I uncovered my caique's cage this morning per the usual morning routine and found something highly unusual. River, an 8-year-old female, was hunched over at the bottom of her cage, feathers fluffed, with her eyes half lidded. I also discovered her water dish was dry, so I refilled it and she drank a lot. My cockatiel, who lives in a neighboring cage, was fine. I called her local vet but they were closed, so the next call was to Cornell University Animal Hospital. I had to leave a message and waited 20 minutes for them to call me back, only to have the call get disconnected due to poor service at my house. At this point, I was in a full panic because she was not improving, cell service was horrible, and my toddler was whining for his breakfast and had thrown a bunch of papers all over the floor, one of which had the vet's number. My husband arrived home, helped me get everything under control, then we made the long drive to the vet. I checked on her frequently, terrified that she wouldn't survive the drive.
The first update was very grim. They said she was regurgitating a lot so they couldn't really do any diagnostic testing for fear that she would aspirate. They suspected heavy metal toxicity or PDD. They gave her water under her skin and sugar water for electrolytes. The vet told me that I could visit her if it became time to say goodbye.
The vineyard about 3 miles from the animal hospital was a very smart idea; kudos to them. I spent the afternoon crying and drinking wine.
The evening's update was better. Her feces looked like coffee grounds, so she had a GI bleed. They put water under her skin again and offered her food and water, which she accepted. The vet said she was even perching. The goal is to keep her comfortable overnight so that they can do diagnostic blood work and x-rays tomorrow.
Does anyone have any advice or thoughts? I know there is no chance if she has PDD, but she has not been around other birds and my cockatiel is fine. Knock on wood. I've been checking him obsessively since returning home; he's been pretty distressed to be alone. I don't think she has gotten into anything that would cause heavy metal toxicity. She's been in a different cage temporarily for the last month and a half, but it is in good condition and the toys inside are from our AA vendors. The reason for the temporary cage (normally my cockatiel's cage; he's in a smaller one) is that we are living at my family's lake house, which we do every Summer. I'm slightly concerned about the water- it's not potable due to a well that hasn't been maintained throughout the years. We tested it years ago and it wasn't horrible but has high Iron. We get town water from family members' houses and give that to the birds too. But I don't know if tiny amounts of it when we wash their dishes could harm them? Is a GI bleed even consistent with the earlier concerns that it could be PDD or metal toxicity?
Hopefully we'll know more tomorrow. In the meantime, any positive thoughts you want to send our way would be appreciated!
discovered her water dish was dry, so I refilled it and she drank a lot. My cockatiel, who lives in a neighboring cage, was fine. I called her local vet but they were closed, so the next call was to Cornell University Animal Hospital. I had to leave a message and waited 20 minutes for them to call me back, only to have the call get disconnected due to poor service at my house. At this point, I was in a full panic because she was not improving, cell service was horrible, and my toddler was whining for his breakfast and had thrown a bunch of papers all over the floor, one of which had the vet's number. My husband arrived home, helped me get everything under control, then we made the long drive to the vet. I checked on her frequently, terrified that she wouldn't survive the drive.
The first update was very grim. They said she was regurgitating a lot so they couldn't really do any diagnostic testing for fear that she would aspirate. They suspected heavy metal toxicity or PDD. They gave her water under her skin and sugar water for electrolytes. The vet told me that I could visit her if it became time to say goodbye.
The vineyard about 3 miles from the animal hospital was a very smart idea; kudos to them. I spent the afternoon crying and drinking wine.
The evening's update was better. Her feces looked like coffee grounds, so she had a GI bleed. They put water under her skin again and offered her food and water, which she accepted. The vet said she was even perching. The goal is to keep her comfortable overnight so that they can do diagnostic blood work and x-rays tomorrow.
Does anyone have any advice or thoughts? I know there is no chance if she has PDD, but she has not been around other birds and my cockatiel is fine. Knock on wood. I've been checking him obsessively since returning home; he's been pretty distressed to be alone. I don't think she has gotten into anything that would cause heavy metal toxicity. She's been in a different cage temporarily for the last month and a half, but it is in good condition and the toys inside are from our AA vendors. The reason for the temporary cage (normally my cockatiel's cage; he's in a smaller one) is that we are living at my family's lake house, which we do every Summer. I'm slightly concerned about the water- it's not potable due to a well that hasn't been maintained throughout the years. We tested it years ago and it wasn't horrible but has high Iron. We get town water from family members' houses and give that to the birds too. But I don't know if tiny amounts of it when we wash their dishes could harm them? Is a GI bleed even consistent with the earlier concerns that it could be PDD or metal toxicity?
