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Giardia: Experience, Treatment, Cage Cleaning, etc.

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RebeccaP

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After asking about the possibility of giardia (two vets) and being told it wasn't likely and no tests were needed, my board certified avian vet just said that Willie (my sun conure) may have giardia afterall.

Has anyone else had experience with this?

What tests did you do to determine if your birds had it?

What treatments did your vet do?

What did you to do try and get rid of the parasite in your cage/environment?

I change her water a few times a day and wipe down the cage with white vinegar a few times a week. From what I'm reading, vinegar has little or no effect on giardia.

I need to get this worked out - I just weighed her and she's down to 92 grams (from 116 in August).

Rebecca
 

birdlvr466

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Rebecca I dont think your bird is showing any signs of Giardia. They are usually extremely itchy and picking at their wing feathers underneath. I would let things settle with the medications you have been giving him. Let him get off these meds before you think about that. Just because he had a poop with some bubbles I wouldnt come to that conclusion.
 

atvchick95

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I've always been under the impression that Giardia is non- treatable - as in once a bird has it, it has it for life? I didn't think any thing got rid of it??

or am I confusing it with something else.
 

birdlvr466

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Kelli it is treatable but hard to diagnose. The meds for that are horrible, I wouldnt treat one of my birds unless I was 100% sure. Rebecca's bird has just undergone several medications, I think she should just let him rally back from those.
 

atvchick95

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Kelli it is treatable but hard to diagnose. The meds for that are horrible, I wouldnt treat one of my birds unless I was 100% sure. Rebecca's bird has just undergone several medications, I think she should just let him rally back from those.
ooh ok , then I must of had it confused with something else
 

RebeccaP

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When I brought her in to the vet in August she had destroyed the coverts on both sides and had picked on her legs. Her droppings were extremely smelly but they no longer smell as bad. Her vet said that the parasite meds she gave me last Thursday would work for a moderate nematode load, but would only be partially effective against a parasite like giardia.

At any rate I am bringing in a fresh dropping on Friday morning to a vet that is just down the street from me to see if it tests positive for giardia.

Rebecca
 

atvchick95

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Bubbly not good
Finally, you should watch for a couple of bathroom habits that could mean big trouble. For one, droppings that contain any bubbles or foam probably indicate an infection such as clostridium.
Abnormal droppings might mean change in bird's health - ParrotChronicles.com Feature Story

trying to Google
clostridium, But not finding much but it seems to be E.Coli the only thing I really could find that was relevant said "clostridium Or E.Coli" so i'm assuming its just another name for E. Coli ?
 
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RebeccaP

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From everything I'm reading the meds are harsh and I certainly see what you mean by wanting to be sure it's not just the meds/something in her diet. The vet recorded repeat eosinophilia.
 

Sadieladie1994

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Abnormal droppings might mean change in bird's health - ParrotChronicles.com Feature Story

trying to Google
clostridium, But not finding much but it seems to be E.Coli the only thing I really could find that was relevant said "clostridium Or E.Coli" so i'm assuming its just another name for E. Coli ?
Not the same thing. E. coli is a bacteria. Giardia lamblia is a parasitic infection. When testing for it in people we obtain 3 stool specemins as it may be missed or not show. Usually with 3 you can find it if it is there. There are avian pathologists (very few by the way) that specialize in finding and identifying some of these infections.

Peggy
 

atvchick95

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If you ever pull chicks from the parents and find that their droppings stink, chances are they have a bacterial infection passed to them by the parents, often E. Coli or Clostridium
Almost always, the bad smelling droppings indicate a need for treatment with an antibiotic. The ideal at this point is to have a Culture and Sensitivity Test done.(This is a test involving a sample taken from various sites, in this case crop contents and/or droppings, and placed on a growth medium. Bacteria present will grow into a colony or patch on the growth medium, and various methods are used to identify the specific bacteria and any yeast present. The "plate" is then sectioned and a different antibiotic is applied to different areas. The antibiotic that most inhibits the growth of, and/or kills the harmful bacteria is the one that will be most effective against the bacteria when given to your chick.) Without this test,you don’t know which bacteria are causing the problem, for sure, or which antibiotic will be helpful. Many veterinarians, mine included, will entrust clients they’ve known for a long time and who they trust, with a broad-spectrum antibiotic (such as Baytril) to use in emergency situations
Coping with Sour Crop


still can not figure out what exactly Clostridium is though
 

Min

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My CAG has recurring giardia. Lately, he's had quite a string of illnesses and the giardia is keeping his system stressed and/or being sick has brought out his giardia. He's been kinda caught in a loop with it and is on ronizol for a few months to see if we can get him evened out. He's got liver troubles, too. The meds can be harsh (on kidneys and liver) and he needs frequent blood tests to make sure he's okay. Poor guy has issues that the vet thinks are from poor breeding and that he was most likely hatched into an environment with giardia.

It's tough to test for because the parisite isn't always shedding. The cysts under the skin are what cause the itching and plucking. It's usually apparent in the damp, warm areas of their bodies (under wings, around vent). Vets can perform a fecal tri-chrome test, as Peggy mentioned, but it isn't perfect. My vet was actually able to see the parasite in a scope, and he said that's hard to do.

We get our bird back into remission, and are very aware of how his behavior changes when the giardia comes up. Another problem is that now it seems his picking is becoming a stress-release habit that we are trying to defer into foraging/shredding. I think the picking and itching can bother them enough to put them off their food, as they focus on that more than eating.

It is spread through feces, so we keep his cage cleaned up. I feed him and change his papers often and after I do the other birds, or wash my hands thoroughly in between. He's the big bad boss, so nobirdy else one goes on his cage bottom or on his play gym.
We use Oxine to clean his cage.

If a bird is healthy, the giardia can stay in remission for a long time. I hope to get there with my guy.
 

Greycloud

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This is a very informative thread.
 

atvchick95

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still not sure exactly what Clostridium is but it is found in the human mouth!

Bacteria often found in the human mouth
(Note: current research shows that there can be over 600 different bacterial species found in a healthy human's mouth.)​

  1. Lactobacillus
  2. Clostridium
  3. Corynebacteria
  4. Proteus
  5. Prevotella
  6. Haemophilus
  7. Pseudomonas
  8. Staphylococcus
  9. Streptococcus
  10. E. coli
  11. Enterococcus
  12. Mycoplasma
  13. Neisseria
  14. Actinomyces
Exotic Pet Veterinarian

the more i read, the more it sounds like your dealing with a Bacterial infection
 

Renae

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My mum’s Cockatiel had Giardia. He started pulling feathers out from underneath both of his wings, and then he started pulling feathers from his stomach, and then he started on both of his legs, last. He left both of under his wings bald, and he was quite a mess. I had to remove him from the others, and luckily I did earlier rather then later.

This is what under just one of his wings looked like at one stage (before removing every feather under both wings that was left):

you can see he done some pulling also at the top of his wings on the side


I took him to the AV, and they done a test (I know they should have done several) and the AV said the test came back positive for Giardia. I was given Flagyl Suspension (0.05x) to treat the Giardia, and had to give him a dosage of 0.08 ml daily for 10 days.

That was last year I think, I can't remember exactly.. but he now has no balding under his wings, his legs, or stomach. I have him in with my mum's other 2 Cockatiels and my 8 Cockatiels - I scrubbed the cage like mad when I found out, threw all the dishes out and replaced them with new ones, I also had to wash all their toys really well. (but they don't have them same ones now)
 
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