conure sprained toe (??)

[kimbell]

I think Pico my GCC sprained or dislocated his toe, from what i’ve read. I just discovered the issue and i’m calling the avian vet first thing tomorrow morning. Just wanted to see if anyone has seen anything like this before.
What I know: the foot is not hot to the touch and does not appear swollen or discolored. He is only slightly favoring the other foot, however still using the foot in question to scratch, step up, etc - but you can tell it’s weak. he got irritated when I touched it but did not scream/bite as if he was in lots of pain. He is otherwise acting completely normal. The toe appears twisted and it’s folding over a neighboring toe.
if anyone has any knowledge on what this could be, it would put my mind at a little rest until the morning

 

[EllenD]

I don't see any signs of swelling, bruising, etc., or any open wounds/bleeding, but if he's favoring it he may very well have gotten it stuck in a toy/cage bar, etc. while playing, or while climbing the bars, etc. I don't know why it's staying crossed-over his other toe, if that's a totally new thing for him to do, but it's suspect and something to get checked-out.

Also, that particular toenail is quite long, I doubt that this has much to do with why he's "favoring" it and acting like the toe hurts, but you never know. It's possible the long toenail is getting in the way of him standing on it. Either way, I'd take him to his Avian Vet, get it checked-out, and have them clip his nails while he's there, just to make sure.

 

[kimbell]

Thank you, I was planning on getting the works done for him when I take him in. (nail trimming, general checkup etc)
There is definitely something wrong with the toe but I truly think at this point that it is dislocated. Does it look like this would require surgery to fix?? The vet isn’t available until Monday unfortunately. Since it doesn’t seem to interfere with his behavior at all then I don’t mind waiting but it’s still nerve racking

 

[kimbell]

Also: Upon looking closer in daylight, the toe is slightly purple with bruising. but it’s not much darker than his normal color

 

[EllenD]

It could be dislocated if you see some bruising, 95% of the time with either a fracture or a dislocation there's going to be some bruising and/or swelling. It's a good idea to take him in if you think that's the case, asap, as he'll need a plain-film x-ray to see what's going on.

As far as surgery, it all depends on what is going on, but in a bird so small with such small bones they typically will simply set it and splint/cast it for 4-6 weeks. Hopefully it's not a fracture where they would want to put a pin in it. If it's a dislocated toe, I would think based on the tiny size of their toe bones that they would simply reduce it and splint it...

 

[BoomBoom]

Aww poor Pico! You were right to contact your AV. If there is bruising, it's best to get checked. Good catch! Best of luck and give a scratch to Pico for me.

 

[jeninec11769]

Hi! I know this is years back, but this recently happend to my baby and I’m wondering how ur birby turned out ?
Paulie has now been 1 month in recovery and I’m still having trouble with him