Canker in Goose -- HELP!

[Vasp]

You guys have a lot of experience with canker, so I could think of nowhere better to turn than to Pigeon-Talk. My pet goose, Moody, has a canker growth on her tongue. It is not bothering her at all, she eats and drinks fine, but it is obvious from the outside as well as the inside that she has it. There is a lump under her beak, and inside her mouth a lump on the back of her tongue that is yellowish in color. Her breath doesn't smell too great either. I don't know when this started but so far, she still seems perfectly healthy. I want to treat this ASAP so I just wanted to know WHAT I need to treat this, how long I'll need it, and what sort of doses we're looking at to treat it. She is a large bird, probably a little under or a little over 20 pounds--I'll weigh her tonight--and I'm going to need help knowing what doses to give and everything.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

[Pidgey]

The dose depends on the drug--what have you got?

Pidgey

[Vasp]

I don't have anything at the moment, I still have to call around and see what we have here...I'm located in Regina, Saskatchewan... We don't have many things for birds around here, but I'll check. What drug do you recommend?

[Pidgey]

Or do I gather that you don't have any anti-canker drugs? Well, in lieu of anyone else with more experience with canker in geese coming on, I'd probably go with Metronidazole. If you can get it as 250 milligram tablets in the FishZole form from a local aquarium and fish supply store (not Wal-Mart), then you could give two tablets, twice daily. That's one possibility.

Pidgey

[Pidgey]

Canada, huh? Well, Brad told me that Metronidazole is pretty easy to find at the aquarium stores there in Canada. A lot of the other things are probably going to be a lot tougher to find and you might have to order them through an online site and then wait for them. The Met's probably going to be your best bet.

Pidgey

[feralpigeon]

It's usually called Fishzole @ Aquarium supply sections of pet stores. Make
sure there aren't other meds tossed into a mix. You could also try Feed and
Grain stores. Is it possible for you to post a picture?

fp

[Pidgey]

You might call these places in the morning:

http://canada411.yellowpages.ca/bus/...Ltd/18978.html

http://canada411.yellowpages.ca/bus/...t/2083366.html

http://canada411.yellowpages.ca/bus/...um/206081.html

http://canada411.yellowpages.ca/bus/...d/2455424.html

http://canada411.yellowpages.ca/bus/...a/2461581.html

http://canada411.yellowpages.ca/bus/...d/1222541.html

You might also ask them about a Tetracycline because that's one you can keep around just in case.

Pidgey

[Vasp]

Extemely difficult. But I'm sure it's canker, I've seen it so many times before and it looks identical. It's also possible that she got to some not-so-clean water quite a few times when she has outside time... So I'd say it's probably canker.

[Vasp]

I've heard that some canker medications can cause psychological or even neurological problems. Will either of these medications harm her in any way?

[Vasp]

And THANK YOU SO MUCH for those stores!!

[Pidgey]

Well, we've only mentioned one medication so far and that's Metronidazole. Metronidazole (Flagyl) is about the safest canker med that there is. Dimetridazole (Emtryl; it's related but much worse for the kind of effects that you're talking about) is probably the worst. Carnidazole (Spartrix) is considered one of the more effective. There are others like Ronidazole and Secnidazole. Most of those are going to have an availability problem for you.

Pidgey

[Vasp]

I believe I have some Flagyl around. I'll get back to you guys in just a bit. I have many people on the phone right now, my mother and grandmother (who was a nurse) and they are familiar with this medication... I believe we will be able to find Flagyl, either in Fishzole or another form...As soon as I find it, I will get back to you.

[feralpigeon]

Originally Posted by Vasp

I've heard that some canker medications can cause psychological or even neurological problems. Will either of these medications harm her in any way?

If treated with the species specific dose rate and for the recommended length
of time, you shouldn't have any problems.

As always, w/Tetracyclines, do not give calcium concurrently.

fp

[Vasp]

That's okay, her food has next to calcium in it anyway. I'm not exactly sure what the dose is for her species.

[Vasp]

I actually might have some Tetracycline around here somewhere.
My only question would be... Is it safe to use? What are the recommended doses, and for what length of time? I would only have Tetracycline around used for humans... Not for birds... So it wouldn't have any recommended doses on the back or anything.

Edit: We have a few pills of Doxycycline. On Wikipedia it says it's a member of the Tetracycline Antibiotics group. Would this be okay? Each pill is 100mg, and we actually don't have very many. Should we just look for Fishzole?