Birds

Avian medicine in Miami

Paws and Claws Medical Center is an avian veterinary hospital in Miami for parrots, cockatiels, conures, African greys, amazons, macaws, lovebirds, backyard chickens, and other poultry. Ramon de Armas, DVM, PGCert(EAS), GPCert(EAP), practices avian medicine as a regular caseload. We are members of the Association of Avian Veterinarians. We are not a 24/7 emergency hospital. Sick bird during open hours: call (786) 361-9344.

Who we see

Paws & Claws Medical Center treats companion birds as a regular part of the hospital day, not as a novelty. Parrots, cockatiels, budgerigars, conures, African greys, amazons, macaws, lovebirds, backyard chickens, and other poultry are on the schedule here because avian medicine is trained work, not a scaled-down dog visit. If you have a raptor, a pigeon loft problem, or a species we do not see every week, call (786) 361-9344 first. We will tell you honestly whether we are the right hospital for that animal today.

We are members of the Association of Avian Veterinarians. That is not lobby décor. It is how this practice stays inside current avian medicine instead of improvising from canine protocols and hoping the bird is “close enough.”

The first visit

Bring photographs of the cage or aviary, the diet you actually feed (including treats and table food), and a fresh dropping if you can collect one without stressing the bird. Do not fast a small bird unless we tell you to. Travel in a secure carrier, keep the bird warm, and keep kitchen air and aerosol sprays out of the trip — PTFE (Teflon) fumes still kill birds on ordinary errands. We will weigh your bird in grams, look at droppings, assess body condition and feather quality, and talk through diet and air quality before we stack tests you do not need.

If the bird is fluffed, on the cage bottom, breathing with an open beak, or bleeding, that is not a “see how they do overnight” situation. Call during open hours. We will tell you to come in or to go straight to an emergency hospital if we are already closed.

Common problems

The caseload is not mysterious. Seed-only malnutrition. Chronic respiratory disease. Egg binding. Heavy-metal exposure from cheap cages, bells, and weights. Feather-destructive behavior that someone labeled “a bad habit.” Beak and nail neglect sold as grooming. Owners who were told birds hide illness, and then waited. Birds do hide illness. That is the reason you do not wait. A quiet bird is not a polite bird. A quiet bird is often a sick bird.

We work up what is in front of us: physical exam, droppings, bloodwork when the size and stability of the patient allow it, imaging including CT when the question is inside the coelom, the sinuses, or a mass we cannot characterize on a film. Anesthesia in birds is not “a little gas and hope.” It is species-specific, monitored, and planned for recovery — or we do not do the procedure that day.

Husbandry we will not ignore

We will not ignore a seed-only diet sold as a balanced mix. We will not ignore dirty air, overcrowding, chronic sleep disruption, or a UV story that ended when the bulb was last changed “sometime last year.” We will not pretend that a bird who has “always eaten that” is therefore fine. Chronic malnutrition is still malnutrition. You will leave with a short list of what to change first, not a lecture and a shopping bag of products.

Boarding is for existing hospital patients, by appointment — not a walk-in kennel. Wing trims, nails, and beaks are done in a medical context, not as a salon add-on that skips the exam.

Hablamos español. Call (786) 361-9344.

Questions owners actually ask

Is there an avian vet in Miami that is not a dog clinic doing birds on the side?

Yes. Paws and Claws Medical Center treats companion birds as hospital patients. We are AAV members. Call (786) 361-9344.

What are signs my bird needs to be seen today?

Fluffed, on the cage bottom, open-mouth breathing, bleeding, not eating, or a sudden voice change. Call during open hours. After close, go to a local ER.

Should I fast my bird before the appointment?

No. Do not fast a small bird unless we tell you to.

Do you board birds?

No. This building is a hospital.