Help!!!

[silverhuntress]

So As most have you known i got a pet cockatiel two days ago... well long story short i had him out and was walking around my house doing stuff and he just decided he wanted to fly (i was putting dishes away and i think it might have spooked him when i bent down and put a pan away) and he flew off but stupid me didn't realize he was going to land on the rats cage... long story short my medium rat (im trying to find homes for him and his buddy) decided to grab his foot and tried to drag him in. i blew in the rats face he let go. and peaches flew off... he had heavy bleeding... i calmed him down and when i seen his beak open and he was breathing in there. i figured it was best to put him back in his cage. he just sits at the door looking at me... and after trying to call all the vets around me and all are closed i am confused on what to do... i called a emergency vet and they said it will cost me about 200 for them to even look at him.... i cant afford it... i have went back in and is sitting beside his cage... his foot doesn't look like its bleeding really at all. unless he moves then it starts doing so again. he was not putting pressure on it at all... until two minutes ago now he is standing on both... so confused on what i should do... Please no bashing... im a first time owner. i traded him for a rat... and i am to the point of trying to calm my self right down so i can think clearly... i called a couple friends they said to put pollysporn on it... and try and clean it out... but i tried and it is hard with just me... holding him down with a towel... is there anything else i can do should i put Pollysporn on it? he is acting normal other then the fact he just got bit twenty minutes ago...
Please again no bashing... do you think i should surrender him or do u think he will be okay with some home tlc until tomorrow afternoon when my vet opens and i can see if they can do payment plains.

P.s he is even now playing with some of his toys...

 

[silverhuntress]

the bleeding has stoped completely and he is actin like his normal self. i checke his foot and wipped it off with a wet one and the cuts seem to only be skin deep... omg i have learnt that i should ALWAYS have a towel on the top of the rats cage when walkign around with him... im so glad it was not bad...

 

[MikeyTN]

First of all you need to check how bad he's been bit to determine what to do about it since your not able to go to a vet even though that's what you should do. I would clean the wound first and if its minor injury, you must stop the bleeding! So flour or corn starch would stop the bleeding. If its more then minor, then you need to vet wrap it and you can use neosporan. If its bad, you need a vet, if you can't afford it, best to give him up to someone who can or ask the vet if they can do a payment plan

 

[silverhuntress]

I did as you stated. i am sop very grateful like i said in the earlier post... it was only miner. i am never going to be that blind again to accidents... and im doing so much more research then i had before on the breed... i feel like a peace of crap from letting what happen happen... and i can guarantee you it wont happen again. im never that blind even with my dog and two cats.. they know better then to even go near me when holding him... but even then when he flies off my eyes are instantly on him and moving slowly behind him so not to startle him... thank you so much... i am finally calmed down and i really hope this will never happen again...
the rat grabbed between two of the toes and thankfully only had him by the edge. it did rip but its a nice small what looks to be a paper cut mark...

 

[MikeyTN]

As long as your able to stop the bleeding he will heal in a week. Do not bathe him right now!!!!!

 

[silverhuntress]

okay i wont.hes out on the chair eating some treats. hes acting normal again trying to get to me. also i do believe you are right he is a lot older.. i can tell they clipped his wings i was just looking and observing him. also took a couple pictures he has a long yellow strip on one side of his under tail. i owe you big time btw for helping me out and walking through what i should do

 

[MikeyTN]

Its no problem, we're all here to help! Just have a backup plan next time if you must take him into a vet!

 

[strudel]

Glad he's ok. There are a lot of potential hazards at home. Have a good look around and think "would that be safe, what could happen there?". It might be best to take him out only when he has your full attention, and in a room that you've assessed as not having any obvious hazards available to him. That way you can reduce the possibility of having similar "dramas" again.

 

[ct92404]

I'm glad your cockatiel is going to be okay. But please take this as a valuable lesson. Birds are VERY curious and like to wander. Or if something startles them, they will fly or run away in an instant. When you have your bird out of his cage to play with him, you can't take your eyes off him. He will wander off and get himself into trouble.

Everyone makes mistakes. Even though I've had almost a year now of experience taking care of birds, with my first parakeet Buddy, and my 2nd parakeet Chipper, I make dumb mistakes sometimes. A couple of days ago, I had a very close call. I was cleaning Chipper's cage, and I had put her on her play gym. She was sitting there calmly, and I thought she would stay there. So I turned my back for maybe about 5 minutes or so to put her cage back together. When I turned around to check on her, she was gone and I couldn't see where she went! Something told me not to move, and miraculously I decided to look on the floor and Chipper was down there, walking towards me and she was right by my foot!! If I had moved at all, I would have stepped on her!! That would have been horrific. I don't even want to think about how devastated I would have been. Thankfully, Chipper is perfectly fine and she has no idea how close she came to disaster.

That taught me a lesson. I have a smaller cage that I use when I take Chipper on outings. From now on, when I'm cleaning her cage, I'm going to put her in that smaller cage. She might get a little mad about that, but I can't risk having her loose unless I am completely focused on her. It would completely break my heart if she got hurt just because I was distracted for a few minutes.

 

[Mike17]

As others have said, Huntress you need to be alert to hazards with birds (says me who is nursing a 'tiel bitten by a much larger corella!) especially with other animals and birds. We have to cover our plumhead's cage when our 'tiel babies are out as he's very gymnastic and will bite protruding toes. Your main issue with your bird will now be infection and if you treat the wound and no infection sets in, your bird should be fine in a week or two.

CT, we have a lorikeet which is always walking up behind me, it's a miracle he hasn't been trodden on. He "runs free" on back verandah and is rarely caged. He also thinks it's "fun" to chase brooms and the like when I'm cleaning up that verandah

 

[Echo]

I'm not familiar with rats, do you have to worry about infection from their bites?

 

[silverhuntress]

thank you everyone!! yes i treated the foot, and as much as peaches is going to hate it im going to be wrapping a towel around him and do so again today... just to make sure there is no infection... i read somewhere that rat saliva is deadly for birds and it scares me...

 

[Mike17]

thank you everyone!! yes i treated the foot, and as much as peaches is going to hate it im going to be wrapping a towel around him and do so again today... just to make sure there is no infection... i read somewhere that rat saliva is deadly for birds and it scares me...

The saliva itself wouldn't be dangerous, I'd suggest, but the normal bacterial flora present in the rat's mouth might be. A pet rat's saliva wouldn't be dangerous most likely, depending on its diet, a wild rat a different kettle of fish altogether. We have monitor lizards wandering the bush (nearly ran over one on a recent trip) which aren't poisonous per se, but because they'll eat carrion, their mouths can be full of dangerous toxins and bacteria, so their bite can be very dangerous.

If your bird isn't showing any adverse symptoms by now, it should probably be OK, but keep up disinfecting the wound, but be careful as some disinfectants can slow the healing process. Aloe vera is probably the safest bet. Tea tree oil is also good but I'm not sure about its use on birds, and probably not commonly available in Canada anyway.

 

[SoCalWendy]

I did as you stated. i am sop very grateful like i said in the earlier post... it was only miner. i am never going to be that blind again to accidents... and im doing so much more research then i had before on the breed... i feel like a peace of crap from letting what happen happen... and i can guarantee you it wont happen again. im never that blind even with my dog and two cats.. they know better then to even go near me when holding him... but even then when he flies off my eyes are instantly on him and moving slowly behind him so not to startle him... thank you so much... i am finally calmed down and i really hope this will never happen again...
the rat grabbed between two of the toes and thankfully only had him by the edge. it did rip but its a nice small what looks to be a paper cut mark...

Don't be so hard on yourself, accidents happen. Im glad he is okay.