Sick budgie?

[peppertweety]

[/IMG] Hi
Last Tuesday my female budgie was sick. Her symptoms were sleeping all day, puffed up feathers, diarrhea (even a few days later I saw a tiny bit of light green color around a couple of droppings), and not eating or moving around much. She also had some orange/yellow staining on her face (could that be from the other one feeding her? or from carrots?) By the next day in the early afternoon, she was mostly back to normal, and she seems 100% better now. Very active, flying, playing with toys and our other budgie and eating normally.

My question is, should I still take her to the vet? The one she's been to before charges $50 just for an exam. What are the tests she might need done, and how much might they cost? I do want to take her, but I need to be prepared for the bill.
Also, they both peck at things on the carpet and kitchen floor a lot..they're like little chickens could she have just eaten something she shouldn't have?

 

[Jas]

Welcome

Just somme questions regarding your budgies. What do you feed them, what's their sleep schedule like, are the feathers in general clean, smooth and well maintained, are the feathers around the vents, eyes and nostrils clean, clean eyes, no sneezing ( or anything beyond abnormal), what's their activity level like, no slight puff in the feathers or slight slower movements then normal, poop colour and consistency back to normal, are they molting, what cleaners do you use on floors and carpets? If they're eating stiff off the floor there will be residue of cleaning products (if you use them).

 

[iamwhoiam]

Welcome to AA. Continue monitoring her. Does she continue to seem to be 100%? If droppings, eating, drinking and activity level are now normal and she is not puffed up any more then all might be well. However, if you still have concerns then best to take her to vet. How old is she? Is the other budgie male or female? Are they caged together?

 

[peppertweety]

Welcome

Just somme questions regarding your budgies. What do you feed them, what's their sleep schedule like, are the feathers in general clean, smooth and well maintained, are the feathers around the vents, eyes and nostrils clean, clean eyes, no sneezing ( or anything beyond abnormal), what's their activity level like, no slight puff in the feathers or slight slower movements then normal, poop colour and consistency back to normal, are they molting, what cleaners do you use on floors and carpets? If they're eating stiff off the floor there will be residue of cleaning products (if you use them).

My brother usually buys the Walmart seeds..I know that probably isn't all that good for them. Our other budgie Pepper will eat more fruits and vegetables than she will, but she is trying more now she was. I've started cutting vegetables up and putting some seeds on top, and she seems to like that a lot. I put them to bed at 9 and uncover them at 8, and they have a nap during the day.
Their feathers look smooth and clean. She has lost a few bigger ones in the past 2 weeks or so. They are very active and spend several hours a day out of their flight cage. I noticed when we first got her (last July) that her droppings are sometimes loose and a little watery, but usually they are normal. She does sneeze sometimes several times in a row, but that rarely happens.
We do use cleaner on the kitchen floor, but not very often.. and Pepper has never had a problem. I'm trying to stop them from eating off the floors though, cause I'm afraid one day they will get stepped on. Also what is a good cleaner for the perches and toys? I've been using plain Dawn dish soap, then hot water and white vinegar mix. thanks!

 

[peppertweety]

Welcome to AA. Continue monitoring her. Does she continue to seem to be 100%? If droppings, eating, drinking and activity level are now normal and she is not puffed up any more then all might be well. However, if you still have concerns then best to take her to vet. How old is she? Is the other budgie male or female? Are they caged together?

Thank you! Yes, she's been fine since. I'm not sure of her exact age.. she was very young when we got her last July. The other is a male, and they share a large flight cage but sleep separately. She can be a little mean towards him (and us), and would chase him off his swing at night.

 

[Jas]

My brother usually buys the Walmart seeds..I know that probably isn't all that good for them. Our other budgie Pepper will eat more fruits and vegetables than she will, but she is trying more now she was. I've started cutting vegetables up and putting some seeds on top, and she seems to like that a lot. I put them to bed at 9 and uncover them at 8, and they have a nap during the day.
Their feathers look smooth and clean. She has lost a few bigger ones in the past 2 weeks or so. They are very active and spend several hours a day out of their flight cage. I noticed when we first got her (last July) that her droppings are sometimes loose and a little watery, but usually they are normal. She does sneeze sometimes several times in a row, but that rarely happens.
We do use cleaner on the kitchen floor, but not very often.. and Pepper has never had a problem. I'm trying to stop them from eating off the floors though, cause I'm afraid one day they will get stepped on. Also what is a good cleaner for the perches and toys? I've been using plain Dawn dish soap, then hot water and white vinegar mix. thanks!

