Warning: Wet Paint

Tammy A. Parker, DVM
is a 1993 graduate of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.

Currently employed at Loving Hands Animal Clinic in Alpharetta, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta), Dr. Parker is responsible for exotic animal medicine and surgery. She acts as an advisor for the Georgia Department of Agriculture and volunteers her skills at the Chattahoochee Nature Center Wildlife Clinic. She is an active member of the Association of Avian Veterinarians.

I had just gotten my little girl down for a much needed nap (for both of us!) when the phone rang. On the line was one of the clinic receptionists. She described a distraught lady, who called to say she was bringing in her bird as an emergency. The bird had gotten into paint and, apparently, quite a bit of it. I started by asking the name. The receptionist, being new, couldn't tell me, but indicated the lady hung up very quickly and had been crying while trying to tell her the problem. The receptionist could tell me the bird was an eclectus. I roused my daughter and headed for the car. As I drove, the steps needing to be taken, general bird weights, and equipment, raced through my mind. The most important step I could think of was to pray. Paints are notoriously toxic in wet form for a variety of reasons.

When I arrived, the bird had still not presented, but I also had not known from how far the lady was driving. As I laid out catheters and fluids, readied an oxygen cage, and tried to collect emergency drugs, the bird finally arrived. I spared the owner a quick glance and noted a very drawn, shrunken woman with a very gray pallor. She was quiet and I went to work immediately on the male eclectus. His breathing was somewhat increased, but lungs were clear and the rate was not outrageously fast for the activity around him. His beak and mouth had very little evidence of paint. His feet had a green tint, but I didn't notice tons of paint at first look. As I clicked off systems checks in my head and assured myself they weren't too bad yet, I looked at the feathers more closely. Any paint would have to come off. The paint he had gotten into was almost exactly his same shade of green.

I motioned for the owner to come closer. She had been quietly observing and crying in a corner. When she was much closer, I realized this was not only a very good client, but also a good friend. My patient was Johan! The owner was usually so happy and vivacious, that I had not even recognized her -- so different was she in the grip of fear. I hugged her and said, "OK. This is what we need to deal with..."

My first and most important questions were what kind of paint, potentially how much, and did she see him actually eating the paint? An oil based acrylic paint (high gloss), one of the craft sizes, and no she did not see Johan actually eat the paint. We could not wash the paint away, so we cut as much as possible off the feathers.

We started supportive care, including an intraosseous (in the bone) catheter for fluids to be given and charcoal administration, by gavage (via tube into the crop) to hopefully start binding any toxins. Johan was almost constantly watched the next twenty-four hours. With toxin exposures, treatment is initially to limit exposure and then to address signs/symptoms that appear. By eleven p.m., Johan had had enough observation and decided to "cut himself loose" by snipping the catheter line in multiple pieces! At least he was bright and alert. The next morning, we checked his bloodwork. The results were good. We removed Johan’s catheter. His mom came to check on him and he sat contentedly with her. He alternated between preening and eating. She had all his favorite foods including pistachios.

Johan went home later in the day. His mom was working from there in order to monitor Johan (and wait on him hand and foot I think!) When she picked him up, I finally got to ask how Johan had gotten in the paint tube. He had eaten through a desk drawer to get it. The fact that it was the exact shade of Johan was no coincidence. His mom was painting a mailbox with Johan’s likeness. I guess Johan didn't like the high gloss competition!