conure, was /may be dehydrated , afterwards advice?

[Tina&Mill]

Hey! Yesterday had the biggest shock of my life. My Millie seemed off, and she was at the bottom of her cage. Couldnt climb up, and looked pretty rough. Her water bowl was empty (was meaning to fill it that morning but got distracted, it had water the day before) and she wasnt looking too hot.
She was in really bad condition, which got worse before it got better. She could barely walk or hold herself up, and she was very wobbly. (still a bit wobbly this morning, has gotten a bit better as of now) I got her to drink water, and I put her in my food storage bin so she culd eat while she drank, and so she didnt have to stress about moving from her food to her water. She started closing her eyes and letting her head fall, at this point I was terrified, picked her up and she snuggled with me in my hands.
She then was having these tremors to where she was shaking quite violently, and she didnt want to eat, she just wanted to sit with me. 10-20 minutes later I encouraged her to drink some more water, and she ate some more food. I let her sit in a blanket and my mom went and bought Pedialite (which I am still offering her as of now to keep her hydrated) I put her in her travel cage so she wouldnt fall off of her perches in her flight cage (bout 3 feet tall and 1 1/2 - 2 feet long, 1 1/2 wide)

Shes doing now, and eating and drinking fine. I put a small perch in the travel cage so she could sit above the ground if she wanted, and have slowly moved her food up (she doesnt like to have to sit on the floor to eat, she prefers to do it from above on a perch or to have the food off of the ground) Shes doing a lot better, and chirping and making noise like usual, shes preening herself as well. Right now there is a small blanket covering 3/4 of her travel cage because she was puffed up and it is a bit chilly outside today, and I wanted to keep her warm.

Is there anything I can do (besides changing the water every other day Like I already do) to prevent this from happening again? She seems to like pedia lite a lot better than she likes regular water, and is drinking that more than she did the water.
Shes about 3-4 years old, and she is my everything. she came from a really close friend who isnt with us anymore, and I couldnt bear to lose her.

Any advice, or tips and tricks would be very much appreciated!

 

[Hankmacaw]

First, you should change the water every day. Sometimes more often than once a day if she makes a particular mess of it.

She may have been more dehydrated than you thought with changing the water only every other day. Dehydration is very serious and can debilitate them quickly.

 

[April]

What about putting other water bowls in the cage so she has multiple to drink from as an added safeguard to changing them everyday. I find it easiest to change the bowl before you even give the breakfast. I personally feel like its easier to forget to refill water then it is to put the food in.
Another thing you could do is leave a note on or above the cage reminding you to make sure to refill the water bowl before you leave.
I'd also recommend taking her to the vet just to be on the safe side. If she was my baby I'd rather be sure personally that she's fine after being checked by a vet then to assume that all is well now. Being dehydrated is really rough on their organs especially their kidneys its really safest to get checked by a vet after something like this happens. It sounds like this is something more extreme than "just" not having water for a day.
I sincerely hope she will be ok,please keep us updated.

 

[Tina&Mill]

What about putting other water bowls in the cage so she has multiple to drink from as an added safeguard to changing them everyday. I find it easiest to change the bowl before you even give the breakfast. I personally feel like its easier to forget to refill water then it is to put the food in.
Another thing you could do is leave a note on or above the cage reminding you to make sure to refill the water bowl before you leave.
I'd also recommend taking her to the vet just to be on the safe side. If she was my baby I'd rather be sure personally that she's fine after being checked by a vet then to assume that all is well now. Being dehydrated is really rough on their organs especially their kidneys its really safest to get checked by a vet after something like this happens. It sounds like this is something more extreme than "just" not having water for a day.
I sincerely hope she will be ok,please keep us updated.

I do have another bowl that I could use as a second water bowl. I usually let her free feed, because I used to feed her twice a day and she always seemed to be absolutely starving every time I fed her.
I usually remember to change her water when iw ater my plants, but i had gotten distracted as our dogs broke into the living room and I didnt want them getting into my room. (I have a one track mind, when i get interrupted while doing something I forget i was doing it)

Ill talk to my parents about bringing her to the vet to be on the safe side, Id rather be safe than sorry. She is doing a LOT better now than what she was 12 hours ago, and she is moving around more. she seems to be sleeping more, but that might be the stress?

 

[April]

I do have another bowl that I could use as a second water bowl. I usually let her free feed, because I used to feed her twice a day and she always seemed to be absolutely starving every time I fed her.
I usually remember to change her water when iw ater my plants, but i had gotten distracted as our dogs broke into the living room and I didnt want them getting into my room. (I have a one track mind, when i get interrupted while doing something I forget i was doing it)

Ill talk to my parents about bringing her to the vet to be on the safe side, Id rather be safe than sorry. She is doing a LOT better now than what she was 12 hours ago, and she is moving around more. she seems to be sleeping more, but that might be the stress?

