Psittacine medcine Flashcards
What are common conditions in cockatoos?
- Feather plucking disorder
- Reproductive disease
- PBFD / circovirus
What are common conditions in cockatiels?
- Reproductive disease
- PUPD / renal
- GIT disease
- Heart disease
What are common conditions of lories?
- Diet related problems / subnutrition
- GIT disease
What are common conditions in budgies + love birds?
- Reproductive disorders
- Skin / feather problems
- Neoplasia
What are common conditions of eclectus parrots?
- Behaviour / feather plucking disorders
What are common conditions of african grey parrots?
◦ Diet related problems – calcium, Vit A
◦ Aspergillosis
◦ Feather-plucking disorders
What are common conditions of conures?
- Psittacine herpesvirus
- Feather plucking disorders
What are common conditions of Macaws?
- Respiratory problems
- PDD / Bornavirus
- Psittacine herpesvirus
- Behaviour issues
What are common conditions of amazon parrots?
- Obesity + related problems
- Psittacine Herpesvirus
- Behaviour issues
What is avian bornavirus (ABV) and proventricular dilation disease (PDD)?
- Non-purulent inflammation of neural tissue =
◦ GIT autonomic nerve system → PDD
◦ CNS → neuro signs
◦ Cardiac autonomic nerve system → heart failure signs
What are CS of ABV?
- PDD = regurgitation, diarrhoea w undigested food, weight loss, normal appetite
- CNS infection = tremors, seizures, ataxia, head shaking / tilt
- other signs = non-specific, sudden death, cardiac related
How is ABV + PDD diagnosed?
- ABV Dx = RT-PCR (crop/cloacal swabs)
- PDD Dx = radiography (plain/contrast), Biopsy + histo (Crop / proventricular wall)
How would you treat ABV + PDD?
- ABV = robenacoxib, cyclosporine, amantadine
- PDD = metoclopramide, cimetidne, meloxicam
What is Psittacine Beak + Feather disease? (PBFD)
- Circovirus
- Tropism of skin, feather follicles + lymphoid tissues
- CS = feather dystrophy
- loss of normal powder down feathers
- immunosuppression
- secondary opportunistic infections
Dx + Tx of PBFD?
- Dx = PCR - feathers, cloacal swab, bloods
- Tx = NONE = Euthanasia
What are the 2 presentations of psittacine herpesvirus? What birds are more susceptible?
- Amazon parrots + macaws more susceptible
- 2 presentation =
- Acute (pacheco’s disease) - sudden death, preceded w non-specific signs
- Chronic - papilloma formation (typically cloaca) + hepatobiliary neoplasia
What is Dx + Tx of psittacine herpesvirus?
- Dx = PCR, PM (liver/spleen), blood, cloacal swab
Tx = Acyclovir
What is psittacine polyomavirus? (APV) Transmission? CS?
- Affects mostly young birds
- 2 types =
- APV 1 - infects budgies (budgies fledgling disease)
- APV 2 - infects all other psittacines
- Transmission =
- APV 1 = every secretion + vertical route
- APV 2 = only horizontal secretion
- CS = abnormal feathering, stunted growth + immunosuppression, haemorrhages
What are causes of feather plucking?
◦ Localized pain/discomfort
◦ External and internal parasites
◦ Hypovitaminosis and other nutritional imbalances
◦ Hepatopathies
◦ Dermatitis
◦ Viral infections? Bornavirus?
◦ Inadequate environment
◦ Behavioural (similar to separation anxiety)
◦ Reproductive/hormonal
What is diagnostic approach to feather plucking?
- Detailed history = Diet, Environment, Interactions w/ owners and other birds, Photoperiod (potential causes)
- Clinical exam - detect localised areas of pain
- Full blood profile - internal disease
- Faecal testing - detect flagellates
- Specific pathogen testing (e.g. Bornavirus)
- Skin biopsies, c&s
- Radiography
* If all causes ruled out = repro / behavioural causes
How would you treat feather plucking?
- Correct any abnormalities detected
- Educate the owner
- Educate the bird - positive reinforcement / training + stimulation
- Medicate = analgesia (meloxicam + gabapentin), treat 2ary infections, Psychotropic drugs, collars for severe cases
