Riley, a 6-year-old parakeet, is a regular patient at the MSPCA-Angell West’s Avian and Exotic Medicine service. Recently this little budgie found himself in a sticky situation when he got stuck on a glue trap, which his owner didn’t realize was still present in the home. The circumstances became even more serious when Riley was exposed to Goo Gone, which contains toxic ingredients to a bird’s respiratory system. “Birds are much more sensitive to respiratory toxins because their respiratory system is very good at concentrating particles in the air,” said Dr. Anne Staudenmaier, a specialist on Angell’s Avian and Exotic Medicine team.

Riley was rushed to the Emergency and Critical Care service at Angell West and hospitalized. Dr. Staudenmaier started Riley on oxygen and heat support, antibiotics for secondary skin infections and respiratory tract, and anti-inflammatories to reduce the irritation from the toxins.

Once Riley was stable, Dr. Staudenmaier sedated him, and non-toxic mineral oil was used to remove the remaining glue trap debris. He then received a bath using Dawn dish soap to remove the mineral oil and Goo Gone before being placed in a warm incubator to dry.

“Riley was a rock star, and he responded fantastically,” said Dr. Staudenmaier. After a few days at the hospital, he was discharged with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. And it wasn’t long before he was back to his normal activities.

For more information about MSPCA-Angell’s Avian and Exotic Medicine service, please visit angell.org/avianandexotic.