Urgent help needed for African grey having seizures

I have kept birds for years, I have outdoor aviaries and indoor birds, I have bred birds (not to sell), so i'm not an amateur. We have one exotic vet in the area where we live, he is the only one in our area in at least a 40-50mile radius and happens to be the best, however its a Friday night (almost 8pm) and he isn't available out of hours.
We have a 5-6 year old African Grey he started having a seizure about 1 1/2 hours ago, he's in and out of them but hasn't fully stopped, this is the first time it's happened. He is twitching, claws clenched, making out of the ordinary noises and clenching up. We have been giving him water with Calcium powder in (we think its a calcium defiency), he stops for a while but then starts again. I cannot get him to a vet tonight, no emergency vet will go near him. What can we do NOW to improve his situation- he's out of his cage, he's warm, he has access to water (he has drunk)... is there anything else we can do now to bring him round fully? I have an epileptic labrador so i'm familiar with seizures, but obviously parrots are different and we can't seem to bring him to stop. Advice much appreciated. Thanks.

I'm of no use to you, but I will say we had the same thing happen to our grey. We do have an avian specialist available for evenings and weekends and after a couple grand worth of tests they never did find out what was wrong with Beau. We did have him on anti seizure meds and we made sure he had something soft to land on if/when he fell off his perch.

Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

Thanks! Nice name Beau, mines called Boo. It's very frustrating the lack of help available for birds during out of hours, they won't go near them (unless they are being put to sleep) and only suggest our usual specialist during normal hours x

Your in a stressful situation! I'm so sorry to hear you think your gray might have hypocalcemia. Set up a UV lamp, I know that helps animals to process some vitamins. My avian vet also has bad hours Only good thing is that they also board birds, so there's a chance if you leave a message they may get back.

Please keep us updated on how he's doing

This information may be helpful, especially the last paragraph.

[FONT=&quot]The exact etiology of this syndrome in African grey parrots is unknown, however, it is suspected that diets with an inappropriate Ca2+ : P ratio (seed diets) or diets with marginal calcium, vitamin A, vitamin D3 or phosphorus levels may contribute to the development of this disease.2,6 Other proposed etiologies include decreased levels of PTH6 dysfunctional parathyroid gland or dysfunctional PTH14 or an inability to effectively mobilize calcium from bone due to reduced osteoclast numbers in some African grey parrots.3

The disease is typically seen in young African grey parrots. Clinical signs include incoordination, weakness, falling from perches, seizures, collapse, opisthotonus and tetany.2,6 The diagnosis is based upon signalment, history, physical examination, plasma chemistry values (serum calcium levels less than 8.0 mg/dl)3 and response to parenteral calcium administration. Ionized calcium levels should be performed in order to better evaluate total body calcium. Demineralization of the skeleton to maintain normal calcium levels does not occur in this syndrome.

Parenteral administration of calcium gluconate (50-100 mg/kg IV slowly or IM diluted) (Vedco, Inc., 5503 Corporate Dr., St. Joseph, MO 64507 USA) is the treatment of choice and will often control seizures.2,3 Diazepam (0.5-1.0 mg/kg q 8-12 or as needed) (Valium, Roche Laboratories, 340 Kingsland St., Nutley, NJ 07110, USA) may also be required to control seizures. Long-term therapy involves placing the patient on a proper diet if the bird is not already on one and administration of calcium glubionate (25-150 mg/kg PO q 12h) (Neo-Calglucon, Rugby Laboratories, Inc., 2725 Northwoods Pky, Norcross, GA, USA) or calcium gluconate (1 ml/30ml drinking water) in addition to vitamin A/D3 supplementation.2,3 Vitamin A,D3 and E formulations should not be used in patients eating a formulated diet.2 Life-long calcium and vitamin supplementation may be required.2 Follow-up examinations should evaluate plasma calcium concentrations to assess the effectiveness of treatment. Additional follow-ups after several months of therapy may also be needed.2

Excerpt from the article How I diagnose and manage nutritional disease in birds - Michael Jones, DVM, DABVP[/FONT]

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Thank you! I did come across that article earlier (I have gone through google with a fine tooth comb). Everything I read is long term, I just need him to pull out of it now and keep strong until I can get him help. He has been drinking the calcium solution we've provided but obviously it will take a while before any results can take place. Thanks again.

If you had access to it, Vetri-DMG may help.


Any updates on Boo?

Infections can also cause a seizure. Get to the vet as soon as you can tomorrow.