Parrot Lover of the Month- Kathy Pedrie: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Mystery of her Parrot's Illness
I became interested in parrots when my kids were little. After asking a lot of questions, and talking to people with cockatiels, we decided on two. We had those birds for several years.
Right now, I just have Lola, my female SI Eclectus. The cockatiels were many years ago. When the kids got older, I wanted a larger parrot, since I had more time, and did my research to become familiar with the breed before we got her. I realize now that there is a lot of misinformation out there regarding eclectus.
When I brought Lola home, she came with colored pellets, and the recommendation to feed her vegetables and "some of whatever you are eating". The first sign that there was something wrong with my girl came when we were on a camping vacation. One night I noticed she was toe tapping and the next morning, she had chewed her 'ankle' to the point that she could not stand on her feet. She was lying on the floor of the travel cage. I wrapped her in a towel and held her till we got home.
Throughout the last five years, Lola has been toe tapping, wing flipping, and quivering more often than she has been well. She also gets nodules on her feet that are hard and brown colored that must be itchy or painful, because she chews on them when they appear.
Lola has been to our avian vet many times, but we've had no diagnosis from those visits. She is an enigma to them! We know it is not caused by diet as Lola is fed exclusively organic vegetables, fruit, a small amount of seeds, and nuts, rice and beans, and Lucy's Unpellet. My vet has been very supportive but she is at a total loss as to how to treat Lola, so I do the research and she listens. An antifungal allopathic drug provided relief for about two months. Then Lola had a relapse. We are now trying Candex and a homeopathic remedy with some results. I am guardedly hopeful at this point. If this doesn't work, I will continue in my research for a total cure.
Through the Eclectus Pet Owner's Group, with the help of Lisa Woodworth and Laurella Desborough, I found out about the theory that some of these birds are susceptible to yeast problems. Lisa and Laurella worked with me, answered many questions and I believe, saved Lola's life. At the point when I contacted Lisa, Lola was grossly underweight and she had a collar on every night to prevent her from chewing her feet. She would flip and tap all night long without the collar and I think part of the foot chewing was because of exhaustion from not sleeping. That is when we tried the antifungal medication.
I should tell you that Lola is a sweet, happy, loving bird. She does not play as many other eclectus do, because she doesn't feel good. When she was in 'remission' as I call it, she chews on toys, flies through the house a bit, and laughs when we laugh. She will also imitate sounds she hears us make, but when she is ill, she sits quietly on her perch, or my shoulder throughout the day. I feel sad sometimes when I hear of other eclectus and their antics, or see Lola hurting, but it just makes me more determined to find an answer for her, and in a larger sense, other birds with the same problem.
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