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Heavy
Metal Poisoning (by
Dr. Bob Doneley)
Dr. Bob Doneley is one
of Queensland's leading avian veterinarians in
Australia.
Although not as common as a few years ago,
poisoning with lead or zinc (New Wire Disease)
is still frequently seen by avian vets. In
fact, some vets will routinely treat nearly
all sick birds for Heavy Metal Poisoning, just
in case. Lead is used both in alloys to
make wire malleable, and as solder. Zinc
is used to galvanise metal to prevent rust.
Both, when ingested in sufficient
amounts by a bird, will cause toxicity. Other
heavy metals, such as copper, can cause
toxicity, but are less commonly seen (or at
least, are less commonly diagnosed).
Affected birds will be depressed, fluffed up
and often incredibly thirst, but vomit soon
after drinking. Their droppings contain
a lot of water (which is often mistaken for
disrrhoea). Death can occur as little as
three days after being exposed to a supply of
lead or zinc. This is usually due to
kidney failure, but other organs, including
the brain, pancreas and intestinal tract can
be affected.
Aggressive and early treatment with Calsenate
(the antidote to heavy metals) and fluids, as
well as supportive treatment, can often save a
sick bird, but is not always successful and
can be expensive. Prevention is
obviously the better way to go.
Firstly, wherever possible avoid cheap wire,
as it often has tags and flakes of zinc on it,
and contains high levels of lead. Use
some of the newer wires by BHP that are welded
after galvanisation. Yes, it does cost
more, but the money spent on treating sick
birds usually exceeds the difference between
good quality and poor quality wire. If
you can't get this wire, you must physically
scrape off all tags of zinc, then wash the
wire with dilute vinegar. Rinse off the
vinegar after an hour, allow the wire to dry
and then paint with a matte black paint.
Do not rely on weathering to remove
zinc. I have found toxic levels of zinc
on wire 2 years old.
Secondly, if you have larger chewing parrots -
Asiatics, Conures, Cockatoos etc - do not
allow them access to tie wire. This wire
can be snipped off and swallowed, and takes
ages to remove (thus adding to the cost of
treatment).
Thirdly, get rid of any lead solder. Look
at those galvanised D-cups. Flip them
over and admire the lead solder on them.
I have seen two cases of death in
Cockatoos that were definitely attributable to
lead poisoning from the feed dishes.
Finally, think safe. If your birds can
chew something, think about whether it could
be toxic. If you're not sure, get rid of
it.
Source: Vet's
Corner of The Parrot Society of Australia,
Sep/Oct 1998 Issue
重
金 屬 中 毒
雖然鸚鵡中毒 ( 鉛或鋅 )
在過去數年並不普遍，但獸醫就時常遇見到那些病例。而事實上，有些獸醫已將鉛或鋅中毒視作為重金屬中毒。
鉛 ---
是一種易熔合金，經常用作為銲接其他硬金屬或金屬線的用途。
鋅 ---
是用作為電鍍金屬去防止生銹。
如果鸚鵡吞食過量鉛或鋅，就會引至中毒。其他重金屬，例如銅，同樣都會引至中毒，但鸚鵡吞食銅而中毒的普遍程度不高。
鸚鵡中毒後都會表現沮喪，鬆毛和經常口渴，往往飲水後就立即嘔吐。便便含大量水份
(常被誤會是吐潟)。如果發現鸚鵡中毒，最快可能
3
天後就會死亡。死亡原因多數因為腎衰竭。其他器官如腦、胰臟和腸道系統都可能會受影響。
積極和及早治療先可能救回鸚鵡生命
---
重金屬的解毒劑，流質加有系統的治療都可能救回鸚鵡，但不是一定能成功。可是，所付出的治療費用都會比較高！所以，預防中毒是最好的方法。
第一，盡量不用便宜貨的金屬器皿
(雀籠或食物容器等等)，因為它們可能有鋅金屬的標籤，並可能會發生金屬薄片或粉末�v落的情況。在這種情況下，當鸚鵡啜咬器皿時就可能會吞下過量的鉛或鋅。
現在有些新產品在金屬電鍍後再鍍上一層
BHP，當然價錢會比較昂貴，但相對比較花費在治療和藥物的金錢就已經值得！如果買不到這種產品時，那一定要將所有金屬的標籤擦刮掉，之後用稀釋醋水浸泡一小時，待清水沖洗後，再塗上一層無光黑油漆
(註 : a matte black paint )，不要讓那些標籤自然地經過時間地�v落，因為以我所知，鋅金屬的毒性可在器皿表層維持兩年之久...
第二，中大型鸚鵡
(啜咬) - 不可讓他們接觸那些含高量鉛或鋅的金屬線網
/ 攑 /
容器，他們有可能因啜咬而吸入或吞下過量的鉛或鋅。中毒後就要經過長時間治療...
(治療費便會因此更𡶺加)。
第三，避免用鉛造銲接的器皿，我曾見過，兩隻葵花鸚鵡由食物容器中吞食過量鉛而死亡。
最後，經常顧及安全。如果你的鸚鵡喜愛啜咬，應該要考慮那物件是否會令他們有中毒的可能性...如果不可能判斷是否安全，請放棄使用吧！！！
(以英文為準)
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