My sister (bird named Kony) was recently ill with a yeast infection but recently finished her medication for it so she should be all better now. But I noticed that she is drinking a lot more water than usual when I offer her water. We recently got her a new cage so I’m not sure if it’s because she can’t reach the water and just decides to wait for me to give it to her or if it’s because I introduced carrots to her diet a few times. Her poop looks normal some on the side are runny and green while others are small solid and darker in color. She seems to act normal but she seems to be drinking more water than usual. She was dehydrated when she got the yeast infection. I believe the infection is what caused the dehydration. I also read that taking medication can cause parakeets to drink more water than usual. She is on a medication I put in the water each day. The vet said I am supposed to do this until it runs out (it’s to make sure she does not get sick again). I’m not sure what to make of it on one hand stress of a new cage, carrots introduced to diet, and the medications could be the cause and she could be perfectly fine. But on the other hand, some of her poop is a bit runny and green in color particularly in one spot of the cage. Like its green sort of light green but not light green and is runny. But when I took her to the vet last time due to dehydration the vet examined this sort of poop and didn’t find anything wrong. So I’m not sure really what to do. She does this sort of beak movement when she seems parched like the top part of the beak will open and close but the bottom remains still. I saw in a video that this means they need water. She does it a bit while eating so I always offer her water and she drinks it. She just seems to be drinking a lot of water whenever I offer it. Based on the possible causes I mentioned I’m not sure if I should take her to the vet again or not seeing as it has become quite expensive. So far this year alone she has gone to the vet two time one after the other only about two weeks apart from the time of completing medication to solve her diagnosis from the previous visit. So now I’m a bit paranoid its just going to happen again. In total this year alone, I think I’ve spent well around 350 to 400 on the vet alone. That’s way more than previously when she only went to the vet once in the year that she was sick. I talked to my parents about pet insurance and they said no. I have money from financial aid to pay for the vet but I’m just getting worried since its starting to add up. And normally my parents are not happy about vet visits since they take all day and they hate waiting for the vet to give kony back after an examination. (Example, last vet visit our appointment was at 3pm we got there on time but left around 6pm aka closing time). Even if we make an appointment it always seems to last a whole day. I don’t know why; I assume it’s because there’s only one vet and the rest of the staff are nurses in a sense. Regardless I’m just not sure what to do or how to go about this. I’m going to call the vet tomorrow and ask what they think. Other than the excessive drinking of water and beak movement she acts totally normal. So what do you all think it is, is the reasons I mentioned a normal cause for this, or does it seem like I really do have to take her to the vet. I want to hear your advice on what to do about this and what you all think.
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Parakeet Drinking too much Water?
- Thread starter redrose27
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Peachfaced
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Can you move her water to where she can get to it more readily?
Drinking too much water isn't a good thing, but I'd like to see if her drinking goes to normal once it's easier to get to. Can you show us the cage? What exactly might be preventing her from getting to water?
Drinking too much water isn't a good thing, but I'd like to see if her drinking goes to normal once it's easier to get to. Can you show us the cage? What exactly might be preventing her from getting to water?
She recently got the new cage this week, there’s nothing in the way of the water she can easily climb down and get to it. The only issue I witnessed is that she can’t stretch to get it. The water is in front of the perch, very close. All she has to do is climb onto the water cup, bend over, and drink. Instead I never witnessed her actually climb onto the cup instead she sits on the perch and tries to stretch from there into the water cup but she can’t make it. I can only put 4oz of water in the cup because of the medications in it and that is what they specified to do. The cup can’t hold 8oz so I’m stuck leaving it at 4oz because the medicine is 7 drops per 4oz. I can’t calculate how much to put in for 5oz or 6oz. So, I leave it at 4oz but the cup is too deep. I thought about it and I am going to feed her carrots, and see if I can get her to climb onto the plastic cup. But other than that, there really is nothing stopping her from drinking the water on her own. The water in her last cage was the same she had to climb onto the cup to drink. She did that fine for years. So, I don’t understand why now it might be an issue. At the moment there are no toys in the cage (I ordered them online and they have yet to arrive). All she has is a small mirror but the toys should be here by the 8th. I don’t think a lack of toys would be the culprit either.
Peachfaced
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Hmmmm... Do you have a second dish - like a shallow, but heavier ceramic one that you can put on the bottom of the cage (if she goes there)? You could make a bigger batch of your medicated water, like 8 oz, and split it between the two dishes. That way her normal one is more full, and easier to reach... and you'll have a "backup" bit of drinking water in the cage with the 2nd dish.
