Tongue Injury

pchela · 10/14/10

Does anybody have experience with tongue injuries? My Red Belly took a chunk out of my baby Jardine's tongue the night before last. It bled a lot. We went to the emergency vet and they snipped off a bit that was hanging on by a thread. They also gave him pain meds. He can't eat now. He so wants to but it hurts so he can't. It's so sad. I've been hand feeding him formula (which he resists) so at least he'd getting something. Anyway, has anybody had to deal with a tongue injury? Do I need to take him in to my regular vet for antibiotics or something? I just want the poor little guy to be able to eat... he will pick up some food, take a bite, cry in pain and drop it. He repeats this with different types of food.

It's so difficult to watch. I took away regular (rough) foods but even the soft stuff like oatmeal, mashed potatoes is too much for him. And he begs all day. I just feel so horrible. It makes me want to cry.

Anne & Gang · 10/14/10

yes absolutely take him to your regular vet..the sooner the better....you may have to get him on pain meds asap...

Greycloud · 10/14/10

Poor baby! I would say that he absolutely needs antibiotics and pain meds. Can he eat minced and mushed fruits and cooked sweet potato? I hope your little guy feels better soon.

Anne & Gang · 10/14/10

also try baby food....

pchela · 10/14/10

He is on pain meds now that the emergency vet gave me. I'm waiting on a call from my regular vet about whether he wants to see Rupert. The emergency clinic sent the report to the regular vet so he knows what happened. He should call me in the morning. At the very least I'm hoping he can give me more pain meds as I will be out as of tomorrow. They only gave me a three day supply thinking that Rupert wouldn't need them anymore after that.

So far he won't eat anything soft that I've offered him including oatmeal, mashed potatoes and carrot baby food. I'll keep trying of course. He is taking some formula.

suncoast · 10/14/10

Yes he does need to see an avian vet right away. I would also try soft foods like baby foods. He needs to get some nourishment into him. Hand feeding formula is good but your vet should be able to give some guidance.

Ginger

MBS · 10/14/10

Poor guy. I don't have any advice. Sorry. Maybe he will need to be fed by the vet by tube or some other way to bypass his tongue. I doubt it would be for more than a few days to give his tongue time to feel better. I hope you find a way to get him fed.

Danita · 10/14/10

Are you weighing him?
Be sure to do that.
I would get your vet to feed the poor little guy when you go there. If he is really young, you should go ASAP

Are you hydrating him?

Thugluvgrl187 · 10/14/10

Aw poor little guy. I would definitely take him to your regular vet and like others have said be sure to keep track of his weight. Hope he gets better soon!

atvchick95 · 10/14/10

if any of his normal foods was pellets, you could try moistening them in juice like 100% apple juice, and see if he'll eat them that way.

They won't be hard and crunchy any more, but if it's a food he's used to he may be more likely to eat it.

Red Jasper · 10/14/10

You may need to hand feed him or provide him with a high potency powder mix (Harrison's has a good one) while his tongue heals. I do not know the rate of regrowth if any and everything I read states "contains a great deal of blood vessels; will bleed profusely; seek attention of avian vet immediately." Please keep us posted on what your avian vet says tomorrow!

Kathie · 10/14/10

Lots of mushy foods. Make sure he stays hydrated. I assume he is able to drink.

My BF's macaw had a tongue injury about 15 years ago. She was back to somewhat normal inside of a few days, but we had to feed her lots of mushy stuff while she was healing. We did still offer her the pellets, etc., since her beak was not affected (that is what they use to crunch with). The pain meds, if she was given Metacam, should increase his appetite.

Birds use their tongue as a tool more than for eating, but I would still offer both solid food and mushy. So sorry you are having to deal with this. Let us know what your regular vet says.

pchela · 10/15/10

Thanks for all of the advice and support.

I have been tracking his weight and it's staying steady so far. I have also been hand feeding him Kaytee Exact and offering mushy foods. I haven't seen him drinking yet but the formula at least provides some hydration and he could be drinking when I'm not looking.

