Subject: Fw: [bcvanbirds] Death By Chocolate
Date: Mar 1 23:33:32 2001
From: WAYNE WEBER - contopus at home.com



----- Original Message -----
From: Kyle Hamish Elliott <kelliott at physics.ubc.ca>
To: bcvanbirds <bcvanbirds at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2001 1:19 AM
Subject: Re: [bcvanbirds] Death By Chocolate


> Yes, I've heard this too and always dismissed it as an urban legend.
But I
> found this explanation off www.vetheart.com on the web, perhaps a
similar
> mechanism works in birds:
>
> Chocolate contains theobromine (a compound similar to caffeine)
which is
> poisonous to dogs. A dose of 50 mg/lb can be fatal to a dog. Milk
> chocolate contains 45 mg of theobromine per ounce and unsweetened
baking
> chocolate contains 400 mg per ounce. Just one ounce of unsweetened
baking
> chocolate can kill a small breed dog. Theobromine when ingested by
dogs
> causes release of epinephrine (adrenaline) which causes the heart to
race
> and serious cardiac arrhythmias to develop. Signs of chocolate
poisoning
> in dogs include vomiting, diarrhea, excessive urination,
hyperactivity
> followed by depression and coma, seizures, and death.
>
> This is from a website on birds specifically:
>
> Chocolate contains a substance called theobromine. Caffeine &
theobromine
> belong to a chemical class of alkaloids called methylated xanthines.
These
> are found in coals, coffee, tea & in chocolate. As a class of drugs,
> Methylated xanthines cause central nervous system (CNS) stimulation,
> diuresis (flushing of fluids through the body), cardiac (heart)
muscle
> stimulation, & smooth muscle stimulation.
>
> Methylxanthines are absorbed very quickly & easily from the oral
cavity &
> intestinal tract. The liver is needed to metabolize these chemicals,
& the
> waste products are excreted in the urine. These chemicals primarily
affect
> the CNS & kidneys. These chemicals cause increased motor activity &
also
> result in tachycardia (too fast a heart beat.) Because of the
increased
> motor activity, seizures may occur. The kidneys may be affected
causing
> diuresis & very high urine output. This may lead to dehydration.
> Respirations may become too rapid, & hyperthermia (too high a body
> temperature) may occur, resulting in death.
> There is NO antidote for these drugs. We may only treat symptoms
with
> supportive care & drugs to decrease their severity. Toxic dosages
for
> birds are not well established. In dogs the toxic dose is
approximately
> 200 mg/kg of body weight. In cats the lethal dosage is only 80 to
150 mg/kg
> of body weight. (higer metabolism means that less is needed to
cause
> toxic effects.) A cup of coffee may contain 35 to 85 mg. A 12 ounce
bottle
> of cola contains approx 50 mg. Now these levels would mean that a 1
kg
> (2.2kg) cat would need to drink1 1/2 to 3 colas for death to occur.
> However, since a bird has a much higher metablolism than a cat, & a
much
> smaller body size than a cat, we can safely say that it would take a
much
> smaller dose for toxic effects & possibly death to occur.
>
> Since we are unsure of the toxic dosages in birds, one
> definitely should avoid ALL caffeine & chocolate consumption for pet
> birds. (theobromeine & caffeine are both found in chocolate-- this
means
> that chocolate packs a double whammy!) I reccommend that these
substances
> be avoided in ALL pet species.
>
> I feel that my birds have enough energy as it is. Why
rev
> their systems up even more???
>
> The idea of it releasing epinephrine would support Brian's theory
that it
> built up in their system while sitting around, were stimulated to
fly and
> then died of a heart attack or seizure.
>
> Kyle Elliott
> Langley BC
>