Serious foot problem! Please help

[beckikinsella]

Hi

A couple of weeks ago, my budgie (Blue) burned his feet, very sadly. I was making  hot drinksand just didn't think to remove them before allowing him out of his cage. Please don't judge me for this. I feel guilty enough as it is

It was very touch and go whether he would make it for the first week. He was quiet, and fluffed up all the time. After about 6 days of this, he seemed to improve drastically. Then, he started to bleed. I have never seen so much blood from such a small animal. We took him straight to the vets, but they were not interested and told us that birds do just fine with deformities. He would be fine. Took him to another vet, who basically said the same thing. There are no other vets near us and we do not drive.

He has been doing fine this last week. Really picked up, his right foot has been swollen since the accident, but apart from that he has been fine (although a little reluctant to put weight on the swollen foot). Been keeping a very close eye on him. The last 2 days, he hasn't wanted to put any weight on either of his feet. When he is resting, he rests his body on his perch against the side of his cage, but that is all. I have noticed he has no nails on his right foot, and just one small nail on his left. His right foot, he had already lost one nail, but all other nails looked relatively normal.

I just don't know what to do with him. He is still chatty and happy, but just doesn't want to put any weight on his feet. Could all this have been caused by the burns, or is there something more sinister going on. It doesn't actually look like there are any burns on his feet. Apart from swelling and a little dried blood,and lack of nails, his feet look relatively normal.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks 

[mizloco]

Hello and welcome. Sorry to hear about the accident it sounds frightening. Someone wwith more experience will give you advice but I wanted to just say I hope it heals ok.

[budgiefriend]

Poor little Blue. Hope his feet heal. Hugs to you both.

[stace]

Poor baby. Get some good topical burn cream from the pharmacy to rub on his feet twice a day. Something mild like sudocream or savlon that you'd use for a baby.

You might want to wrap his perches in some kind of fabric that won't get his claws caught in fibres, but will provide a softer perch for him. Or get or make some flat perches.

If he has to stand on the edge of his bowl to eat his seed, maybe pop his bowl on the base of the cage so he can stand with his feet flat to eat.

If there is any sign of infection, he needs antibiotics pronto.

[Hezz]

Stace has listed all the things I was thinking of, so don't have much to add. Flat shelves that he can lie on, but still add the padding would help, I think, and cotton rope perches, such as a boing ..... if you have anything like this. For now I would remove his timber perches and only leave him with anything padded. Budgies feet are not easily healed as they are a bit like horses, and never off them. It is probably a good thing that he is lying down to give the feet a break. The missing nails shouldn't be an issue, certainly not of concern right now - you need to get the feet healed first. If you can find any other suggestions for treating bumblefoot this might help as well. Someone needs to invent little budgie flip-flops for occasions such as this.