After 3 vet emergency examinations, Touki went through a series of testing - fecal gram stain, blood work & x-rays. The images showed that Touki’s proventriculus (first part of the stomach) was dialated & that he had major food impaction lodged- like a belly of a 9-month pregnancy! Doc said there’s so many risks associated with this condition, his insides could implode & if it were to happen there is nothing he can do to save Touki. He said that toucans have a much thinner lining in their stomachs compared to parrots. Toucans cannot survive stomach surgeries like a parrot could… 😳🤯 this was surely a test of faith.

The Dr. believed the bacteria was infesting due to the impaction of debris & fruit spoiling within his gut. The impaction was crushing Touki’s organs & this bacteria was causing an extreme spike in glucose levels. They suspected the clostridium bacteria was spreading, causing extreme symptoms & killing Touki. 💔 We had a special blood test performed & shipped to a cutting-edge exotic veterinarian in Ohio & sadly, the results came back positive with antibodies. The vet specialist suspected Ganglioneuritis, which would possibly explain Touki’s neuropathy & paresis (a condition of muscular weakness caused by nerve damage or disease; partial paralysis).

With all these symptoms, Touki required several medications all around the clock for several weeks! He’s been on a powerful oral antibiotic & insulin injections (every 12 hours), periodic gavage (tube feeding; every 3 hours), subcutaneous injection fluids (daily) & an anti-inflammatory injection (every 3 days). 😵‍💫😩

As terrible as this sounds, the trials of medication & intensive care support saved his life & helped him feel better! It took a collaboration of 5 exotic veterinarians to work with us diligently to receive the information & appropriate medicine to intervene this awful predicament. 😫😩

We are still investigating if there are any potential underlying causes apart from this detrimental bacteria. Even though we suspect the bacteria due to the spoilage of food in Touki’s gut, there’s several other possibilities this bacteria can be linked to. For instance, there’s a link between Hemochromotosis (iron storage disease - ISD) and Clostridium bacteria. Clostridium is a very difficult bacteria to get rid of. It can humans.

ISD is known to plague toucans in captivity & cause the organs to shut down & ultimately succumb to death - if left undiagnosed & untreated. It is a very common disease that can attack healthy toucans from out of nowhere & is the leading cause of their demise but we’re learning it can be managed if caught early enough.

We are doing our diligence & investigating every thing in order to rule out all other potential possibilities, in the most appropriate steps. Over the past couple weeks, we performed several more barium dye x-rays & finally a CT scan. Touki’s intestines were distended & he had megacolon. (This is also life threatening condition in itself). 💔

In the CT report, possible atherosclerosis with systemic hypertension was discovered. (Atherosclerosis is a build up of cholesterol plaque in the walls of arteries causing obstruction of blood flow). The scan images also revealed liver & kidney , bile duct distension in the right liver & they were unable to see the commissure of the pancreas. The Dr.’s concern is Atherosclerosis, Hemochromotosis (ISD) & gross pancreatic pathology / Tumor.

Our choices were to either treat for all the suspected above mentioned without further confirmatory diagnostics OR to perform a surgical liver & pancreatic biopsy for a definitive prognosis.

We believe getting a definitive diagnostic will allow us to design the best treatment protocol for Touki, avoiding over medicating him unnecessarily. So a biopsy surgery would be the next best step. ☹️ We absolutely hate to prop Touki up on so many medications but ultimately we hate to see him suffer. Besides if the Dr. were to see a tumor, he said he would remove it simultaneously, as he retrieved the biopsies. A lot of horrifying symptoms but we must keep the faith. 🙏🏼

We decided to go forward with the biopsy & had it performed as soon as possible. Touki did really well. He is still on a medication schedule to help support & manage symptoms. Now we are awaiting for those results from an expert pathologist in Washington state. 🙏🏼

We are continue to pray that Touki will fully heal & recover & that he is free from all disease. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 Let it be God’s Will, that he will live out a long, fulfilling and thriving life without any continued medications. We believe & stand for a quality of life; without suffering. This goes for Touki & all of our birds at our sanctuary.  

Thank you so much for all of your support - from prayers, kind words, fan mail, gifts & financial donations. We understand if you are in financial hardships & cannot donate. Your encouragement & moral support is just as impactful. The outpouring of love & support from this faithful community has truly made a world of a difference for us.💞

Much love & blessings from Touki, both his hu-moms Janelle, Arielle and the rest of the flock!! 🙏🏼❤️‍🩹