I can understand that I'm sure we've all been guilty of something like that a time or too we're only human after all. At least with 2 water bowls it helps to lessen the risk of dehydration if it was to somehow happen again. Better to use it and not need it then to risk her accidently having no water again .
I'm very glad she seems to be doing better that's definitely encouraging to hear. Stress could lead to her sleeping more that's true but it could also be a symptom of other issues so if at all possible I'd still recommend her getting checked or at the very least calling your vets office and explaining what happened and see what they recommend. I'll always say go to the vet but I understand that not everyone can or is able to do that.

 

[flyzipper]

Right now there is a small blanket covering 3/4 of her travel cage because she was puffed up and it is a bit chilly outside today, and I wanted to keep her warm.

This isn't accomplishing what you expect -- the temperature inside the cage will be the same as that of the ambient temperature in the room unless you're also providing supplemental heat along with the cover.

If you do provide supplemental heat, also ensure you monitor the temperature with a thermometer.

 

[Tina&Mill]

I can understand that I'm sure we've all been guilty of something like that a time or too we're only human after all. At least with 2 water bowls it helps to lessen the risk of dehydration if it was to somehow happen again. Better to use it and not need it then to risk her accidently having no water again .
I'm very glad she seems to be doing better that's definitely encouraging to hear. Stress could lead to her sleeping more that's true but it could also be a symptom of other issues so if at all possible I'd still recommend her getting checked or at the very least calling your vets office and explaining what happened and see what they recommend. I'll always say go to the vet but I understand that not everyone can or is able to do that.

Ill defininitely add the other water bowl I have while I arrange her big cage for when i reintroduce her to it.
do you think giving her pedialite more often will help keep her hydraton up? Ive read in a few places its good for birds who have that problem,, but I dont know if its safe to give on a daily/weekly basis.

 

[Tina&Mill]

This isn't accomplishing what you expect -- the temperature inside the cage will be the same as that of the ambient temperature in the room unless you're also providing supplemental heat along with the cover.

If you do provide supplemental heat, also ensure you monitor the temperature with a thermometer.

Would a heating pad under the travel cage be sufficient enough? I think the one we have has a low setting, I dont want to overheat her.

 

[April]

Ill defininitely add the other water bowl I have while I arrange her big cage for when i reintroduce her to it.
do you think giving her pedialite more often will help keep her hydraton up? Ive read in a few places its good for birds who have that problem,, but I dont know if its safe to give on a daily/weekly basis.

Sorry to say that I don't know the answer to that. I've never personally used it myself but I'm certain someone on here who has will be able to tell you.

 

[Mizzely]

Pedialyte is good as a first aid treatment when they need hydration NOW. I don't know if it is intended for daily drinking. New water every day should be enough.

 

[flyzipper]

Would a heating pad under the travel cage be sufficient enough? I think the one we have has a low setting, I dont want to overheat her.

If your bird is still fluffed up after the events your described, I would provide supplemental heat, but be sure to monitor the temperature in the enclosure and watch for signs of overheating. A heating pad under the enclosure can accomplish this, or you could also run the shower in an enclosed bathroom to raise both the temperature and humidity to support recovery. Again, both require the ability to monitor the temperature.

If they're already doing better and not "puffed up" as you initially described, I would not complicate things with supplemental heat and continue to observe the recovery closely.

 

[Tina&Mill]

If your bird is still fluffed up after the events your described, I would provide supplemental heat, but be sure to monitor the temperature in the enclosure and watch for signs of overheating. A heating pad under the enclosure can accomplish this, or you could also run the shower in an enclosed bathroom to raise both the temperature and humidity to support recovery. Again, both require the ability to monitor the temperature.

If they're already doing better and not "puffed up" as you initially described, I would not complicate things with supplemental heat and continue to observe the recovery closely.

Right now she is slightly puffed up, but that may be because she is resting on a perch. The temperature in the room she is in is 72 degrees.
If she fluffs up more, like before then I will try a method of heating her up more while monitoring the temperature

Thanks!

 

[Tina&Mill]

UPDATE
~~~~~~
Shes doing a lot better now. shes talking like she normally does, and is barely wobbly. shes just having a bit of trouble climbing the cage bars in the travel cage, but she can do it.
Last night I did warm her up a bit while monitoring the temp, and she stopped puffing up. I took the heating pad away before I went to bed, because i cant monitor that overnight very well.
Shes eating and drinking amazingly, and I did take Aprils advice

I can understand that I'm sure we've all been guilty of something like that a time or too we're only human after all. At least with 2 water bowls it helps to lessen the risk of dehydration if it was to somehow happen again. Better to use it and not need it then to risk her accidently having no water again .

And there are two waterbowls in her cage.

Thank you all for your help! Melisandre is doing great ^^

 

[Tina&Mill]

UPDATE
~~~~~~~
Just moved her to her flight cage again last night! Shes moving around perfectly, and definitely cursing everyone out again.
Thank you all for the help! ^^

 

[Tina&Mill]

UPDATE
~~~~
She is back to her little velociraptor self ^^