Urgent How to keep sick budgies warm?

[Emma O'Donnell]

Hi,
My two budgies have come down with some sort of illness. They have runny noses, one is sitting at the bottom of the cage, they are breathing heavily, bobbing their tails,etc.
I am going to get them to the vet tomorrow (it's 10:30 at night right now) but until then my room is very cold, even for me, and I know it's important to keep a sick bird warm. I've tried putting a blanket in the dryer to warm it, and then wrapping it around the cage, but the blanket cooled off in a few minutes. I put a small heater next to the blanket but I think the budgies could feel the draft (even though it was warm) because they started chirping and moving around the cage. I turned it off as I don't want to scare them, but how can I keep them warm during the night so I can go to sleep too? I unfortunately don't have an incubator should I just warm the blanket every couple of hours and wrap it around the cage for them?
Thank you, and I will be sure to update how the vet visit goes <3

 

[enigma731]

Do you have any way to get to an emergency vet? It sounds like they need to be in oxygen right now. Hours can make a huge difference for little birds.

 

[Emma O'Donnell]

Do you have any way to get to an emergency vet? It sounds like they need to be in oxygen right now. Hours can make a huge difference for little birds.

I don't unfortunately, I have to wait for my parents to take me and they won't until tomorrow
Even then, the only emergency vets nearby are for dogs and cats, last time I had a bird emergency they wanted to charge us 500 dollars to pull a blood feather

 

[Birdbabe]

The heater would be ok as long as it's not too close to burn the blanket, as for the blanket, cover the top and all three sides of the cage, and about half way down the front. No need to heat it every few hours, you'll need your rest for your appointment tomorrow too,,,the more you fuss over them, the more they will stress. Hope they'll be ok.

 

[iamwhoiam]

You an also use a heating pad under half the cage. Set the pad to low or medium and put a towel over it and then put that beneath half of the cage. If you can't get it under the cage you can put it on top of half the cage but be sure to put a towel underneath it and also make sure no one can get to the cord.
I really hope the budgies will be OK. Let them rest.

 

[Emma O'Donnell]

An update: I took them to the vet yesterday and they were prescribed antibiotics, Oliver has taken them so well for me and swallowed it all. Snowy on the other hand isn't doing too good. He spit most of it out last night, and this morning when I gave it to him again it got all over his face but I did get him to swallow a little bit. He's back on the cage floor and looks really rough. I wish I could give him more but I don't want to overdose him! I'm glad that Oliver seems a little more bright and energetic but Snowy just looks really bad. I want him to be okay. Does anyone have any tips for keeping him safe and as healthy as possible until the antibiotics kick in?

 

[iamwhoiam]

Just make sure he gets enough rest and also be sure they are both eating and drinking. You may have to get some formula, put that on a spoon or even your finger so that you can be assured that something is being eaten. Liquids are especially important. Do they like veggies? You can try some soft veggies such as cooked carrots. Serve those slightly warm, not hot. You should also consider contacting the vet again and letting them know that Snowy is still not doing well.