Charlie the African Grey
| Charlie the African Grey was given a toy by his owner that
came as a promotional gift for an imported beer. Charlie being a parrot happily
destroyed the toy and ate the interesting gritty bits inside, a few days later
Charlie was brought to Village Vets as he was dull and not eating.
Charlie was x –rayed and lots of small objects were seen. These objects looked very white on the x ray this means they are blocking the x –rays and is typical of lead or zinc. In fact Charlie had eaten lots of lead pellets and was suffering from lead poisoning which can be fatal. Charlie was started on special injections two times a day for 5 days and then some medicines in his beak till all the lead had all gone. Charlie also had peanut butter and some laxatives to make the lead pass through quicker. |
 |
This x ray was taken using a special machine called a fluoroscopy unit that allows us to take video –x rays. This machine was used to take a conscious x-ray that is Charlie did not have an anaesthetic, once a week till we knew all the lead was gone. In the image here Charlie is standing in a plastic box and the x ray taken. Charlie was brought to the Village Vets early and treatment prevented severe damages to the kidneys and Charlie made an excellent recovery. Any metal toys given to a parrot should be stainless steel. |
|