Toe-Tapping, Need Support/Advice

greytness

Member
Sep 11, 2015
241
2
Southern California
Parrots
3 CAGs, BHC, 2 duskie conures, Jardine's, Meyers, pineapple GCC, eclectus, miligold macaw, scarlet macaw, & Panama Amazon
Although it doesn't appear that his diet is high in protein, too much protein can contribute to toe tapping. If he's getting any nuts at all, remove them from his diet.
 

Keatz

Active member
Jan 5, 2016
108
92
Australia
Parrots
Oscar (eclectus)
Basil (Amazon)
Hi, Stephen. Sorry about slow response. I've been away.
I was giving Oscar Paradise pellets, which are made here in Australia for eclectus, but I counted thirteen added vitamins on the back of the pack!
 
OP
charmedbyekkie

charmedbyekkie

New member
May 24, 2018
1,148
82
US/SG
Parrots
Cairo the Ekkie!
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #43
It's been a while, so just an update! His toe-tapping has stopped as we're still doing the elimination diet. At this point, it's likely cantaloupe/rock melon (I just realised I had completely forgotten the name cantaloupe and was accidentally calling it honeydew instead - been away from the US too long!) or starfruit.

He does get tiny almond chips (we break up almond slices into small pieces, almost watermelon seed size, to avoid fatty liver issues) as treats. He had been doing quite a bit of training, but luckily, no toe-tapping. I'm just trying to make sure we also balance his treat eating with enough exercise.

His digestive problems seem gone completely :) Now it's just the time-consuming trial and error with food. But I'm glad he's healthy. Hopefully in a week or two, a blood test will give us a good baseline!
 

Anansi

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Dec 18, 2013
22,301
4,211
Somerset,NJ
Parrots
Maya (Female Solomon Island eclectus parrot), Jolly (Male Solomon Island eclectus parrot), Bixby (Male, red-sided eclectus. RIP), Suzie (Male cockatiel. RIP)
Hi, Stephen. Sorry about slow response. I've been away.
I was giving Oscar Paradise pellets, which are made here in Australia for eclectus, but I counted thirteen added vitamins on the back of the pack!

Thirteen?!? Geez! It kills me how many companies market their foods as eclectus friendly when they are anything but. Ridiculous. Glad you learned the truth.

It's been a while, so just an update! His toe-tapping has stopped as we're still doing the elimination diet. At this point, it's likely cantaloupe/rock melon (I just realised I had completely forgotten the name cantaloupe and was accidentally calling it honeydew instead - been away from the US too long!) or starfruit.

He does get tiny almond chips (we break up almond slices into small pieces, almost watermelon seed size, to avoid fatty liver issues) as treats. He had been doing quite a bit of training, but luckily, no toe-tapping. I'm just trying to make sure we also balance his treat eating with enough exercise.

His digestive problems seem gone completely :) Now it's just the time-consuming trial and error with food. But I'm glad he's healthy. Hopefully in a week or two, a blood test will give us a good baseline!

Remember that it can also be the combination of cantaloupe and starfruit, or either of those with something else that shares common attributes.... or even one one of the foods already eliminated as a potential culprit combined with any of the others. The possibilities multiply when considering combinations, but I mention this in case neither of the two foods left prove definitively to be the cause.

Looking forward to seeing the results of his blood test. So happy about this update! It's wonderful that he's still not tapping or flipping!
 

Ellie777Australia

New member
Apr 12, 2019
1,280
98
Queensland, Australia
Parrots
SI Eclectus Female, Ellie; RS/SI Eclectus Male, Bertie (both adopted as rescue/re-home)
Bumping this thread because it is an important refresher for us Eclectus owners. I had to find a couple of videos on you tube as I suspected wing flipping and had no idea how it differed from 'fluttering' (the normal Ekkie shake down :)). Found another vid with toe tapping also.

Noted in my research that an Eclectus may demonstrate both toe tapping and wing flipping or just one of the symptoms. Not sure if making a link to the vids here is permissible since they are not mine. Fortunately my boy and girl are ok.
 

Most Reactions

Top