Weak Feet

[Jeepnman]

We have a one year old female SI Eclectus. She has been fine until Monday. Her feet seem to have become week. She will no longer hold food with her foot and kind of holds on to the side of the cage with one foot on the perch and one on the cage. My wife thinks she just may be sore since my kids played with her outside and let her walk around a lot on Sunday. She doesn't get to walk around on the ground a lot, so I thought maybe this could be the case. We feed her a variety of foods (sprouts everyday, corn, baby carrots, grapes, beans, occasional almonds and peanuts, some pellets a few times a week.) I have several different size perches for her in her cage. She is still eating, vocalizing, and pooping fine. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[labell]

Having at one time lived in SC I know it can get very hot there is it possible she burned her feet or possibly got bit by a bug?

 

[Jeepnman]

I've checked her feet and can't seem to physically find anything wrong. It does get hot but it was only in the 80s and she was walking around on the grass.

 

[labell]

I would keep a close eye on it and if you don't see any improvement or it gets worse I would take her into the vet.

At first I thought this thread would be about foot strength in general. Most folks are surprised by the difference in eclectus to other species of parrots. Eclectus don't hold things, food and toys to the extent that other birds do and they typically can't grip as hard on you or a perch which is why slick wood perches don't work with them.

 

[Anansi]

I agree with Laura. Unless it improves you should take her to an avian vet. Weakness in the feet can be indicative of any number of things.

I had a cockatiel who developed weakness in his feet at 18 years old. I'd thought initially that he was just starting to show some signs of aging, but turns out it was the first sign of kidney disease. The inflammation of his kidneys had caused them to swell, pinching the nerves between them that led to his feet. Thus, the loss of grip strength.

Hopefully it's not anything so serious, but sometimes time can be of the essence. So just don't wait too long if it doesn't improve, okay?

 

[Jeepnman]

She seemed a little better last night, moving around a lot more and even stepped up for my wife who she hasn't really bonded to. She still seems like she has a weak grip, but was excited to climb off her perch and come eat this morning. I will continue to monitor her and if it gets worse, we will be making a trip to the vet.

 

[Jeepnman]

Just an update. Bella is back to normal. She is even holding food with one foot now. I guess she must have just been sore from all the activity.

 

[Anansi]

Great! I'm so glad she's better, now.

 

[katie_fleming]

Glad to hear Bella is ok!