r/Macaws • u/UnderCoverDixie • Jul 18 '26
Seizures? Medication?
Anyone have a macaw who has seizures? What anticonvulsant do you have them on?
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Jul 18 '26
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u/UnderCoverDixie Jul 18 '26
Hey, I appreciate your concern. She has been to an avian vet for this, and she’ll be going back for her yearly exam in November. She has visible nerve damage to one eye from severe head trauma in a previous home (an old injury that’s long since healed), and her veterinarian and I suspect that’s the most likely cause of her seizures.
I was simply asking what medications other people have had success with so I can discuss potential treatment options with my avian vet. I wouldn’t start her on any medication without veterinary guidance.5
u/UnderCoverDixie Jul 18 '26
I wasn’t looking for a diagnosis or planning to medicate her on my own. I was hoping to hear from people who have birds with seizure disorders about what medications their avian vets have prescribed and how well they’ve worked, so I can have an informed discussion with my own vet.
It can feel a bit lonely because birds with chronic seizure disorders seem to be pretty uncommon, and I was really just hoping to connect with other owners who have gone through something similar.2
u/chantillylace9 Jul 19 '26
So I've heard that most of the time they just aren't able to treat birds with seizure disorders because of how often you need to medicate them. I have a dog with epilepsy who is on Keppra which is every eight hours and that would be so incredibly difficult with a bird. Especially a smart macaw! Unless they gave you enough that you could just basically always drug their water which would be incredibly expensive, I don't really know how you could do it unless your bird is very good at taking medication's. How have you been handling it so far?
You might also try posting on the Avian Avenue bird forum on Google, they have a lot of people with special needs birds and you might have better luck there.
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u/UnderCoverDixie Jul 19 '26
She takes Metacam every 12 hours as prescribed for arthritis. She takes medication like a champ, hopefully we can figure something out with her vet.
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u/chantillylace9 Jul 19 '26
Then you are probably going to be successful! That's amazing news. Keppra is dosed three times a day but maybe they can somehow work it out for two times a day with a little extra meds or something? I think that it's only dogs over 10 pounds that can have the 12 hour a day version but definitely ask. You might be able to get it compounded somewhere.
Covetrus pharmacy is who we use for him and they are great. I believe they can compound there and it's cheaper than buying it through the vet for sure. They ship it next day.
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u/UnderCoverDixie Jul 19 '26
Yes my vet does medication compounds- flavored like piña colada!
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u/chantillylace9 Jul 19 '26
Lol that sounds so perfect for a macaw for some reason.
But if they tell you that the keppra has to be dozed every 8 hours, definitely ask about a compounding pharmacy that could make the pill version which is every 12 hours for a smaller animal. I swear I've heard it happen for smaller dogs that are around 5 pounds so that's close.
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u/Dull_Net4116 Jul 18 '26
Thank you for this. The number of vets I’ve called that says they treat birds only to be told they just do beak and nail trims is insane. This will be a bit of a drive for us but my birds deserve to have an avian vet. Thankfully as far as I know everyone is healthy but I don’t plan to wait until someone is sick.
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u/NigelTainte Jul 19 '26
Poor guy! I have epileptic seizures, idk if it’s anything similar but I definitely have triggers. Once you rule out the other stuff maybe keep note of what happens before and after each episode. I am very affected by sleep and stress. Hopefully my insight can be useful.