I have one budgie who gets "diaherrea" when he has too many veggies in for over three days in a row, he's also constantly molting which means he often is a little sleeper.

As for the cleaner I use F10 and a vinegar and water mix with some baking soda to get rid of poop stains (or berry) on the carpet.

 

[peppertweety]

I have one budgie who gets "diaherrea" when he has too many veggies in for over three days in a row, he's also constantly molting which means he often is a little sleeper.

As for the cleaner I use F10 and a vinegar and water mix with some baking soda to get rid of poop stains (or berry) on the carpet.

Okay, thank you.
She had carrots the night before but she doesn't really eat much of it.. mostly she just likes tearing it to pieces and throwing them across the cage or floor

 

[Jas]

That's the best part

 

[peppertweety]

That's the best part

Do yours do that too?
She chews on literally everything! I have to keep the blinds closed while she's out, those are her favorite hahaha

 

[iamwhoiam]

Good that she is feeling better!

 

[peppertweety]

Good that she is feeling better!

Thank you

 

[peppertweety]

Welcome

Just somme questions regarding your budgies. What do you feed them, what's their sleep schedule like, are the feathers in general clean, smooth and well maintained, are the feathers around the vents, eyes and nostrils clean, clean eyes, no sneezing ( or anything beyond abnormal), what's their activity level like, no slight puff in the feathers or slight slower movements then normal, poop colour and consistency back to normal, are they molting, what cleaners do you use on floors and carpets? If they're eating stiff off the floor there will be residue of cleaning products (if you use them).

Also, I asked the vet and they said it would be $121 for an aerobic culture & Sensitivity test, $154 for a blood test and $34 for a gram stain.
Are these safe, and is it worth doing if she seems fine now?

 

[peppertweety]

Welcome to AA. Continue monitoring her. Does she continue to seem to be 100%? If droppings, eating, drinking and activity level are now normal and she is not puffed up any more then all might be well. However, if you still have concerns then best to take her to vet. How old is she? Is the other budgie male or female? Are they caged together?

Also, I asked the vet and they said it would be $121 for an aerobic culture & Sensitivity test, $154 for a blood test and $34 for a gram stain
Are these safe, and is it worth doing if she seems fine now?

 

[karen256]

I wouldn't worry about the diarrhea or orange staining, as that's from the carrots. The lethargy/fluffing is a common symptom of many illnesses - or perfectly normal. Budgies tend to have frequent small partial molts, and it's normal for them to a bit inactive or sleepy when the new feathers are forming sine that takes a lot of energy. The new feathers form and push the old ones out, so basically they may been a little lethargic a few days before you start seeing molted feathers.
A healthy bird that's lethargic from a molt will still seem alert, strong, and will have a good appetite; a bird that's sick will be wobbly and will usually not eat much, though they will usually still pick at food.

Basically your budgie might be fine and it actually sounds like she's ok, but if she really is sick, they can go downhill very quickly, you can't really wait and see.

For the future, a gram scale (postal scales are good) can be nice - a sick bird will lose weight, usually before other symptoms, making it easier to tell if she's actually sick.

 

[peppertweety]

I wouldn't worry about the diarrhea or orange staining, as that's from the carrots. The lethargy/fluffing is a common symptom of many illnesses - or perfectly normal. Budgies tend to have frequent small partial molts, and it's normal for them to a bit inactive or sleepy when the new feathers are forming sine that takes a lot of energy. The new feathers form and push the old ones out, so basically they may been a little lethargic a few days before you start seeing molted feathers.
A healthy bird that's lethargic from a molt will still seem alert, strong, and will have a good appetite; a bird that's sick will be wobbly and will usually not eat much, though they will usually still pick at food.

Basically your budgie might be fine and it actually sounds like she's ok, but if she really is sick, they can go downhill very quickly, you can't really wait and see.

For the future, a gram scale (postal scales are good) can be nice - a sick bird will lose weight, usually before other symptoms, making it easier to tell if she's actually sick.

I wonder if she was/is molting? She's had those tiny black dots on her head for a few days now, and had lost a few big feathers. Thank you, I'm less worried about it now