see how he does with rope perches. I think I would move everything in his cage lower to the ground to see how he adapts. I think you'll little guy will do fine.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

There's a Senegal named Knuckles on another forum I know who has no toes at all. They have a smaller cage (so he won't injure himself if he falls) set up with lots of platforms and thick ropes. I suggest giving at least one platform wrapped in fleece (you may need extra fleece covers so you can switch them out while washing the others).


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

If I understand correctly he still has one front and one back toe on each foot. he should do ok with perches that are easy to grip. As suggested above platform perches are a good idea.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

No, one foot has all toes, the other foot has none.


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

bjknight93 said:


> No, one foot has all toes, the other foot has none.


Oh ok, thanks... I missed the left foot part.


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## catalinadee (Jan 1, 2011)

A smaller cage with plenty of platforms and low feeding/drinking stations would work well for him. Something soft on the bottom, such as towels, would also be good. That way you can just take them out and wash them whenever they're needed  He should be able to get around okay still providing that he is able to fly. If he's clipped, now would be a very good time to let him grow his flights out. Good luck, hope he has a speedy recovery


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## barry1946 (Nov 30, 2013)

thank you all great guys.
he can fly very well but I am afraid of the landing , since he used to use the both feet to land.
today I am taking him to the vet for the first check after the surgery and hope that no necrosis or infection would be seen on the foot.
about life style , do I have to change anything?
he is not interested in toys and loves home exploring(which is very dangerous while it is not under the owner's observation).
I mean how he will deal with the situation , will there be a period of depression or sth?


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## barry1946 (Nov 30, 2013)

guys after 5 days passing since the surgery, everyday we have to open up the bandage and renew the topical phenytoin which helps to wounds to heal but the wounds are still black. I do not know if it is the same necrosis happening or the wounds natural situation after the surgery.
the vet says it needs some time to figure out.
does anybody here knows about the wounds healing process after the toe amputation?


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## rpo (Mar 8, 2011)

barry1946 said:


> guys after 5 days p***ing since the surgery, everyday we have to open up the bandage and renew the topical phenytoin which helps to wounds to heal but the wounds are still black. I do not know if it is the same necrosis happening or the wounds natural situation after the surgery.
> the vet says it needs some time to figure out.
> does anybody here knows about the wounds healing process after the toe amputation?


I would take your tiel back to the vet just to be safe. My tiel had one toe amputated a couple months ago, and after two weeks everything looked pink and healthy when the bandage was removed and she had had a day to clean it up. Black wounds are not good unless it is just remnants of dried blood on the surface. Please let us know how your tiel is doing.


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## barry1946 (Nov 30, 2013)

the surgery was done in 13/12/2013(friday noon)the black area is not increasing . the vet said to wait a couple of days .
my tiel is silent and all the time silent and very weak .
he also has liver problem , his recovery from anaesthesia took five hours instead of usual 1 hour(as the vet said), so maybe the liver is a cause of late recovery.
everyday we open up the bandage and renew the phenytoin topical cream and it gives him a lot of stress.
RPO ! please tell me how was your tiel within these two weeks? happy and active or just upset?
I m really afraid he loses the rest of the foot even the waist!!!


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## rpo (Mar 8, 2011)

She was active immediately after waking up from surgery, but obviously losing all four toes would be more difficult. She spent most of every waking hour trying to tear the bandage off. We never were advised to remove the bandage, so it stayed on for two weeks before being removed. She was given antibiotics and pain medication for about 10 days. Is your tiel on any meds?

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk


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## barry1946 (Nov 30, 2013)

before the surgery he received antibiotics(clyn***icin) by injection five times and before that Cephalexin syrup for two or three days. but now no pain killers or antibiotic . his vet said to give him Asperin (in his water) for a week.
may I know the pain killer and antibiotic you used for him?
I also want to stop opening up and renewing the bandage for the coming days to reduce his stress! because right after this job he is very stressful and upset and about an hour after this action he seems a little better.
there is a scar on the foot that he tries to pull it with the beak so we have to keep the bandage otherwise the vet said the scar would heal faster if it is exposed to the air.
I would appreciate if you share your idea and experince.
thanks


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## barry1946 (Nov 30, 2013)

lamlam has started to beak the whole foot!!!
He seems to be in pain


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Oh no. I'm sorry. Can you contact your vet and get him pain meds?


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## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

I'm so sorry about your little guy, I hope he gets better soon


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## barry1946 (Nov 30, 2013)

the doctor told me to use Aspirin or CLOMIPRAMINE.
I tried Aspirin and he feels better with that.
I do not know how long does it take for the pain to ease, his surgery was done a week ago !
and can you name some pain killer for this issue?


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## barry1946 (Nov 30, 2013)

Lamlam today fell to the floor from a 1 meter height although he fell on the carpet but he wounded his chest with a 5 millimeter scar I took him to the vet urgently and he Stitched it so fast and now he is doing good the vet said that within 3 to 4 days the wound would be healed .
if I would have let the wound open without the Stitch it would be and old one and could not be cured.
lamlam is has had a chain of bad luck within the previous month.
the food is not completely healed but the vet said that there is no need for further actions and by the time the black area will be gone.
take care of your sweet cockatiels with their diet and their environment and their perch and the cold and bigger birds and the fans on the ceiling and enough vitamin and ....
so many issues we need to care about for a healthy and happy cockatiel .


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## Herbie's Mum (Apr 30, 2012)

It must be very traumatic caring for your poorly tiel. Having read all the messages here I am a little concerned the vet advised aspirin as a pain killer. I'm not an expert but cockatiels can bleed a lot from small wounds and aspirin being a blood thinner, I wouldn't have thought it was a good idea. Of course aspirin may have a different affect on tiels to humans.
It's such a shame your bird needs the bandages changed so often causing stress as I have always found that the best thing for recuperation of a bird is peace and quiet and lots of rest.
I'm not an expert though, it's just my experience of them.
I wish you all the best, and hope your boy gets well soon.


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

barry1946 said:


> take care of your sweet cockatiels with their diet and their environment and their perch and the cold and bigger birds and the fans on the ceiling and enough vitamin and ....
> so many issues we need to care about for a healthy and happy cockatiel .


Amen. Threads like this remind me that I need to be grateful that my tiels have been impeccably healthy their entire lives and that I should complain less about how they're ill-tempered sociopaths


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