Five days ago, I was hand feeding dexter, my six month umbrella cockatoo. I use a 1.5" piece of tubing on the end of the syringe to reduce the mess. It allows me to insert the food deeper in his beak ( I do not tube feed him). The tubing is the kind used with aquariums/iv's/oxygen masks. It was soft and clear. The tubing is normally very tight on the syringe, but it slowly gets looser after a few weeks, which is when I replace it.
When I was feeding dexter, the tube became loose. When I removed the syringe from his mouth, he continued to Bob and pulled off the tube. Dexter swallowed the tube with his formula. I no longer had access to money to pay very bills on my own (I did when I got him, and thought the access would remain permanent) so I could not rush dexter to the vet that night (it was 9pm).
My uncle (not rich, but able and willing to pay the vet bills) took me to the vet the next day. By this point, Dexter hadn't made a sound since that night, and refused to eat solid food, though he ate some formula. He had only pooped one that day, there were no solids. He had become lethargic. I thought I could feel the tube in his crop, as did the vet. They put him under and tried to remove the tube. What we felt was his trachea. When they couldn't find the tube, they took xrays, and said they couldn't find anything on the xrays. The vet told me to watch for increased lethargy, and signs of intestinal distress
Two days after that, I had a semi cross country trip, we moved from Colorado to indiana. In that time, dexter's poop was black, a sign of internal bleeding. Dexter became even more lethargic. Over the course of 4 days, Dexter ate 19 cc's of formula total. He drank fine.
Because of this, I rushed Dexter to the vet as soon as I arrived in Indiana (it'd been sooner, but my ride would've been fired from their job if we got back a day late) . They looked at the xray's I brought and saw the tube right away (I'm not sure why the first vet didn't see it) they removed it with an endoscope through an incision in his crop.
The tube had gone from soft and clear to solid black and very hard. It was clear the tube was a definite hazard, and would absolutely puncture his organs. Dexter not eating solid foods was a good anything hard would make the tube tear him up.
The tube was wedged where the proventriculis meets his ventriculis, blocking the solid foods. Dexter got seven stiches and clearly felt better right away. He still doesn't want to eat his adult food, but the vet suspects he will when he feels better. I've had him back a day since the surgery, and he looks very happy.
Dexter could have easily died after swallowing that tube, even though it was soft at the time. There was no chance if him surviving that if I had done nothing.
I will do my best to add a copy of the xray showing the tube (I haven't seen it myself) and an image of the tube after it was retrieved.
When I was feeding dexter, the tube became loose. When I removed the syringe from his mouth, he continued to Bob and pulled off the tube. Dexter swallowed the tube with his formula. I no longer had access to money to pay very bills on my own (I did when I got him, and thought the access would remain permanent) so I could not rush dexter to the vet that night (it was 9pm).
My uncle (not rich, but able and willing to pay the vet bills) took me to the vet the next day. By this point, Dexter hadn't made a sound since that night, and refused to eat solid food, though he ate some formula. He had only pooped one that day, there were no solids. He had become lethargic. I thought I could feel the tube in his crop, as did the vet. They put him under and tried to remove the tube. What we felt was his trachea. When they couldn't find the tube, they took xrays, and said they couldn't find anything on the xrays. The vet told me to watch for increased lethargy, and signs of intestinal distress
Two days after that, I had a semi cross country trip, we moved from Colorado to indiana. In that time, dexter's poop was black, a sign of internal bleeding. Dexter became even more lethargic. Over the course of 4 days, Dexter ate 19 cc's of formula total. He drank fine.
Because of this, I rushed Dexter to the vet as soon as I arrived in Indiana (it'd been sooner, but my ride would've been fired from their job if we got back a day late) . They looked at the xray's I brought and saw the tube right away (I'm not sure why the first vet didn't see it) they removed it with an endoscope through an incision in his crop.
The tube had gone from soft and clear to solid black and very hard. It was clear the tube was a definite hazard, and would absolutely puncture his organs. Dexter not eating solid foods was a good anything hard would make the tube tear him up.
The tube was wedged where the proventriculis meets his ventriculis, blocking the solid foods. Dexter got seven stiches and clearly felt better right away. He still doesn't want to eat his adult food, but the vet suspects he will when he feels better. I've had him back a day since the surgery, and he looks very happy.
Dexter could have easily died after swallowing that tube, even though it was soft at the time. There was no chance if him surviving that if I had done nothing.
I will do my best to add a copy of the xray showing the tube (I haven't seen it myself) and an image of the tube after it was retrieved.
that is very scary indeed! 
