Parrotlet Toe Wound

[Lorenzini]

Hey, I have a 5-month-old parrotlet, who has a somewhat severe wound on his front-left inner toe. I have a Yellow-Naped amazon who sometimes climbs on his cage when we are not home, and I came into the house and noticed my parrotlet bleeding profusely. He was trying to rip the skin off of the wound when I found him.

I cleaned the wound with water and a paper towel, and applied flour to slow the bleeding. I read that collars are really the only way to go with foot wounds, as he won't stop picking at it, and making it worse, and I can't restrain him 24-hours a day until it heals. Ointments and bandages don't work, because he will rip those off too. The vet is not open today, and tomorrow is Memorial day, so I will not be able to get local assistance for two more days. Even then, I have no idea how soon I can get him into the vet.

Can anyone offer any advice until then?

Thank you very much.

Loren

[Conure & Macaw Mom]

If he won't leave it alone & keeps making it bleed, an emerg vet is probably the best way to go. Their probably the only place that will be open right now. They should have a collar they can put on him & then bandage it up. If not, it will probably only get worse. Crystal

[Winged_Victory]

Wash the wound in betadine and apply an aloe vera cream, it is non-toxic. Toe and foot wounds can become infected easily. Keep the wound clean and his perches clean as possible. You can make a temporary collar out of a piece of black pvc pipe insulation, maybe I can find a link and send it to you.

[Winged_Victory]

Here is a link to give you an idea about a temporary collar. You will have to make the pvc collar longer than the one shown here. If you use the pvc collar make sure the bird can eat and drink using it. I hope you have luck finding an emergency vet.

ParrotChronicles.com

[Monica]

I've had a similar incident happen (where I believe the culprit was my cherry head conure) with one of the budgies here... I couldn't get to a store to get supplies for a temporary collar so I used a yogurt lid instead... which worked and I only needed to use it for a little over 24 hours before the budgie stopped picking at it...



Kept it clean and she's fine now... however more recently I've had 3 budgies with toe injuries and not entirely sure who's biting whom... They aren't picking at their toes (at least not that I can see) however they've been a pain to try and keep up with.

Generally speaking, as long as the toe is kept clean, toe or foot injuries aren't really that bad (in the long run).