A Heads-Up re: topical antibiotics
Hello BST community, As a bird lover and keeper for many years, I thought it would be useful to join this community. My housemate and I had a beautiful, intelligent, funny, rescued European Starling, Little One, for almost 8-1/2 years. Tragically, he passed on last month, after some health issues. So, this post is actually an advisory for bird keepers everywhere to be very careful using topical antibiotics on your birds, especially Silver Sulfadiazine. Regrettably my housemate used too much on our bird-friend, and (I suspect) Little One became toxified by the medication. So, for the well-being and safety of your beloved bird-friends, PLEASE BE CAREFUL and monitor the use of these meds. I think these powerful antibiotics are only safe to use for a few days, or a couple of weeks, and while under Veterinary care/supervision. Gratefully, Roselyn.
Roselyn, I’m so sorry about Little One. Eight and a half years together sounds like a very special bond, and thank you for sharing this painful experience with the community.
A gentle note for anyone reading: silver sulfadiazine and other topical medicines should be used on birds only when an avian veterinarian recommends them, with clear instructions on how much and how long to apply. Birds may swallow medication while preening, and the right treatment can depend on the bird and the wound. It isn’t possible to tell from a post what contributed to Little One’s illness, so we’d be cautious about drawing conclusions—but if a bird becomes unwell during treatment, contact an avian vet promptly and mention the medication, amount, and timing. Our avian vets page lists local options, including BST’s go-to, Britannia Animal Hospital in Mississauga.
If you’re comfortable sharing, what led to Little One being prescribed the topical medication, and did your vet give any specific instructions? Community members are welcome to share their experiences, too.
Thank you for your kind response; it's much appreciated. Today is actually the one-month mark since Little One's passing -- it's a work in progress for us, processing and dealing with the grief! He had an ongoing foot issue and, although I've since learned (from doing the research) that some Vets. prescribe Silver Sulfadiazine for pets, as a medication created for humans, I don't think it's very safe for animals, considering as you wisely point out, that the bird can in fact ingest the med. while preening. My housemate was the one who took Little One to the Vet. each time, and according to what I was told, the Vet. was quite OK with my housemate continuing to use the cream on our bird's foot. In hindsight, I wished I had been at that last appt. (I'm not as trusting with Vets as my housemate is, and I would've asked questions). I also wished that I knew from the start what the cream was made of! I have since then discovered that caution must be used with birds especially, due to potential toxicity. Thank you for providing this forum! Here are a couple of links to the Tributes I wrote to honour him / his passing: https://journeyofselfdiscovery.weebly.com/blog/an-honour-and-a-privilege , https://journeyofselfdiscovery.weebly.com/blog/ode-to-little-one