She does not really go to the bottom of the cage and I don’t have a ceramic dish. If I put a plate like object at the bottom most likely she will just bathe in it. I could make an 8oz cup of the medicine then pour as much as I can into the water bowl but I don’t know how much medicine would really be going in there. My best bet is to call the vet and see how many drops to put into a 6oz or 5oz bowl of water. Because this whole drinking too much water issue occurred and started when I got her her new cage. Before when I offered her water with her old water cup, she would rarely ever really drink from it and when she did it was normal. But with this new cage when I offer her water she drinks and drinks and drinks. Sometimes it seems fine at first but then it just seems like too much in one sitting. Her old water bowl was plastic and not see through while her new one now is plastic but see through. I’m not sure if it being see through makes a difference in how much she would drink when I offer her water with it.
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I could see a bird being more afraid of the new environment/new objects. Rupert certainly takes time to adjust to new toys and bowls, especially if they are colors that scare him.
I would definitely call the vet, and also mention to them that she seems to be consuming a lot of water when she does drink.
I would definitely call the vet, and also mention to them that she seems to be consuming a lot of water when she does drink.
I will definitely do that asap. If they say it’s nothing serious due to the circumstances I mentioned (new cage) then I will try and feed her more carrots, see if I can get her to climb onto the bowl as intended, and see if the toys make any difference in this behavior. If I don’t notice any difference or improvement by next week ill just call the vet again and see what they think. Hopefully it’s the cage and she’s just adjusting to it all.
So, I fed her some carrots today but this morning at around 10am she had a seizure. She flew to the bottom bar of the cage then came back up and has been sleepy all day. Her poop looks normal in color but its runny almost like diarrhea like it doesn’t land on the bottom of the cage it gets stuck on the safe guard/ bars at the bottom and just dries up mid droop like a long toob. I think I’m going to have to take her to the vet since she had a seizure I talked to my friend and he said maybe it’s her food or the new cage or her weight. But honestly, I’m just frustrated, she just finished her medication for a yeast infection and now not even a full week later she is ill again. The same thing happened this year back in October when she finished her medication for a bacterial infection but 2 weeks later, she got the yeast infection. At this point I don’t understand why this is happening. She’s not old she’s only 11, and there’s nothing in her cage literally nothing so I don’t know how the hell she got sick again. I’m honest just angry I improved everything, bigger cage, added carrots to her diet, exercise, and yet still she gets sick. I just don’t get it what the hell is causing all of this is it just because its 2020, is it me? I don’t get it and it’s just hard I don’t understand. The vet said the yeast infection was either from her eating something contaminated by her poop likely the sand like paper at the bottom of her old cage that we immediately removed or her toys that looked as if they had rust on them so I got rid of them all. She was dehydrated from the yeast infection which I have no idea how that could have happened. As for the bacterial infection maybe she got it because I did not clean the old cage fast enough? I just don’t know but there seems to be a pattern of her getting sick like a week alter after finishing medication and it makes zero sense. This time I really see no culprit so I’m just going to ask the vet to see what the hell is making her get sick so often this year. Because I can’t afford to take her to the vet over and over again, I need there to be a permanent solution to this a cure something that can just stop her from being sick.
Sorry I just kinda had an emotional break down over how frustrating this is I cried for like 20 min and texted my friend he didnt rlly help. But I fed her carrots and that did some good so I made a game plan. Carrots 3 times a day for the rest of the week to see if that solves anything and ill add broccoli to her diet since that should help. Im going to call the vet see what they think but my mom dosent want me taking her to the vet again so I have to fix this myself.
tka
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Has the vet done any kinds of sensitivity cultures? This means taking a sample - usually from the crop and/or cloaca, swiping it on a growth medium in a petri dish, and cultivating the bacteria, yeasts and other stuff. The lab can then see what medicine works best to kill the bacteria/yeast/etc.
I think the fact that she gets sick after finishing a course of medication means that the medication isn't working effectively. She may need to be on a different medicine or be on a longer course of meds.
Do talk to the vet- perhaps you can call?
I think the fact that she gets sick after finishing a course of medication means that the medication isn't working effectively. She may need to be on a different medicine or be on a longer course of meds.
Do talk to the vet- perhaps you can call?
Yea I called the vet last week and they think she has something where she is peeing too much but its just too expencive to take her again when the vet just is not making things any better. At this point we have just been feeding her carrots and apples trying to spend time with her before her time is up. The vet is too expencive and he cant help considering everything that he has done so far only lead to worser things instead of solving the issue. So yea Im slowly watching my sibling and best friend die. It sucks.
