Old, old Tootsie

[JamesC]

Tootsie had a vet visit today. Had to take her in because she seemed to be favoring her left leg lately. She will tuck it a lot when perched. Or if she is active she may stand with it lifted just above her perch. There didn't seem to be anything physically wrong with it other than one strange thing that has both me and the vet scratching our heads.

She has been missing the claw on the left, rear inside toe as long as I have known her which is about 25 years now. There was a hard remnant there. Now oddly enough after all these years that claw has started to grow back. Small and horn colored instead of black. The problem is that it curled in the opposite direction to what is normal. We thought that perhaps the tip of it was digging into her leg and causing irritation so we clipped it down. I'll be watching her over the next few days to see if she keeps on favoring that leg. I'm not sure that was the root cause of the issue, though. There really did not seem to be any irritation to the skin where it was touching.

The good news with the leg is that she has been using it normally when moving about or eating. It might be that she is just arthritic and the cold snap here in Minnesota is causing her old bones to ache. I'm wondering if she might enjoy the warmth of a heated perch.

And further good news is that after an estimated 30+ years she seems to be in decent health. Eyes are still clear and she has good strength and she sounds good internally. Which is fortunate because she was on a poor diet for half of her life. She does have her upper respiratory issue but that is something that is chronic in nature and we will be dealing with for the remainder of her life. She has an abnormality caused by an infection in the left nare. My former vet in Florida was able to put a probe all the way through the nare and into her mouth. That was a bit freaky to see. But she is comfortable and with a bit of routine cleaning it poses no issue most of the time.

 

[RavensGryf]

That is strange about the nail growing back after all these years, and small and horn colored this time. Maybe she was feeling an odd sensation in the foot as the strange nail has been growing? I hope she feels comfortable soon.

That's encouraging news for me to hear that Tootsie is as elderly as she is, and still going strong despite the upper respiratory issue. My Pionus Raven also had an infection in the nare/sinus due to an injury early in life, and is now permanently damaged. He does suffer from it at times, and I have often worried if he will be able to have as long of a life as if he didn't have this.

 

[JamesC]

I remembered something that may be an explanation for the sore leg and that nail growing in might be a coincidence. She did have a bit of a spill a week or so ago. I didn't see what happened but she ended up dropping fairly hard to the floor. Forgot all about that until after going to the vet. They should be giving me a callback in the next day or two and I'll ask them about it then if she is still showing discomfort. Still, that nail was just freaky. Had a real what the heck moment when I first noticed it.

The upper respiratory issue does not seem to bother her too much. She has days where she gets clogged up and discharges fluid. And the air sacs around her head puff up. Especially the ones around her eyes. There is usually a lot more fuss and bother from me making sure she is cleaned so the material does not build up. Acts just like a little kid getting the face cleaned. Noise and fussiness. Still seems to be a relatively happy bird despite her problems.

Tootsie has dealt with this problem for about 10 years now. Although it is not pretty to look at sometimes it does not seem to have had a major impact on her health. Hope that your Raven is similar that he never has any major complications due to the injury.

 

[Kiwibird]

My moms DYH also has a long-missing toenail (20+ years just a "stub") that suddenly started growing back in the last few years. It's growing like a "corkscrew" and seems to be growing faster than the rest now. It is the only nail doing that (the rest are totally normal/grow at normal rates). Isn't it weird how that happens? Wonder if it's something to do with advanced age, kind of like elderly people get ear hairs and big noses? Lucy is at least 45, probably even older, as she was wild caught as a mature adult so she's getting up there in age too.

Tootsie may have some arthritis in her leg. Older birds can develop it, and it's not due to anything besides old age and their joints wearing out. Hope the vet can get her on some meds to help alleviate the pain some!

 

[RavensGryf]

And the air sacs around her head puff up. Especially the ones around her eyes.

Ah! So that's what that is!!
I've seen Raven's under eye skin puff out as he breathes hard after too much exertion at times. I thought it was the strangest looking thing. I did assume it was 'normal' but it freaked me out a bit seeing it!

I hope Tootsie wasn't hurt during the fall, and that she's feeling good today

 

[JamesC]

Ah! So that's what that is!!
I've seen Raven's under eye skin puff out as he breathes hard after too much exertion at times. I thought it was the strangest looking thing. I did assume it was 'normal' but it freaked me out a bit seeing it!

I hope Tootsie wasn't hurt during the fall, and that she's feeling good today

They have a network of air sacs in their bodies. When Tootsie had some really bad episodes of being plugged up, the eyes, cheek, throat and the one on her back all puffed up. She is on a kind of decongestant medicine in her water that helps control it. Now she will only puff up around her eyes occasionally. It is weird watching the skin around her eyes pop in and out when she breathes if she gets congested.

She was a little stunned when I picked her up. But she just sat on my hand for 30 seconds or so then flew back to her cage and seemed no worse for wear. She did not seem injured but I'll talk about the fall with the vet. She is being her normal demanding, somewhat noisy self today.

 

[RavensGryf]

That's so interesting James. I had no idea about these air sacs until I saw Raven's eye skin pop in and out! I suppose it's not something that most bird owners see, unless they can't breathe properly. Sacs on the back too, wow I never would have known!

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

The new onset of nail growth is so interesting. Maybe if Tootsie had some trauma there with the fall, it activated her body's self-healing mechanisms to that area, which then affected the growth. Glad she is doing so well overall. I think the older birds are no different than people, they simply adjust to chronic conditions, so we are always the sandwich generation with our birdies since they are always like toddlers, and then geriatric toddlers.