Anybody's bird got a cataract?

[triordan]

So today at my bird meeting, someone noticed that Remington's eye was cloudy and asked me if he had a cataract~ it was the first time I noticed! I feel so bad~ I came home and right away started searching about cataracts in birds, doesn't seem to be much you can do Does anyone here have any experience with them ? Do they always lead to blindness? If so how long to you have?

 

[Spiritbird]

The vet should have noticed this on his last exam. How old is Remington do you know??

 

[Pedro]

So today at my bird meeting, someone noticed that Remington's eye was cloudy and asked me if he had a cataract~ it was the first time I noticed! I feel so bad~ I came home and right away started searching about cataracts in birds, doesn't seem to be much you can do Does anyone here have any experience with them ? Do they always lead to blindness? If so how long to you have?

Avian Geriatrics

I found this link when i inherited a very old Galah. He was already blind due to cataracts but lived to well into his 70's.

 

[roxynoodle]

My Grey has fully mature cataracts.

If your bird isn't a senior bird it may have been caused due to Bornavirus like my bird. If treated early with Celebrex some birds do regain their vision, or at least some of it. So now that I know that, I would urge you you to take him into the vet. Now the problem with Borna is that it is very hard to get a definitive diagnosis. The virus only lives in the feces for a very short time. So unless you can take the bird to a lab where they can keep looking for it in the fresh feces, you may not get an answer. There is one man at the University of Tennessee who can see it in DNA. We sent him a sample of Merlin's blood, but he lost the sample:54: So yesterday we sent him another one.

My vet used to work there at the University of Tennessee as well as a researcher on Borna. If your vet would like to contact her, PM me and I will give you her phone number. Borna is not well understood yet and was only discovered at all in 08 so many vets are not that familiar with it.

It probably doesn't hurt the bird though to be put on Celebrex as a precaution and to see if he regains his vision. Otherwise, cataracts can be removed in birds, but you need to find an avian opthamologist and I would imagine it's quite expensive.

 

[roxynoodle]

I PMed you my vet's info as I figured there can't be too many vets out there who were also once researchers on this disease in case that is what it is. And she is personal friends with the man who has developed the DNA test for Borna. He is the only one in the world who can do this at this time.

For anyone else reading, 30-40% of parrots have Bornavirus. Most do not develop symptoms though. Those that do tend to develop premature cataracts, have large feces, particularly during hormonal times, and can develop other digestive or neurological problems.

 

[triordan]

Remington is 15, I am calling the vet tomorrow...he was just there about a month ago for a wing clipping, but that was done by the assistants

 

[Pedro]

Remington is 15, I am calling the vet tomorrow...he was just there about a month ago for a wing clipping, but that was done by the assistants

I would get your Vets opinion it could also be something as simple as a scratch on the lense or he has injured the eye some other way. That can also cause the eye to appear cloudy. If that is the case some simple eye drops.

Hope it's nothing serious.

 

[triordan]

Thanks Pedro, hope to have an answer tomorrow, the weird thing is though that at our meeting today he didnt react on the left side when a member waved their hand, but did when done on the other side

 

[roxynoodle]

Yes, you need to first find out if it really is a cataract. Given his age though, if it is it is probably caused by Borna. I am, unfortunately, becoming quite educated on this disease.

Also, there is a lot of misinformation on the internet right now based on what was first believed about this disease in 2008. Do not panic and think your bird has PDD. They now don't even believe they are related after all. And Borna is now believed to only be transmitted from hen to eggs. So if your bird has it, he got it as an egg, and will not transfer it to other birds.

 

[Pedro]

Is this the same disease your talking about Roxy.

http://www.avianbiotech.com/diseases/bornavirus.htm
http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/geriatric.html

 

[triordan]

Is this the same disease your talking about Roxy.

Avian Bornavirus
http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/geriatric.html

yes it is~

 

[triordan]

Re: Anybody's bird got a cataract? UPDATE~

Hi, just got back, we had an 11:30 appointment, Remington stayed for the day to do xrays and run test~ I dont know where to start... so the doctor's first thing was , "he's skinny", which I never would have expected, next~ yes he has a "mature" cataract in left eye and developing one in right, took xrays, did bloodwork, had xray sent to someone in CA, xray showed slightly enlarged liver and spleen. So we are on Cipro 2x day~ also tested for Borna virus (PDD),Psittacosis, AGY and Giardia...I think that's it, test results should start coming in Wednesday. Also found out from previous owner that he had an eye injury, left eye, in 2004, but vet doesnt think its related..

