katie_fleming
Active member
Tonight has been an absolute nightmare.
Everything was fine, Jasper was sitting on the door of his cage playing with toys I put out having a great time. One of his favourite toys is a little bell I put on a pear link. He rings it and bashes it around and has lots of fun.
He also likes to undo pear links, particularly the one with the bell on it, and dismantle the toy. He had just undid the link when I was walking by with my dinner so I quickly twisted it back on. I could see he was already starting to undo it when I sat down at my desk to eat.
I put on my show and started to eat. I could hear him playing with the bell like always (he's literally five feet from me) and then all of a sudden I heard frantic wing flapping. I looked over and could see he was in trouble. I ran over and he started screaming. It looked like the pear link was stuck in his beak but I couldn't see well.
He climbed up underneath the door that folds out (where the pear link was attached) and I supported his body with my hands while I tried to see what was wrong. It was then I could see the pear link was THROUGH him somehow.
He flipped up on top of the door and at that moment it looked like the link was in his neck, I really didn't know. He was so frantic. The link was still attached to the cage but I managed to get it unhooked somehow. I don't know how. I thought he was going to die.
When I got it disconnected I then got a good look at what was wrong. Somehow the link had pierced him up under his lower beak (the soft part) and up through his mouth. The bell was also still on the link. He was freaking out like crazy.
I grabbed him around his back and held him up against my chest. With my other hand I grabbed him around his neck (obviously not in the right spot because his head was still going nuts, I've never grabbed him around the neck EVER). I opened his beak slightly to see and he was biting down on my finger. I tried to push the link out but it was stuck.
I grabbed my phone and called the 24 hour vet that I had put in there the day I got him for emergencies. They're 1/2 hour away. The lady said no one there was able to see him, they left at 5. It's a 24 hour vet!! She starts giving me numbers. I'm trying to write them with my opposite hand and control Jasper. He ran off under his cage and I had to go get him. It was horrible.
I brought him to my bedroom and put him on my bed with a blanket as a barrier around him. I did not see any blood so I knew at that point I still had time to get him help. I called my dad to tell him the situation and was trying to get dressed. Jasper had climbed up onto my hand so I was trying to do all of his with one hand.
Suddenly he ran up my shoulder and I heard the bell hit the ground. I looked down expecting to see the bell but the link still in his mouth. By some miracle BOTH the pear link and bell were on the floor. He shook it out somehow, I have no idea how he did it.
Immediately he calmed down. I looked under his beak for signs of blood and tried to get him to open his beak. I didn't see anything underneath but it's hard to tell where he was pierced.
He had some blood in his mouth but after getting a really good look in the bathroom where it's bright I could see the bleeding was from the puncture, but there wasn't anymore blood coming out.
He calmed right down and we cuddled for an hour. He looked exhausted and kept closing his eyes. He took a treat from me and ate it slowly and beak scraped.
He has since eaten dinner, his bedtime snack, had water, beak scraping (happy) and appears to be completely normal.
I'm a wreck. I feel awful and sick. I have no idea how this happened. I have taken pliers and tightened every pear link in his cage as tight as they will go. I suspect it was a combination of bad timing, Jasper playing and lunging at the bell and somehow being at the wrong angle at the worst time.
I really feel like I could have lost him tonight if it had somehow pierced his throat. I am eternally grateful he's still alive but I'm sitting here in tears thinking about everything.
Everything was fine, Jasper was sitting on the door of his cage playing with toys I put out having a great time. One of his favourite toys is a little bell I put on a pear link. He rings it and bashes it around and has lots of fun.
He also likes to undo pear links, particularly the one with the bell on it, and dismantle the toy. He had just undid the link when I was walking by with my dinner so I quickly twisted it back on. I could see he was already starting to undo it when I sat down at my desk to eat.
I put on my show and started to eat. I could hear him playing with the bell like always (he's literally five feet from me) and then all of a sudden I heard frantic wing flapping. I looked over and could see he was in trouble. I ran over and he started screaming. It looked like the pear link was stuck in his beak but I couldn't see well.
He climbed up underneath the door that folds out (where the pear link was attached) and I supported his body with my hands while I tried to see what was wrong. It was then I could see the pear link was THROUGH him somehow.
He flipped up on top of the door and at that moment it looked like the link was in his neck, I really didn't know. He was so frantic. The link was still attached to the cage but I managed to get it unhooked somehow. I don't know how. I thought he was going to die.
When I got it disconnected I then got a good look at what was wrong. Somehow the link had pierced him up under his lower beak (the soft part) and up through his mouth. The bell was also still on the link. He was freaking out like crazy.
I grabbed him around his back and held him up against my chest. With my other hand I grabbed him around his neck (obviously not in the right spot because his head was still going nuts, I've never grabbed him around the neck EVER). I opened his beak slightly to see and he was biting down on my finger. I tried to push the link out but it was stuck.
I grabbed my phone and called the 24 hour vet that I had put in there the day I got him for emergencies. They're 1/2 hour away. The lady said no one there was able to see him, they left at 5. It's a 24 hour vet!! She starts giving me numbers. I'm trying to write them with my opposite hand and control Jasper. He ran off under his cage and I had to go get him. It was horrible.
I brought him to my bedroom and put him on my bed with a blanket as a barrier around him. I did not see any blood so I knew at that point I still had time to get him help. I called my dad to tell him the situation and was trying to get dressed. Jasper had climbed up onto my hand so I was trying to do all of his with one hand.
Suddenly he ran up my shoulder and I heard the bell hit the ground. I looked down expecting to see the bell but the link still in his mouth. By some miracle BOTH the pear link and bell were on the floor. He shook it out somehow, I have no idea how he did it.
Immediately he calmed down. I looked under his beak for signs of blood and tried to get him to open his beak. I didn't see anything underneath but it's hard to tell where he was pierced.
He had some blood in his mouth but after getting a really good look in the bathroom where it's bright I could see the bleeding was from the puncture, but there wasn't anymore blood coming out.
He calmed right down and we cuddled for an hour. He looked exhausted and kept closing his eyes. He took a treat from me and ate it slowly and beak scraped.
He has since eaten dinner, his bedtime snack, had water, beak scraping (happy) and appears to be completely normal.
I'm a wreck. I feel awful and sick. I have no idea how this happened. I have taken pliers and tightened every pear link in his cage as tight as they will go. I suspect it was a combination of bad timing, Jasper playing and lunging at the bell and somehow being at the wrong angle at the worst time.
I really feel like I could have lost him tonight if it had somehow pierced his throat. I am eternally grateful he's still alive but I'm sitting here in tears thinking about everything.
.
