Jasper's Periodic Toe Tapping

[katie_fleming]

I recorded Jasper's periodic toe tapping tonight and uploaded a zip file with it here: http://katiefleming.ca/jasper.zip

It seems to happen every few weeks and will last a few hours then the next day gone.

I'm slightly convinced it's humidity related but not totally sure. My apartment is super dry so I bought a small humidifier awhile ago, but I don't think it has done much. I just bought a larger one tonight (one that can run 24 hours instead of 4 hours) so I hope that helps.

I don't have a humidity meter but I ordered one so it should be here in a week or two. Now that I have a big one I won't know what the humidity was at, but maybe I can try to keep an eye on it...

Other than that I'm at a loss really.

 

[labell]

TT/WF is almost always diet related. I do believe living in such a cold climate and having to have the heat on for so many months out of the year that humidity could be an issue with the dryness and flaking you mentioned but honestly I would be combating that with more baths per week and no blow drying.

As a asthmatic I have looked into humidifiers and I am not convinced that after running for a while that you might not be inviting mold spores and issues from too much moisture in the air.

Do you feed corn often? For whatever reason there are eclectus that become very sensitive to it and will toe tap. I really believe it will come down to taking his diet apart and really looking at what you are giving him daily and then doing an elimination diet to find the cause.

 

[katie_fleming]

Trying to think what he gets often... his breakfast is the same one week then I try to change it, and I rotate between 2-3 dinners.....

Here's what he has every day from those off hand: corn, bell peppers.

Each night when we do our training he gets a few sunflower seeds (I break them in half), and slivers of almonds (broken into small pieces).

 

[labell]

Trying to think what he gets often... his breakfast is the same one week then I try to change it, and I rotate between 2-3 dinners.....

Here's what he has every day from those off hand: corn, bell peppers.

Each night when we do our training he gets a few sunflower seeds (I break them in half), and slivers of almonds (broken into small pieces).

Okay my advise it to cut out the corn completely for at least a week or more and see if the TT goes away. They have not come up with a solid answer in all the research I have read and personal stories of other eclectus owners but some do not process corn well even organic for whatever reason and most times once the corn is eliminated the TT/WF goes away. Keep us posted, I will be hoping this goes away soon for poor Jasper, it has to be very frustrating for them!

 

[peeko.the.eclectus]

I noticed in your thread with the video of all the foods he eat that you give him pasta. It could be possible that the pasta is enriched and is providing too much vitamins. Also I've read that a lack of calcium can sometimes cause toe tapping and wing flipping. When Peeko was wing flipping I got rid of all pellets, but also provided a cuttle bone and the wing flipping stopped.

 

[Anansi]

Broccoli is good for calcium. As is crushed egg shell.

Laura's suggestion about the corn is right on the money. That's a great idea. I'd just suggest cutting it for longer than a week, since you mentioned that this only occurs every few weeks. One week might not cut it. You might even have to do a month or so to be sure. If the problem doesn't return at the next 3 or so week interval, you know you've found at least part of the root cause.

 

[Birdman666]

Agreed. Humidity is barking up the wrong tree. These are diet sensitive birds, and toe tapping is a diet related disorder.

Too much vitamin supplements at once will cause it. (i.e. the kind they generally put in pellets) Spirolina as an ingredient will cause it. Not enough calcium can cause it. And vitamin imbalances can cause it - i.e. too much of one, not enough of another.

Start with adding calcium, because not enough calcium in the diet ALONE can cause it.

 

[katie_fleming]

Appreciate everyone's input, thank you! This morning Jasper's toe tapping was gone again, like usual.

Regarding broccoli/egg shells for calcium, he seems to eat broccoli 50% of the time, and enjoys a hard boiled egg each weekend. I put broccoli in his breakfast every other week, and it's in one or two of his dinners if I remember correctly...

I will pick out the corn from his dinners for the next 3 weeks (it's in all of them) and I'll make sure I don't have any in his breakfast.

I don't feed him pellets at all anymore, been a couple months since he had any. After I read more about Harrison's I decided to cut it out completely.

Thanks very much!