Toe tapping Winston

[Mishwinnie]

I'm a new member and I'm hoping you great people could help me.
I've had my male eclectus Winston for 10 years now and 2 months ago he started toe tapping. Hes been on paradise pellets, veggies, fruits, nuts, beans, sprouts etc anyway I noticed corn made it worse so took it away immediately. It subsided but started again so I took him to the vet. The vet said remove everything and only feed vegetables, so that's what we did. The toe tapping stopped for about 1 week but then started again. We weren't sure what to do and he was so hungry so we gave quinoa with the veggies and it started again. This past week we have only been feeding brown rice, Pumpkin, zucchini, Capsicum, coconut flakes (2 a day), watermelon. That's it. We've tracked the toe tapping and it has definitely stopped during the day and reduced over the last week, but is still there at night with wing flipping. Once every 20 seconds compared to every 2. How long does it take to completely go? Could this be a deficiency instead of something triggering the cramps?? Please offer any advice you can.

 

[SailBoat]

Toe Tapping is a long understood issue with your Eclectus' Diet!
Their diet should be heavy with "Chop", a health mix of green veggies, but low on rich foods containing large amounts vitamins and minerals. Avoid Pellets!!

The Eclectus species' natural range is very limited and poor regarding the quality of what food is available. As a result they eat extensively and as a Companion Parrot that commonly results in their being overloaded with far too much of normally needed vitamins and minerals.

It is important to understand that very few Vets are aware of this unique requirement of this very special species.

 

[saxguy64]

My guy has had a couple bouts of toe tapping. It's a tricky thing to pinpoint the cause, but there's definitely some common things to look at. Pellets or any "enriched" foods can cause too high levels of vitamins. My boy is also a bit sensitive to corn, and that has caused it a couple times for him. Other things to consider a potential cause, low calcium or vitamin A, and too much protein. Been there, done that. I always keep in mind ANYTHING new in his diet, as the new item is usually to blame in his case. Corn has caused it, as well as dark purple grapes and blueberries. I believe a little hard boiled egg is helpful when he's molting, but too much... tap tap tap The tapping comes on very quickly for him, like within hours, or certainly by bedtime if it's reacting to something I gave him for breakfast. Knowing you've eliminated the right trigger is harder to know for sure, since it takes several days or longer for it to subside completely.

All that said, if possible, I would recommend a visit with an avian vet and doing a full blood work panel so they can see what levels are too low or too high, and adjust the diet from solid information rather than just guessing. Definitely keep an eye on the calcium and vitamin A as they're the most common causes that I'm aware of.

As it's basically a neurological response, there's other possibilities, but hopefully not the cause. My first battle with it and subsequent vet work up came back with a positive test for ABV. (Tested because of the neuro symptoms) Fortunately, the toe tapping was unrelated to the ABV, and he likely has one of the common strains that never cause symptoms or progress to PDD. At least we hope so. That test was 4-5 years ago, and aside from a couple diet related rounds of toe tapping, zero other symptoms, ever.

Hope some of this is helpful, and please keep us posted on Winston. I know it's scary and disheartening to see them go through it. Every time my Tucker has started, I immediately feel like I've failed him somehow, but then I work to educate myself more, and try to be better for him. They deserve the best we can offer them!