 

[Mayden]

Fingers crossed for you triordan, hope all comes back well and possibly reversible. I'm not sure if you have the funds or ability to see an optometrist, but it's a possibility perhaps.

Hope Remington is handling this all okay. xx

 

[triordan]

We have one in the state, but I'm not sure if she sees birds

 

[roxynoodle]

Is this the same disease your talking about Roxy.

Avian Bornavirus
http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/geriatric.html

Yes, but all the information on that site is out of date, unfortunately, and much is incorrect.

triordin, if it is Borna, I hope you get a positive test result. The virus is very unstable, and they were only seeing it in very fresh feces samples. Then a little later, it wouldn't be there, so they were first calling it a ghost virus. So unless your bird can sit there at the lab while they look at fresh feces to see if it's there, they likely won't get a result. Did your vet send a blood sample to the man who can do it from DNA?

 

[BillsBirds]

I had a Grey that lived to be about 50 years old. His eyes were a bit cloudy, but he seemed to see okay. Back then, nobody thought cataracts in birds could be fixed. Hope everything works out.

 

[luvmytooo]

Triordin we are all praying for a positive outcome and a speedy recovery for Remington .

 

[gig]

Age related cataracts (at least in people) are generally bilateral, with one eye being more advanced than the other. If not age, they can be secondary to a disease state (virus) or metabolic (diabetes for example). Sometimes they can diagnose things by exclusion (knowing what it isn't) too. Whatever the cause, if it is a permanent thing, your buddy can do fine. I worked with a Buffon's Macaw this winter that was totally blind from bilateral cataracts and he does great. He tastes everything on a mixed fruit or veggie plate before deciding which piece to take, and ofcourse, don't move things in his cage around! If he's flighted, I'd certainly clip him. Try not to worry too much and good luck!

 

[roxynoodle]

Well, obviously I have one as well. I do some things to help her cope. She likes being in the bottom of the cage the most. So she has large crock food and water bowls down there. She has perches, a lot of toys, and wood blocks to stand on. At night, I only cover the top part of her cage and leave on a small lamp with a blue bulb in it like moonlight. She does eventually find new things I add to her cage, although sometimes it takes her a day or two. She is a total velcro bird, and that might have something to do with her lack of vision. She immediately makes a lunge for my chest when I get her out and wants to be cuddled up against me all the time. The first couple of weeks it helped for me to talk or cluck to her as I was moving around the room so I didn't suddenly come up on her, and frighten her. Now she seems to know where I am no matter what. But, when we are at the vet's, every time a person "suddenly" appears she spooks a bit. She doesn't know they are coming until they are 1-2 feet from us.

I wouldn't worry though about him climbing or anything like that. Merlin sometimes miscalculates where a perch is and you see her reaching with her little foot and she's 2" away. She moves over and tries again until she gets it right. And she even hangs upside down from the top of the cage and twirls, with just one toe attached to the bars. I used to worry about her doing such things not being able to see, but she is fine.

As for wings, well, Merlin has not made any attempt to fly. I think she knows better. She will try to run away, like from a towel, but not fly. So I have decided not to clip her. She is used to her wings and might start plucking or something if they are gone, and I don't want that. Let's just say though I'm not going to take her outside without a carrier, cage or harness just in case.

Keep us up to date on Remington, and I wish you both the best. And if the borna comes back positive, well, you have another person to talk to about it in me. And of course, coping with a blind bird. My vet did say most blind birds do just fine, and Merlin seems to.

 

[triordan]

I just got him a Java tree, I was hoping to keep him out of the cage most of the day, now I'm wondering if I should....does he have enough time to get used to it and know his way around?? No worries about flying he has been clipped almost all 15 years of his life~ also they had a VERY fresh feces, but I thought that was being used for other test, so I'm not sure if they used blood or feces for the Borna virus~ my bill states PCR Borna virus screen- PDD avian