I have worked with birds as a job in the past, hand raising babies and taking care of some older birds, so I do have experience with hand feeding and some minor first aid etc. I guess I just needed some support.

He took a bit of the soft inside of some french bread at dinner and toyed with it so I mixed some whole grain bread (toasted) in carrot baby food and he ate a bit of that. He also begged for a grape later so I gave it to him. I was worried about acidity but he did eat some of it. So, he appears to be in less pain tonight. I'm relieved. He was really freaking out and crying earlier in the day, probably due to hunger and pain.

The pain medication is Metacam btw.

I will talk to the vet tomorrow and see what he says about antibiotics and more pain meds but I am feeling much better tonight since he ate a little bit. I was really worried earlier today and I appreciate all of the support! Thanks guys!

BTW- good idea about soaking the pellets in apple juice! I would not have thought of that.

thejoie · 10/15/10

Metacam is good stuff, my Linnie that had his foot amputated just a few weeks ago was on it and he was climbing around like nothing ever happened!
Hopefully, things continue to improve. Poor baby... what a traumatic injury!
Antibiotics might be a good idea.

Lots of love coming his way!

Billie Faye · 10/15/10

OK, I had an U2 with a tongue injury about 4 months ago and YES they can really bleed....
I made a soft paste of Cayenne pepper/water (about 1 tsp ) and gave Gabby that...he would take a bit of it, work it all around inside his beak...the bleeding stopped by the 2nd bite..and he ate the whole tsp of paste...no more bleeding, no pain and he was eating soft foods for the next two days....
Honest, until you try using Cayenne on cuts/bites/ (even on yourself) you won't understand how quickly it stops the bleeding and heals so fast!
I have used it on myself/Poppa/Bonnie and our birds! As for stinging???? Paper cuts hurt worse and YES I have even used it on those too!
It has antibacterial properties and blocks pain...
I have used Cayenne pepper and pepper flakes in my birds food for YEARS and they love the taste of it! It is very benefical for their systems inside...
so if you have something like this happen or a toe or wind gets injuried...this is the first thing I grab....I go through 1# of cayenne a month with my birds 99% in their foods.
HolisticBird and HolisticBirds
Cayenne Pepper: Capsicum annuum used to Treat Pain, Congestion, Cleansing, Immunity
Sorry this has happed to your bird...
:hug8:

Red Jasper · 10/15/10

Metacam seems to be the drug of choice for pain with vets. It's a good and effective pain medication and it can make your little beeb sleepy. Just please be careful with getting the dosage EXACT as prescribed and do not give it more than what's the prescription calls for. Since it's a pain medication, an overdose could be fatal.

I truly hope your bird recovers soon. I am very curious to know if the tongue will grow back, heal or just stay shorter?

pchela · 10/15/10

We double checked the dosage before we gave it to him. I actually did some research on Metacam before I gave it to him just to be sure because the Emergency Vet didn't know anything about birds.

I guess I misrepresented what actually happened to his tongue. He had a chunk taken out of the middle/top area. It's not shorter. What the vet cut off was a flap of skin from the top of the wound that was just hanging there. It's more like a small crater in the middle so it should just heal up normally.

I spoke with my regular vet and he does not want to put him on antibiotics for a mouth wound. He said it should heal very quickly and in fact, Rupert has been eating today so I feel like we're out of the woods. He is only eating soft foods and I imagine his poor tongue will be sore for a few more days, but he is eating and he's playing and not crying in pain anymore. He's also vocalizing normally today! So, I'm very relieved. Thanks for all of the support you guys offered. I guess I probably overreacted but it's difficult when first off your baby is bleeding profusely and then he refuses to eat and cries out in pain for two days!

Thugluvgrl187 · 10/15/10

Glad to hear that he is doing better!

birdlady · 10/15/10

Just reading this now...I am so glad your baby is doing better.

Tongue Injury

pchela

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