AndreaFahy
06-10-2007, 03:39 PM
"Birds should never be allowed to consume tobacco products. Ingestion of small quantities of nicotine can cause hyperexcitability, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures and rapid death. Treatment is supportive and symptomatic.
Passive inhalation of cigarrtte, cigar and pipe smoke can cause chronic ocular, dermatologic and respiratory disease in companion birds. Birds that live in homes with smokers will often present with clinical signs including coughing, sneezing, sinusitus and conjuctivitus due to continuous irritation of the respiratory system. The clinical signs may resolve without treatment if no secondary infectious agents are involved, the clients stop smoking or the bird is placed in a location where there is no smoke. Secondary bacterial invasion of the damaged respiratory epithelium is common and requires therapy; however, therapy for these infections will be of little value if the bird is continuosly exposed to smoke.
In order to keep pet birds healthy, they should be maintained in well-ventilated, smoke-free environments. Exposures to secondary smoke from marijuana can cause severe depression and regurgitation and should be strictly avoided.
Nicotine sulfate has been shown to cause severe skelatal malformation, reduced body weight, torticollis, edema, muscular dystrophpy and malformation of the beak, heart and kidneys. Pdoddermatitis has been observed in some birds handled by people who smoke routinely. Repeated exposure to the nicotine residues on the hands of smokers is thought to cause this local irritation. Macaws may suffer a similar dermatitis on the bare cheek patches following repeated contact with a smoker's hands. Many birds with sever picking problems will resume normal preening behavior when removed from cigarrette smoke."
Source: "Avian Medicine: Principles and Application"
By: Ritchie, Harrison & Harrison
Passive inhalation of cigarrtte, cigar and pipe smoke can cause chronic ocular, dermatologic and respiratory disease in companion birds. Birds that live in homes with smokers will often present with clinical signs including coughing, sneezing, sinusitus and conjuctivitus due to continuous irritation of the respiratory system. The clinical signs may resolve without treatment if no secondary infectious agents are involved, the clients stop smoking or the bird is placed in a location where there is no smoke. Secondary bacterial invasion of the damaged respiratory epithelium is common and requires therapy; however, therapy for these infections will be of little value if the bird is continuosly exposed to smoke.
In order to keep pet birds healthy, they should be maintained in well-ventilated, smoke-free environments. Exposures to secondary smoke from marijuana can cause severe depression and regurgitation and should be strictly avoided.
Nicotine sulfate has been shown to cause severe skelatal malformation, reduced body weight, torticollis, edema, muscular dystrophpy and malformation of the beak, heart and kidneys. Pdoddermatitis has been observed in some birds handled by people who smoke routinely. Repeated exposure to the nicotine residues on the hands of smokers is thought to cause this local irritation. Macaws may suffer a similar dermatitis on the bare cheek patches following repeated contact with a smoker's hands. Many birds with sever picking problems will resume normal preening behavior when removed from cigarrette smoke."
Source: "Avian Medicine: Principles and Application"
By: Ritchie, Harrison & Harrison