Peeps pulled off his claw!

sheeluhwhet · 5/5/18

Greeting y'all, I am concerned!

Last January, Peeps had the middle claw on his left foot accidentally pulled off completely when it got snagged to a towel at the vet's. It took him about 4 to 5 days before he was back to normal, and no longer standing on one foot.
Ever since then a tiny claw--thats was barely half the size of his normal claws--grew in the place of the old claw. It didn't seem to grow any longer.
I noticed he would fold that foot up occasionally, and the foot would sometimes look more red than his right foot. im guessing it was blood circulation, but he didn't seems to be in pain. Why would that happen though?

I have been told here that it's a common occurence for birds to lose a claw or two, so I haven't worried much ever since he healed.

Yesterday, however, I noticed he had pulled it off

There was a bit of blood on his top perch and some on his feathers where he would scratch himself. His tiny claw is missing, and in its place is a red dot. Thankfully, the blood flow has stopped sometime before I got there.

So I have a couple of questions!

Is this common for birds who have lost a claw?
Why would he pick on it in the first place?
Is there something I should do as a precautionary measure?

I wasn't in the room when he pulled it off, so my biggest concern is what if he kept bleeding? Is that possible?

iamwhoiam · 5/5/18

It's possible that he didn't pull it off and it just fell off on it's own. One of my red-bellies had part of a nail bitten off and we thought it would heal and continue to grow. It stayed short and stubby and then one day just fell off. Just keep an eye on that area and make sure that he doesn't pick on it so that it starts bleeding again. If it does then you can use cornstarch or Kwik Stop to stop the bleeding.

sheeluhwhet · 5/5/18

iamwhoiam said:
It's possible that he didn't pull it off and it just fell off on it's own. One of my red-bellies had part of a nail bitten off and we thought it would heal and continue to grow. It stayed short and stubby and then one day just fell off. Just keep an eye on that area and make sure that he doesn't pick on it so that it starts bleeding again. If it does then you can use cornstarch or Kwik Stop to stop the bleeding.

Hello, thank you for replying!
I didn't know that could happen

I will definitely keep an eye on him, and I'll get Kwik Stop for sure!!

Begone · 5/5/18

It does look infected, why haven't you visit the vet?

iamwhoiam · 5/5/18

Is the toe swollen and is he favoring that foot?

sheeluhwhet · 5/6/18

Eloy said:
It does look infected, why haven't you visit the vet?

Sadly, my work schedule hasn't allowed me today, and it happened the night before so it was a bit too late to call then. These photos were taken before I left for work.

I will be calling to set up an appointment this Monday when the vet is open again though.

To be honest, I thought it had scabbed over since that's what it looked like the first time the claw was yanked completely off. Should it also be swollen if it was infected? What are the signs apart from redness? I've never seen an infected bird leg before since Peeps is my first pet. I feel really bad about this since the last thing I want is to see him hurting...

sheeluhwhet · 5/6/18

iamwhoiam said:
Is the toe swollen and is he favoring that foot?

The last time I saw his foot it appeared to looked slightly red, but didn't appear to be swollen. He was hopping about his cage when I got home, but I did see him put it up occasionally when he wasn't moving. The only time I saw him settle and fluff up was when he got on his swing to go to bed for the night. At the time, both his feet were down. There was no sign of heavy breathing or tail bobbing if that is relevant.

I do recall him favoring the same foot first time it happened last January, but completely stopped after 4 to 5 days later when it healed.

camelotshadow · 5/6/18

iamwhoiam · 5/6/18

Monitor him closely. If the redness does not go away then make sure to bring him to vet.

sheeluhwhet · 5/6/18

iamwhoiam said:
Monitor him closely. If the redness does not go away then make sure to bring him to vet.

It seems to be gone now with the exception of the spot where the nail used to be =o I'm still monitoring him though!

Begone · 5/6/18

Much better!

sheeluhwhet · 5/6/18

Eloy said:
Much better!

Right!? I've been so worried!!! I'll keep an eye on his foot though just to make sure

Begone · 5/6/18

sheeluhwhet said:
Right!? I've been so worried!!! I'll keep an eye on his foot though just to make sure

Yes continue doing that. It is still a little bit swollen for what I can see, but no red and it looks healthy.
And I forgot to say that the last pic of Peep is so cute.

sheeluhwhet · 5/6/18

Oh

Eloy said:
Yes continue doing that. It is still a little bit swollen for what I can see, but no red and it looks healthy.
And I forgot to say that the last pic of Peep is so cute.

