911 Lead Poison!

[Ms. Jingles]

I have read all posts I could find here re: lead. I have owned Mr. Jingles ( aka. Chirpee ) 11 years, adopted him when he was appx 4...without incident. Mid November he exhibited really bad balance issues & had lost weight. Off to the vet, 5 days in the hospital w/14.5 ppm lead in the blood test! Down to 41 g...OMG! The only thing I can attribute this to is that he escaped his cage one day at the end of the summer & greeted me at the door when I got home from work. I have no idea what he got into. Checked around the house only to find most mags & paperback books had been given new edges He has an awesome Avian Adventures Nina Play top all of 2 years old. I was afraid to change his original cage since it was the only one he knew...too small...saved my pennies to get it as I also was proud owner of a giant Appaloosa at the time I adopted Mr. J. Now he is my only #1. He didn't chew any window sills or paint, which tested negative. Bet had me toss all toys with bells to be on the safe side...Mr. Jingles has no more bells to jingle ;(
Anyway, the vet said if he hadn't been healthy he wouldn't have made it thru this thus far. He had 2 more shots & fluids 1 & 2 days after coming back home since we were coming up on the long holiday & seemed to be regressing. Poor pin-cushion. I have an oral med on hand, told not to use it unless things get bad before I can get him in again. I can't get him to eat PB, the neat nick that he is. Spending days while I'm at work and bed time in the carrier I use to transport him in and only allowed in his big cage when I can watch him. He hasn't been clipped for years as he had learned his manners, the vet agreed that we shouldn't clip him now. He started to exhibit balance issues again tonight & we are off to the vet again @ 9 am. We are assuming at this point that we are in the leach out stage. Think the vet was surprised that I didn't give up on him and that he...so far...has made it thru this. Officially worth an ounce of gold with bills. He has always been worth his weight in gold to me anyway!
HOW long can this last?
He was so happy the 1st night the vet said we could try supervised time in the big cage. Ate more like he should in the big cage, but seemingly on food strike in the little cage. He's thankfully not plucking out of boredom...yet, but he isn't vocalizing 'chirping' at all. Weighed him tonight @ 43g. Becoming a finicky eater, currently not even devouring his pistachios which had been working. Got him to go for rice, corn & thawed frozen mango tonight. That's when he started having balance issues again. Back to the little cage. Can frozen mango become fermented? I only let it thaw, was still cool. Thought about it, removed it & got him to eat some safflower seeds.
I'm can't lose him now!

Must try to sleep now, sorry for babbling...

PS. Why can't I get these graphics to show where I want them to? They always appear @ the beginning!?

 

[zoo mom]

I don't have any experience with lead poisoning but wanted to send you some virtual hugs and good thoughts for Mr Jingles.

And also to keep this high on the list for people to see in the morning.

 

[camelotshadow]

 

[Rain]

Oh the poor thing. Keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers.

Just sharing something I did (but please do your own research, and talk to your vet to make sure it won't contradict anything he is doing, as it's a very different case).

My Sennie was very polyuric and picky with his feathers, earlier this year and had lots of tests but nothing really came up. The vet said it could possibly be metal toxicity and wanted to do more tests and would eventually go on to chelation therapy if this was the case. Being as Ri had lots of tests, we decided to leave it a couple of weeks, as he wasn't really ill as such (still loud and hyperactive).

In those couple of weeks, I researched and did a home chelation treatment using coriander (a good ingredient for chelation). I mixed fresh coriander, sesame seeds (calcium), a brazil nut (selenium) and chopped it fine in my blender, so it was made into like a pesto. He had this once a day on toast for a month. I also gave him peanut butter, so any metals could pass easier.

After two weeks his polyuria was getting better and after a month it had gone.

Not saying it couldn't have just been a coincidence and he may not have had heavy metal toxicity after all - but I just wanted to let you know about it. There's a lot of info on the net about coriander being used as a chelation treatment for birds (google - coriander chelation birds) but, as I said earlier, please check with your vet first. Oh and some recipes say use garlic - I didn't use that as not so sure about it in the use of birds - I just did a basic one - coriander, sesame seeds and a brazil nut.

 

[ncGreyBirdLady]

I have no advice but sending healing thoughts and prayers

 

[zoo mom]

Bumping again.

 

[RoxieW]

I have no experience with this issue but sending prayers and hugs that he will pull through.

 

[sunnysmom]

 

[iamwhoiam]

So sorry about Mr. Jingles. Hope he gets better soon.

 

[cupoftea]

Poor little guy. I really hope he gets better soon. Lovebirds are such sweeties. I've spent my fair share on vet bills for mine. They're worth so much.

 

[VictoriaVague]

Get better soon Mr Jingles

 

[gibsongrrrl]

Did you test for zinc also? My bird responded to the oral chelation treatment for lead very well and was noticeably better in a few days of starting it, but never had balance issues. Have you. Have you checked the cage well for any missing finish? That was the issue with mine. She was eating the finish off her cages.

 

[Kimberla]

Hugs to you and little guy!! Hoping he gets to feeling better soon!!

 

[RadhaVallabhi]

Praying for him!

 

[rocky'smom]

 

[Ms. Jingles]

We went to the vet again Friday & he was fine
Vet suggested making a hammock type hanging cushion in the big cage in case he has a stumble, since he's still not confident getting around, still kind of weak. Spent his first night back in the big cage, seems happier but still not chirping much. Hung a heater outside the corner he sleeps in. Eating more, thankfully. Need to get some weight on him. Booger won't eat peanut butter...too messy for the neat nick.
Thank you all for hopes & prayers.

What is the longest living P.Love bird anyone has had?

 

[Birdiemarie]

Glad the vet check went well.

 

[BeakFace]

Please read what happened to my Bailey! This was a nightmare but all ended well.
Queen of Bavaria emergency Blue Pearl, Tampa, Fl

 

[Ms. Jingles]

Where do I find what happened to Bailey?

 

[BeakFace]

It's on here just type in Queen of Bavaria emergency Blue Pearl, Tampa, FL