Lori leg disease?

[PNGParrots]

I am living in Papua New Guinea and have no experience with Lory. I use to breed and raise cockatiels though. I have a wild caught black capped Lory that was given to me by some of the local people here (I didn't buy him... I don't like the idea of buying wild parrots) I wasn't going to take him but they had him on such a bad diet of sugar cane only and he was really sick. He was either going to die or they would eat him... They like eating lories and lorikeets here unfortunately. Anyway, my heart broke for the poor parrot and I took him and nursed him back to health. I won't be able I return him to the wild because he has had some bad injuries in the past, he is missing an eye. He was doing really well and I've trained him to step up even from his cage.

About a week ago I noticed him chewing on his leg. After a week he has lost almost all his scales on his leg and its spreading to his skin under his feathers and feet. It's moving super fast and I'm not sure what it is? I have no access to a vet or anykind of bird supplies. I make my own food for him and pick flowers from the trees I see the other lories eating from. I don't see any mites or insects. I've tried antibiotic ointment but it is getting worse everyday. I've attached some pictures of it. Does anyone have any idea what it is or how I can treat him? I clean all his perches everyday. Give him baths often. I just have never seen something like this that moves so fast!

Thanks!

 

[Bandespresso]

Is there anything happening on the bottom of his foot? Was there an injury to that leg previously? Try smoothing a piece of clear tape on his leg and pull it off to see if there are any mites on the tape (not all mites are visible directly on the bird) Hopefully we can find some answers for you or at least point you in the right direction.

Poor guy! And poor you! It has to be really hard to not have access to vet care when you need it.

 

[Bandespresso]

Also: is there any swelling?

 

[PNGParrots]

Ok, I tried using tape to test for mites. I tested a couple spots but I didn't find any. I pulled up a couple loose scales though. Poor bird. I looked at the tape pieces with a magnify glass but I didn't see anything,

The bottom of his feet are cracking. I'm not sure about swelling. Since I took these pictures some of his scales closest to his toe nails have popped up a lot along with some on the top of his feet. I'm not sure if it is swelling of his feet or something underneath like a mite I can't find?

It's not just one scale at a time falling off though. It's like whole chunks just come off all a sudden. One toe in the back is lossing a chunk to A section just dries, pops up, and falls of.

I'm not aware of an injury. He had a rope on one leg when he was given to me, but it didn't cause any harm that I saw. That was over a month ago. Both legs have the disease.

 

[Kiwibird]

I do not know much about lories dietary needs, but I would venture to say that looks like something stemming from diet to me. Either nutritional (a deficiency or overdose) OR possibly a food allergy. Dietary related diseases present in a variety of strange symptoms in parrots (for examples, amazons who eat too much fat and/or do not get enough vitamin A get curly overgrown toenails and beaks, eclectus who get too much iron have neurological 'toe tapping').

From my understanding lories have a very specialized diet that includes some kind of nectar and lots of fruit. Hopefully some experienced lory owners can chime in on what they eat so you can determine if possibly theres something you should include more of or less of. Hopefully if we get out collective minds together, we can help you get your little sweetie on the road to recovery soon! It must be so hard not being able to see a vet and have a sick bird.

 

[Bandespresso]

It doesn't seem to be bumblefoot mits or any sort of infection so, as kiwibird said, it could very well be diet related. I found a couple make your own lorikeet food recipes and this is the only one that seemed like something you could work with where you are. Hopefully some more experiemced lori owners can chime in and let me know if this is any good! The powdered skim milk makes me a little nervous...
Some of the other recipes add kelp powder which could be a good thing to add. Some other websites suggest baby food or just blending together fruits and veggies and feeding some of that (obviously it can replace nectar but it could at least help add some more nutrition).

How to Make Your Own Lorikeet Food Nectar (with Pictures) | eHow

 

[Pinkbirdy]

Call these people Bird Medications: All Bird Products have online vets and you can order medicine on their . I have used their stuff before. Sounds like he needs some sort of antibiotic . Lorry powder [you can order off of Amazon]. I would do juicy fruits and soft vegs. Contact those people [call is best] Read through their site.

 

[PNGParrots]

Thanks everyone for your help!

I was leaning toward the same thinking about the diet. I did a lot of research before on homemade food, but it is hard to come by a lot of those things here. He is such a picky eater too. His previous diet of sugar cane only was pretty bad. I've finally got him to eat blended fruits one at a time. Right now his blend is: Papaya, Banana, Carrots, Raw sugar, Honey, Rice. I also give him fresh flowers everyday. I try to mix up the fruits, but he is really picky so it is taking so time and effort. If you have any suggestions of things to add (that could be found naturally here) I would take the advice!

Thankfully today his legs are doing better! I see little scales growing back and he had a lot of energy. I'm hoping he continues to improve.

 

[Kiwibird]

I am glad he is doing a little better and that he's growing some scales back. I have looked into this a little more, and it looks like lories are prone to iron storage disease like other softbills and eclectus (i.e. need a low iron diet). It also looks as though many people feed them insects.

Heres an excerpt from one site detailing some of the things they eat in nature (since you live where they do, perhaps you have access to some of these?):

Australian lorikeets feed principally on pollen and nectar of Eucalypts, Melaleuca, Bottle brush, Grevillea or other native trees and shrubs. They have a specialised tongue that is used to harvest pollen. They also eat fruits, flowers and their buds, berries, seeds of trees, leaf buds and insects and their larvae (photo 39). In captivity, they are fond of cultivated fruits, especially apples, pears, banana and other soft fruits.

Complete Care System For Lorikeets & Lories

This was also an informative article:
https://www.chinaprairie.com/articles/lories.html