Amazon with a weird "tick"...please help

[kateBird]

okay, this is about Zeba, a 13yr old DYH amazon that i am fostering. I believe he is male.

today, i noticed that he has a weird "tick". he will sometimes shake his head a little and at the same time slightly part both wings away from his body. he does this sometimes 5 seconds apart for a few times. is this some kind of seizure?

i find that when i look at him directly he does this more often, but he could still be doing this when im out of the room. i really dont know and im getting worried that this is some kind of neurological problem, some kind of symptom of a disease or just plan weird hormonal behavior?

i have been trying to do some research online on this, but i dont even know where to start. ive looked up vitamin A deficiency, sun deficency, pdd (*gasp*), psittacosis...but zeba shows no respiratory distress, no feather problems, no plucking problems.. he eats well, poops pretty good - he has the occasional wet poop, but i do feed some wet fresh food sometimes. most of the poop is well formed.

the only thing that seems very odd to me is this "tick" he has. he shakes his head slightly like something was bothering him a little and lifts both wings just slightly away from his body. he doesn't open up the wings, just keeps them folded but lifts them about an inch or less from his body.

he walks okay, perches normal, moves around his cage fine. could this be some kind of hormonal display of some kind? zeba seems to like me a lot (has not regurgitated for me yet, but tries to get very close to me and he wiped his head and face on my leg). once or twice while doing this little "tick", he stood on one leg and then lowered it and slowly walked right up near my face and pushed his beak to my lips. ive never been on the receiving end of amazon courtship so this is also fairly new to me and i am trying to curb this kind of behavior.

since this is through a rescue organization, i have already passed along my concerns and the symptoms zeba shows and i am still awaiting an answer. if there is anyone here that has seen this kind of behavior before and can shed some light on this, please share your info.

thank you,

kate

[kensbuns]

Sounds like begging to me. My U2 will do that when she wants me to come rescue her for some loving. And it is that time of year for the amazons. I have 2 males.

[Isaac Miller]

hmmm kensbuns may be right or another possibility is, it is nervous due to prior abuse that you may in fact abuse it. All I can suggest is offer him a peanut or three whenever he does it and he might get cured of it or you will notice something else as the cause because as Im sure you know Zons are notiously quirky so it just may be one of his quirks.

[Vega]

it is nervous due to prior abuse that you may in fact abuse it.

I think Isaac means that the 'zon is worried you might abuse him too--talk softly to him and make sure you move slowly until he adjusts. Offer him treats like various nuts or fruit or veggies. But if it doesn't subside in a day or so I'd suggest a trip to the vet to put your mind at ease!

[kateBird]

i am sooooooooo hoping you both are right and its not some kind of BAD thing.

i wanted to expand on my observations from his movements last night. his head shake is something like what a bird does when it tries to relieve stress - when they do that full body shake-out. but its just the head and its slight...so its not a head-bob type of movement (the up and down thing). and the wing movement is quick he slightly raises both wings (still folded) and brings them back to his body really quick.

the only "WORST" cause i could find is lead/zinc toxicity, which freaks me out. i took out the toy that i think might be a cause of this, IF this is what he might have.

i looked in on him this morning and he seemed fine - a little more upset that i woke him up so early. :-/ he didn't do any of those movements, he was perched on one foot and when he came to greet me, he moved normally and without problems.

what i am now thinking it could be, is sleep deprivation. when he was doing his "tick" it looked like he was trying to keep his eyes open to play with me. this guy still needs to be in quarantine, so he has been placed in our bedroom the last 2 weeks. we have a second bedroom, but because of the freakishly cold weather the last few weeks, that room feels more like a freezer. and i have been keeping a night light on, thinking that might make him feel more comfortable, and then we come in the room later at night to go to bed, and my husband sometimes goes to the bathroom in our room at night.

so what im going to do is unplug the night light, cover his cage up when he goes to bed, and have hubby go to the bathroom down the hall at night. i may even put him to bed a little earlier. he goes to bed now at 8 - 8:30pm. so maybe around 7:30pm.

if his "tick movement" becomes more frequent or worse in the next day or 2, i'll rush him over to the vet. *hoping its nothing serious*

thanks you two for your ideas! i REALLY appreciate it. :)

edit: thanks vega! actually zeba has been such a DOLL. he does try to attack my husband (we're working on that) but he allows me to scratch his head and touch his toes. he still doesn't allow me to have him step up on to me (and he is absolutely afraid of wooden sticks - he was abused by a broom!) but he is very gentle with him and he has even preened my hair (im not a user of hair sprays, gels, etc...just an all natural shampoo i got from trader joes). i am truely amazed how in just two weeks that zeba has come to trust me so much after having a hard life from what i hear). goes to show the strength of the amazon species. i just love 'um!

but yes, if he continues this weird "tick" movement during the next day or two, it is off to the vet!

[Isaac Miller]

kate go buy some of those moving blankets otherwise it will not get dark enough for him to be comfortable. Especially while quarantine is in effect you want to make him sleep a little bit longer than the other birds till he seems completely settled and calm. What Ive noticed with zons is with a little extra sleep they settle much quicker

[kensbuns]

A Good old fashioned black sheet is cheaper and works great!!

[Isaac Miller]

Originally Posted by kensbuns

A Good old fashioned black sheet is cheaper and works great!!

it is cheaper but the thing is it still might allow ambient light and for a dollar or so more its not that big a deal to get the moving blankets

[kateBird]

thanks to both of you! i will see what i can find. it sure settles my nerves to post here and get some good feedback. :)