Oh that's good news! He's also hoping around and singing/screaming, so i take it that's also a good sign?
I hope the swelling goes away soon, is there anything I can do to help him with the swelling or is it something that we have to wait out?

And thank you so much! He's adorable

Begone · 5/6/18

sheeluhwhet said:
He's also hoping around and singing/screaming, so i take it that's also a good sign?

Yes a good sign.

sheeluhwhet said:
I hope the swelling goes away soon, is there anything I can do to help him with the swelling or is it something that we have to wait out?

Let him be out so he moves. (if he wants that, don't force him) It will increase blood circulation and make it heal faster.

sheeluhwhet · 5/6/18

Eloy said:
Yes a good sign.

Let him be out so he moves. (if he wants that, don't force him) It will increase blood circulation and make it heal faster.

Awesome! I shall

He practically throws himself at the door and stares at me until I let him out lol

iamwhoiam · 5/6/18

It's good that the foot looks better. Does he only have dowels to perch on? I highly recommend purchasing some natural wood perches. They are much better for their feet.

sheeluhwhet · 5/6/18

iamwhoiam said:
It's good that the foot looks better. Does he only have dowels to perch on? I highly recommend purchasing some natural wood perches. They are much better for their feet.

He's got dowels in his cage, but he also does have some natural willow branches outside in his bookscase (he's out at least 5 hours during the day). It wouldn't hurt to get more

Shezbug · 5/7/18

Quite often for any animal that has had a damaged nail, nail plate or nail bed, the nail can be compromised for the rest of their life. Not always the case but seems to be more often than not.

My dog ripped his nail most of the way off, the vet pulled the last bit out as it was too damaged to fix any other way. Now when his nail does grow back, it is not very healthy looking and really does not look like his other nails. When it gets to be about 2mm long it falls out and his toe is tender again for a few days. I have been told that once enough trauma has been done to the area that makes the nail, it can cause many different issues with that nail. Mostly it is just things like appearance, no regrowth at all, or then you can have the issue where there is not enough damage to completely stop the nail growth but there is too much damage to support a healthy growing nail and you get the issue I have with my dog. Sounds like you may have the same issue with your birds toe?

Either way I would be definitely be asking the vet about this to make sure it is normal and see what you can possibly do to minimize any discomfort for poor teeny Peeps.

Hope all works out well.

sheeluhwhet · 5/7/18

Shezbug said:
Quite often for any animal that has had a damaged nail, nail plate or nail bed, the nail can be compromised for the rest of their life. Not always the case but seems to be more often than not.

My dog ripped his nail most of the way off, the vet pulled the last bit out as it was too damaged to fix any other way. Now when his nail does grow back, it is not very healthy looking and really does not look like his other nails. When it gets to be about 2mm long it falls out and his toe is tender again for a few days. I have been told that once enough trauma has been done to the area that makes the nail, it can cause many different issues with that nail. Mostly it is just things like appearance, no regrowth at all, or then you can have the issue where there is not enough damage to completely stop the nail growth but there is too much damage to support a healthy growing nail and you get the issue I have with my dog. Sounds like you may have the same issue with your birds toe?

Either way I would be definitely be asking the vet about this to make sure it is normal and see what you can possibly do to minimize any discomfort for poor teeny Peeps.

Hope all works out well.

Sadly all of his nail was yanked out the first time it happened. Your doggy's situation sounds TOO familiar. A tiny nail with brownish specks grew out from Peeps' toe and it looked so different from his healthy ones...

I shall include that when I call the vet tomorrow, thank you for sharing your puppy's experience. I hope he's doing well!

Out of pure curiosity, if you don't mind me asking, how do you manage your dog's discomfort whenever his nail falls off?

Peeps pulled off his claw!

Walking the driveway

Attachments

Ripping up the road

Walking the driveway

Joyriding the Neighborhood

Ripping up the road

Walking the driveway

Walking the driveway

Joyriding the Neighborhood

Ripping up the road

Walking the driveway

Attachments

Joyriding the Neighborhood

Walking the driveway

Joyriding the Neighborhood

Walking the driveway

Joyriding the Neighborhood

Walking the driveway

Ripping up the road

Walking the driveway

Attachments

ASK ME FOR PICTURES OF MY MACAW!

Walking the driveway