Is this self mutilation? *slightly graphic photos*

Man, I can not catch a break. Just noticed this on Parkers belly. Can you all please let me know if you think this is self mutilation?? If so, it's very early, what steps do I need to take to curtail this? Truth be told, even in person with him toweled it's hard to discern. my partner and I can't seem to agree. We agree it's likely a wound. to him it appears to be a scab, old wound but not open, and currently healing. Kinda looks open to me, but it's definitely not weeping or bleeding.

Difference in skin color is pure light. Bottom photos were taken first with him perched on the shower rod. They are truer to color. First photos were taken a couple minutes later with him toweled, his stomach is definitely not black and blue.

Oh, Parker. Damn, Chris, I do think that's self-inflicted. I'm sorry, my friend. I also think you and your partner are both right. It does seem to be a wound that has scabbed over, but it looks as though Parker has been picking at it. The skin looks raw.

I would take him back in to the vet if I were you. I wonder if perhaps there is a neurological component to what is going on. If either the aspirin he accidentally ingested, or the medication he was given to help him clear his system, might have caused an irritation or tingling in the nerves of the skin in his abdominal area.

If the vet thinks this is a possibility, maybe a nerve medication such as gabapentin might help? Just a shot in the dark.

Another suggestion is that you keep up frequent baths so that his skin doesn't get dry and itchy.

I'll keep you and Parker in my thoughts and prayers.

Oh no Chris, I hope Parker will be okay, and that your vet will be able to diagnose accurately and have a good treatment plan! I know, it's such a source of worry when medical issues happen.

So sorry to hear that , so stressful for you and Parker! There is a local parrot rescue here and they have an adorable quaker that was wearing a sort of super-hero themed clown collar because it had had a wing amputated and they didn't want the bird to pick at the wound while it healed. I wonder if you could get something similar for Parker while the wound/irritation heals? I know that sometimes parrots will pick at itchy wounds and having a collar while it heals might help him get over that hump. (photo below is Tango from Birdline in Calgary)

Thanks you three. Once again I find myself erring on the side of caution here. One thing I can say is if we can't in person tell if it's a full on open wound, it's not that bad right now.

Im gonna wait a week and see what happens. I'm increasing the temp of the area where his cage is. It's in he basement so 5 degrees cooler than the house. I'm running a heartfelt to up the temp over 70. I've also got the soother spray which was cut with vinegar. Both of which are great for self muilating wounds. If these don't help I'll make an appointment with the vet.

Jeez Louise 😿

Oh, Chris, I'm so sorry you have another worry with your sweetie. I'm sure you'll take great care of Parker, but I wish he would give you a little break in the anxiety department!

Hi Chris

First, please explain the 4 pics. Top 2 seem to be older , with the wound showing more skin

Bottom 2 seem to be more recent and show a lot of healing/ refeathering except for that line of scab.

Is my assumption correct? In both it looks like Parker has been plucking his large , green feathers, leaving the grey downy types ( which appear to be growing back in , in the bottom 2 pics.

Secondly - did your vet not see this?? How could a vet examine a parrot and not comment on something like this? IMHO this is a crappy vet, and Id be frothing at the mouth mad. WHere are you? On Long Island we are lucky to have an AV Vet at Island Exotics, Dr. Hoefer, (631) 424-0300. SHe is great and the only vet that sees Salty.

Thirdly, Me an Geri are saying a prayer for PARKER and for you and your partner, for all the stuff thats been happening to that little boy.

Hope Parker is okay Chris and that its not self mutilation and if it was that it was due to the meds and that it is no longer an issue...baths or misting might help keep it from itching as healing scars can itch quiete a bit and cause Parker to beak at it and pick...Im inclined to agree with Wrench13 here your vet should have seen this and told you about it. Praying Parker will get over this without any further picking at it and get back to his old self soon.

