Page 185 - Hand rearing birds second

Grebes 171

well for rehydration. Human infant oral rehydration fluids, such as unflavored Pedialyte®, may be
given orally by orogastric tube. Fluids should always be warmed to 102.2–104 °F (39–40 °C) before
administration (Perlman 2016).
Grebes in general require more fluids than would be expected by their body size to avoid clinical
dehydration and may become dehydrated whenever kept out of water for any reason. Healthy birds
that are only mildly dehydrated can be given one to two oral doses of fluids at 2.5% of their body
weight. Once these are absorbed and the chick is active and alert, or after about an hour, they may
be offered food. Moderately dehydrated birds, with tenting of the skin or dry mouth, require a few
more doses of fluids at hourly intervals. The oral cavity of severely dehydrated birds is pale in color
with reduced, stringy saliva. Their eyes are sunken and tented skin is slow to return to its normal
position; the chick’s skin may feel firmly attached to its underlying tissues (i.e. their skin feels
“shrink‐wrapped”). Severely dehydrated birds require a more prolonged course of rehydration, and
IV fluids are recommended if the chick is large enough to access the medial metatarsal vein;
10–20 ml/kg of warmed sterile isotonic electrolytes as a slow bolus two to three times per day using
a 25‐gauge butterfly catheter works very well.
The digestive system cannot function when the bird is significantly dehydrated. Feeding should
be initiated as soon as possible, but only after the bird’s hydration level and behavior normalize.
Once the bird is warmed, then hydrated, and then fed, it should begin defecating and can be con-
sidered stable and ready for continued rehabilitation.

­ Common­Medical­Problems­and Solutions

Large­Grebe­GI­Syndrome
Typically, grebes come into care suffering from dehydration, starvation, and hypothermia.
Large grebes are especially prone to developing dysbiosis, intestinal and cloacal bloating, diar -
rhea, and cloacolithiasis when emaciated and severely dehydrated; hence, aggressive fluid
therapy is warranted in debilitated large grebes. Hemodilution has not been observed in
severely dehydrated Western or Clark’s Grebes receiving up to 20 ml/kg bolus IV fluids up to
three times daily in conjunction with seven times a day tubings of fluids and dilute diets at
50–70 ml/kg. Some debilitated grebes will drink when swimming, but others do not; thus, fre -
quent access to water is not a guarantee against dehydration, and cloacoliths may form even in
birds housed in water around the clock. Movement of the legs during swimming appears nec-
essary for normal elimination in grebes, and extremely debilitated grebes often benefit from
swimming in warm water.
Grebes that produce gritty droppings are at risk for development of cloacolithiasis, which can
progress to necrotizing cloacitis which permanently damages the cloaca wall. The author (RD) has
found treatment with aggressive fluid therapy combined with a combination of a gastric protectant
(sucralfate 1 ml/kg orally q8h), an antibiotic (Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole 100 mg/kg orally
q12h), a laxative (lactulose 0.3 ml/kg orally q8h), and an anti‐inflammatory (meloxicam 0.5 mg/kg
orally q24h) has substantially improved survival from this problem. Clinical signs of this syndrome
include lethargy, hunched posture, cold body temperature despite waterproof plumage, gritty
droppings, blood in droppings, abdominal bloating, and/or prolapsed vent. Grebes with more than
small amounts of blood or tan pieces of tissue (usually sloughed intestinal wall) in droppings
should be humanely euthanized due to a poor prognosis.