Hopefully we'll know more tomorrow. In the meantime, any positive thoughts you want to send our way would be appreciated!
The first update was very grim. They said she was regurgitating a lot so they couldn't really do any diagnostic testing for fear that she would aspirate. They suspected heavy metal toxicity or PDD. They gave her water under her skin and sugar water for electrolytes. The vet told me that I could visit her if it became time to say goodbye.
The vineyard about 3 miles from the animal hospital was a very smart idea; kudos to them. I spent the afternoon crying and drinking wine.
The evening's update was better. Her feces looked like coffee grounds, so she had a GI bleed. They put water under her skin again and offered her food and water, which she accepted. The vet said she was even perching. The goal is to keep her comfortable overnight so that they can do diagnostic blood work and x-rays tomorrow.
Does anyone have any advice or thoughts? I know there is no chance if she has PDD, but she has not been around other birds and my cockatiel is fine. Knock on wood. I've been checking him obsessively since returning home; he's been pretty distressed to be alone. I don't think she has gotten into anything that would cause heavy metal toxicity. She's been in a different cage temporarily for the last month and a half, but it is in good condition and the toys inside are from our AA vendors. The reason for the temporary cage (normally my cockatiel's cage; he's in a smaller one) is that we are living at my family's lake house, which we do every Summer. I'm slightly concerned about the water- it's not potable due to a well that hasn't been maintained throughout the years. We tested it years ago and it wasn't horrible but has high Iron. We get town water from family members' houses and give that to the birds too. But I don't know if tiny amounts of it when we wash their dishes could harm them? Is a GI bleed even consistent with the earlier concerns that it could be PDD or metal toxicity?
Hopefully we'll know more tomorrow. In the meantime, any positive thoughts you want to send our way would be appreciated!
discovered her water dish was dry, so I refilled it and she drank a lot. My cockatiel, who lives in a neighboring cage, was fine. I called her local vet but they were closed, so the next call was to Cornell University Animal Hospital. I had to leave a message and waited 20 minutes for them to call me back, only to have the call get disconnected due to poor service at my house. At this point, I was in a full panic because she was not improving, cell service was horrible, and my toddler was whining for his breakfast and had thrown a bunch of papers all over the floor, one of which had the vet's number. My husband arrived home, helped me get everything under control, then we made the long drive to the vet. I checked on her frequently, terrified that she wouldn't survive the drive.
The first update was very grim. They said she was regurgitating a lot so they couldn't really do any diagnostic testing for fear that she would aspirate. They suspected heavy metal toxicity or PDD. They gave her water under her skin and sugar water for electrolytes. The vet told me that I could visit her if it became time to say goodbye.
The vineyard about 3 miles from the animal hospital was a very smart idea; kudos to them. I spent the afternoon crying and drinking wine.
The evening's update was better. Her feces looked like coffee grounds, so she had a GI bleed. They put water under her skin again and offered her food and water, which she accepted. The vet said she was even perching. The goal is to keep her comfortable overnight so that they can do diagnostic blood work and x-rays tomorrow.
Does anyone have any advice or thoughts? I know there is no chance if she has PDD, but she has not been around other birds and my cockatiel is fine. Knock on wood. I've been checking him obsessively since returning home; he's been pretty distressed to be alone. I don't think she has gotten into anything that would cause heavy metal toxicity. She's been in a different cage temporarily for the last month and a half, but it is in good condition and the toys inside are from our AA vendors. The reason for the temporary cage (normally my cockatiel's cage; he's in a smaller one) is that we are living at my family's lake house, which we do every Summer. I'm slightly concerned about the water- it's not potable due to a well that hasn't been maintained throughout the years. We tested it years ago and it wasn't horrible but has high Iron. We get town water from family members' houses and give that to the birds too. But I don't know if tiny amounts of it when we wash their dishes could harm them? Is a GI bleed even consistent with the earlier concerns that it could be PDD or metal toxicity?
Hopefully we'll know more tomorrow. In the meantime, any positive thoughts you want to send our way would be appreciated!