Just catching up on the boards today Chris. Went through the aspirin one and then saw this. Sheesh. If I were you, I wouldn't wait to take him to the vet bro. I know you've been back and forth a lot but this looks like it needs to be addressed by a professional. Poor Parker. He keeps fighting and life keeps swinging back. Praying for you three to get through this and onto some calmer times.

Chris, it does appear to be self-mutilation of sorts, but as others have suggested it may be related to recent ingestion event. Can you form a timeline between the two?

I'm not inclined to blame the vet on this one. She is phenomenal. It is entirely possible This may have happened after I got him home. I don't think he even became fully bare down there until the last few days. Something this obvious is something you don't just miss.

Ok, so I pulled a very risky maneuver today. Its bugged the hell out of me that I cannot make out the details of the wound indoors with the lighting, its just a weird wound.

I often take parker around the outside of the house with me holding onto his feet. I just did this a minute ago while the dog was doing her business; I took the opportunity to flip him on his back so I can see the wound in the sunlight (Uber risky because he's not a fan of being on his back, but will tolerate it for a few seconds). Bullseye!

The wound really doesn't look raw. Its a bit deep, but its not open. The skin looks to be intact all around. I suspect he might have had an accident recently I wasn't aware of, but he's started healing from it. Turns out the discoloration is in fact true, it looks like a bruise closer the vent. He looks like he fell on his butt and maybe caught something on the cage on his way down. Or he's taken off a couple times in fright in the last week and a half, maybe one of those times was a particularly harder landing than I realized and his stomach caught something.

Hey Chris,

I hope Parker is healing. When Jimmy my pionus was mutilating, she never opened the wound to where it was bleeding, but rather just scratched and gnawed at it so it was constantly a scab. I could tell when she was doing this rather than preening, because her eyes would pin and she was frantic when biting at it. Maybe this can help you determine if he is messing with the scab or not.

She had laser therapy treatments which kept her from making the wound bigger and helped a lot with the pain. Also bathing helped her leave it alone until we figured out why she was mutilating in the first place. I took cell phone pictures often, because it's hard to tell day to day if the scab is getting bigger or smaller.

Hope this helps a little, and hope that he is back to his healthy self soon.

Piasa said:

Hey Chris,

I hope Parker is healing. When Jimmy my pionus was mutilating, she never opened the wound to where it was bleeding, but rather just scratched and gnawed at it so it was constantly a scab. I could tell when she was doing this rather than preening, because her eyes would pin and she was frantic when biting at it. Maybe this can help you determine if he is messing with the scab or not.

She had laser therapy treatments which kept her from making the wound bigger and helped a lot with the pain. Also bathing helped her leave it alone until we figured out why she was mutilating in the first place. I took cell phone pictures often, because it's hard to tell day to day if the scab is getting bigger or smaller.

Hope this helps a little, and hope that he is back to his healthy self soon.

Click to expand...

It does, thanks! But not in the way you think . You reminded me to mention, in addition to the observation above, we've been watching him since we caught this and not once have we seen him pick at it. He's an aggressive preener, and has preened a lot in the time, But neither of us have yet to actually see him touch the area.

I'm still borderline on a vet check; I'm feeling pretty confident in what I'm seeing now. If I don't see improvement in the condition then it's off to the vet we go.

My partner is telling me email the photos we have to our vet. I'm just Leary because, well, she's not working for free here. Seems somehow inappropriate.

If there is something on the cage capable of cutting Parker like that, I hope you find it soon.

Even if it was mutilation triggered by his ordeal, it's a really good sign that he's not picking at it at all.

As for sending pics to the vet, I'd suggest that you just call and ask her if it would be okay. Given how much you've spent on Parker, recently, I'd think she could extend you the courtesy of taking a look and telling you if she thinks you should bring him in. (Of course, she might just say that she doesn't want to make a call like that without seeing him in person.)

Please give Parker a few skritches for me.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

Stephen, my friend, thank you