injured cockatiel foot

Yesterday my cockatiel got a hair tangled around his foot resulting in 2 of his toes being tied tightly together for about 30 minutes. His foot became very red and a little puffy looking. This morning it looks a little better but not normal. He is still using the foot and does not act stressed. Should I take a wait and see aproach and give it a day or so, or should he see a vet now?

[ireneo]

That's a tough one. It may have caused some temporary damage due to the lack of circulation and that's why his toes are looking inflamed. What we don't know is how much tissue damage occurred while the toes were tied up. His toes may clear up on their own in a couple of days but do keep an eye out for any dark spots that might indication necrosis (dying tissue) on the toes. Then he would definitely have to see the vet.

Is he bending them at all? I understand if he doesn't want to put pressure on that foot since it's probably sore. Make sure he can flex the toes.

[DGDuck]

He seems to be using his toes normally.  The color  continues to improve but it is not completely normal just yet. I will keep an eye out for the dark spots you mentioned. Thanks for your input. This is our first bird so we are still learning but we sure do love the little guy and want him to be okay.

[ireneo]

That's very encouraging then. When I've dealt with birds that had fishing line around a toe or leg, the digits often became very stiff and almost hard feeling. The tissue wasn't dark at first but you could tell it was dead due to loss of elasticity. I'm glad your bird is improving. That's a great sign.