Miss Annamarie
Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Hi guys! The rescue I do a lot of stuff for which I moved up in the ranks pretty fast since I had so much experience from the one before I moved, asked me to be an emergency foster for Michael. Michael has arthritis in his spine and has osteopenia. He is on gabapentin, meloxicam, and takes his meds well. In a lot of the pictures I've seen of him his beak is pretty overgrown and the current owner did tell me he does need/get beak trims. She told me he is not very destructive and only really likes leather toys. She also told me he doesn't really leave his cage willingly unless asked to step up and is a little bit cage aggressive at times. She has had him for 6 years and he is 25, they're having a baby and already have not had enough time for him lately so she feels like he needs to find somewhere before the baby comes for sure which is predicted to be 2 weeks from now. She told me he was on pure seed before her and he currently mainly eats Adult Lifetime Harrison's which is my preferred pellet which is nice.
My questions-
River had a lot, but arthritis and osteopenia were not some of her ailments. My question for those who have dealt with this in a bird; does gabapentin and meloxicam feel a little underkill? I feel like Carprofen would be better than gabapentin for arthritis? Also possibly if I should ask about VitaChok when I take him to the vet for bloodwork and everything? Any other supplements or medications you think would be a good idea? Or just focusing on calcium-dense foods in chop?
She told me in the 6 years shes had him he also doesn't fly, if he ever falls he just drops and won't attempt to fly to land or anything. I can't tell how around his keel bone how muscles are from pictures but if he's not really capable and doesn't have the muscles from before she had him, is there anything I can do to help him at least exercise a bit?
The beak issue, I'll obviously try with different woods and different methods, but I wonder if it's possible that the arthritis makes him not really want to chew on wood? I know I have rheumatoid arthritis and it makes things you wouldnt think would be hard with it, harder or painful.
My questions-
River had a lot, but arthritis and osteopenia were not some of her ailments. My question for those who have dealt with this in a bird; does gabapentin and meloxicam feel a little underkill? I feel like Carprofen would be better than gabapentin for arthritis? Also possibly if I should ask about VitaChok when I take him to the vet for bloodwork and everything? Any other supplements or medications you think would be a good idea? Or just focusing on calcium-dense foods in chop?
She told me in the 6 years shes had him he also doesn't fly, if he ever falls he just drops and won't attempt to fly to land or anything. I can't tell how around his keel bone how muscles are from pictures but if he's not really capable and doesn't have the muscles from before she had him, is there anything I can do to help him at least exercise a bit?
The beak issue, I'll obviously try with different woods and different methods, but I wonder if it's possible that the arthritis makes him not really want to chew on wood? I know I have rheumatoid arthritis and it makes things you wouldnt think would be hard with it, harder or painful.
As for exercise, I focus on foraging and making use of ropes and hanging stuff outside the cage to get him to exercise as much as I can. Swings are one of his favorite things!
