Urgent Going to specialist avian vet 3 hours away. What do I ask?

[Orbit]

Hi everyone,

My adopted cockatiel has been sneezing multiple times per hour since I picked her up on Feb 2nd. Adding humidity did not reduce the sneezing. On the 6th, I was really worried, so I took her to a vet an hour away who sees birds regularly, but is not exclusively avian/exotics.

My bird tested negative for psittacosis via blood and fecal samples. The vet put her on antibiotics (baytril) based on high numbers of bacteria viewed in her fecal sample.

No improvement in the sneezing after 2 weeks of antibiotics. I've noticed very mild tail bobbing (the movement up and down is about 5 mm, if that makes sense). I'm not sure if it's normal for their tails to move a tiny bit while breathing...

Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I've decided to drive 3 hours each way to take her to a specialist avian vet. We are going tomorrow. Since it's so far away, I want to make sure that I ask all the important questions, and get the right testing done.

I would love to hear from you guys. What should I remember to ask? What tests would you be requesting?

Thank you!

 

[Mizzely]

If you can, bring a print out of all the info from the other vet so they have access to everything you know up to this point

 

[enigma731]

I would ask for a nasal flush with cytology, swabs/cultures from the nares and and choana, and bloodwork. That's probably going to be expensive but if you want comprehensive, that's where to start.

 

[Monica]

Extra baths and/or nasal saline may also help. Maybe something stuck in sinuses?

What has the specialist said?