Mozart's Illness
Updated: 2007-07-30
In October 2004, we took a trip to Yosemite National Park in California with both birds; Mozart our Triton Cockatoo, and Pele, our Solomon Island Eclectus. Because a health certificate is required for airline travel, before leaving on the trip Mozart and Pele had been examined by our Vet. Apart from Mozart being somewhat overweight, both birds were pronounced to be in good health. -We would never consider traveling with the birds if they were sick, but apart from a few brief respiratory problems, Mozart was always quite healthy. The trip went very well, we left Yosemite Valley for Carmel by the Sea just as a forest fire was filling the Valley with smoke. (A week later a sudden blizzard killed two people mountain climbing on El Capitan.) The day after returning from the trip Mozart was regurgitating any food or water he ingested and was initially hospitalized on October 17th. He spent a night in an Animal Hospital in an incubator. We thought that he was sick with a Sour Crop from bad food while on the trip. But it turned out to be a more serious problem.
A Week of Tests and Surgery
Mozart at Fallston
After multiple examinations and blood tests he was referred to a board certified Avian practitioner. We took him to a Vet practice north of Baltimore. He was there for about a week. We visited every day that he was there. The Vets told us that after getting over his initial fear Mozart was cooperative with the staff and seemed to understand that they were trying to help him. They told us that he liked being held and comforted after even the most disagreeable procedures. During that time he could not eat, and he was on support for fluids because he could not drink. His symptoms were that he had crop stasis due a blockage in his proventriculus (stomach). The location of the blockage was difficult to identify and it took several X-ray procedures before it was found. Once the blockage was located, a surgical procedure to clear the problem seemed like his best chance for survival. We were worried, any surgery has its risks, but the Vets seemed to think that his chances were good.
Mozart Dies after Surgery
The surgical procedure was performed on October 25, 2004, at 11AM in the morning to clear the blockage from his stomach. An ingested foreign substance, which the Veterinarian described as similar to aquarium sand was found and removed. Unfortunately, after surviving the surgery, just after the noon, Mozart died from heart failure. After 14 years of giving us his unconditional love, and filling so many that he met with joy and beauty, his heart of gold gave out. We grieve the loss of our dear friend and miss him. We will remember for all our lives what joy he brought to this world and the love he gave to us.
A Shock
A final picture of Mozart
This sudden illness and death was quite a shock. The substance found during the surgery was described as similar to fine aquarium sand. How he ingested that material, or why it would block his stomach is not clear to us. When we travel he is never allowed to wander around or chew on anything except the toys we bring with us, or the food we provide. Over the years we have seen him chew a variety of plastics, leathers, wood, paper, cardboard, not to mention clothing. Chewing on these objects never caused a problem in the past. He did have a number of concrete perches in his cage, but we could not say that was the source of the problem, or why it suddenly happened on the trip. It remains a mystery to us as to what happened to cause the blockage and how he ingested it. We always assumed that he would outlive us by decades and were considering the problem of how to provide for his care after we died. Prior to and during this trip he seemed to be the healthiest and happiest that he had ever been. We have some final pictures online from our visits to the clinic.
Pele Falls Sick
We have received a number of Emails and cards of condolence regarding Mozart's death and thank those who sent them for their kindness. It seems that he touched many peoples lives with his unique joy and beauty. Unfortunately, adding to our grief, Pele, our Solomon Island Eclectus parrot came down with a leg infection just after Mozart's death. The Vet thought that her leg band caused an ulcer, which led to an infection, which has caused her to gnaw the skin raw down to the tendons. We were alerted to the problem when we noted a rhythmic toe tapping that became a full body twitch. The red feathers on her legs hid the skin damage. Since October of 2004 she has been through many courses of treatment with antibiotics and skin ointments. She has been fitted with a neck collar to keep her from further gnawing and her vet has recommended changes in her cage perches from the current sand perches to plain wood. More recently she has been treated for Giardia and showed some marked improvement, but a month after the treatment the leg twitching returned and she again started biting her legs.
We are not sure if Pele misses Mozart, but since he was so loud and rambunctious in the room she shared with him we are sure that she has noticed his absence. She seems to want to be with us more than before, but that might be due to her illness. She has a daily opportunity for a shower, sitting on a perch in the shower with me. Most days she sits on her perch and runs though a series of "Hi girl" and "Hi boy" every 30 seconds or so. One morning, shortly after Mozart's death I heard her say quite distinctly "Hi Mozart" in a very low voice. When I heard this, I looked at the other end of the shower at the empty perch where Mozart used to sit every day. I wondered if she was asking for him or sensing his spirit.
Another Cockatoo?
It will take us some time to get over the pain of his loss. I remind myself that time will dull the pain and allow me to cherish his memory. While we were not ready to rush out and buy another cockatoo, we had been investigating the availability of Triton Cockatoos. Mozart's death coincided with the end of the availability of weaned babies. We saw quite a few Moluccan babies and Umbrellas, but no Tritons. From our experience with Mozart we would like to have another male Triton Cockatoo. We left our contact information with the two stores we have patronized in the past, Featherheads in Sterling VA where we adopted Pele the Eclectus, and the American Bird Company where we adopted Mozart 14 years ago, in Falls Church, VA.
From Pat Boros at the American Bird Company we learned that his Triton Cockatoo parents are still alive and breeding. When Featherheads contacted us around Christmas with the availability of a Triton we were not ready for another bird so soon and declined. We can never replace Mozart, but the idea had been planted that we might be able to adopt his younger brother! We have learned recently that an egg was laid by his parents on January 11, 2005. It remains to be seen if it is fertile. And if it is a male. We hope that we will be able to adopt his "younger brother" around Easter. We will never be able to replace Mozart, he was very special and unique to us. But we hoped to begin anew with a new bird, and record that experience in these pages. As it turned out, Mozart's parents did not produce a chick in 2005, and we obtained a male Triton Cockatoo, which we named "Kaipo" from Featherheads. But that's another story, see the pages: Stalking the Blue Eyed Triton. In 2007 Mozart's parents produced two chicks and we were able to bring home his "younger brother" (see the main page for the link to the web album about Amadeus.)
Text Larger
Text smaller
Email Us
Home