Urgent PLEASE HELP!!! Already been to vet can’t figure out what wrong.

[itsjska]

Please help… I feel like there’s something wrong with my sweet girl. Her name is Olive. She’s the love of my life and I am going crazy thinking I might lose her. Her wings are more droopy than normal and she is more fluffed. Yes it’s been cold but usually she does not act like this. She seems to be eating fine but could be a tiny bit less than normal? Drinking water. I’ve been to our avian vet Dr. Gillet in San Diego twice in the past few days. We did a full blood panel CBC and bile acids. Everything came back normal “not even close to borderline infection” she said. Olive still not acting normal. Seems to be becoming less active/lethargic. Took her in again and did x rays and gram stain. Still waiting on the gram stain that comes back later today but she said x rays everything looked fine, bones look great liver, heart. I used to take her outside for sun when I lived at home I don’t any more as I live in an apartment. I asked about vitamin D the doctor said there’s been studies that show birds getting UV and those not getting it there was no difference (i thought this was weird?). Asked about calcium, she said that looked normal in her blood. Thinking of getting a heating pad or UV lamp? She looks cold. There were a couple weeks in san diego where it was raining everyday and the humidity got really bad. There was mold everywhere, I cleaned it all making sure to wet it before agitating to not spread, etc. It was the green mold that grows on old fruit etc, not black. I would think if it was a fungal infection that would’ve showed up in the blood cbc right? She’s showing no signs of respiratory distress. Should I ask for her to be put on anti fungal just in case? I can’t think of anything else. She’s funny and likes to hang on the side of her cage not perch, to sleep, lately she’s been having night frights or falling to the bottom. Again, I don’t know what it could be. She was having a bit of trouble flying yesterday but this has happened before and she was ok. Also being handled for the x ray i thought maybe she was sore, etc. In 2020, she kept getting reaccuring respiratory infections. Gave her antibiotics each time and she recovered. I think it might’ve been something in my parents home but i am no longer living there and she hasn’t gotten sick for two years. I’m losing my mind and crying and I know that they go downhill quick. I feel like i’m running out of time. Please help.

 

[Mizzely]

Do you have another vet you can see for a different opinion?

Fungals would not show up in a standard blood test, and antifungals can be really hard on the body, so I wouldn't give them without cause.

 

[itsjska]

Do you have another vet you can see for a different opinion?

Fungals would not show up in a standard blood test, and antifungals can be really hard on the body, so I wouldn't give them without cause.

I remember when she was getting reaccuring infections i asked if it could be mold she said no because the white blood cell count would be sky high. Is this not correct? What specific test should I ask for? The other doctor that works with her i don’t trust he’s very rough and has had bad reviews. There’s Dr. Cecil, I think he’s hard to get an appointment with. Dr. Loudis, we’ve been to before with another sick bird that ended up dying.. we asked at the time for blood work but he thought it was unnecessary. (I think this info could’ve saved her) For good avian vets in San Diego there seems to be not a lot of good options. Thanks for helping.

 

[Mizzely]

I remember when she was getting reaccuring infections i asked if it could be mold she said no because the white blood cell count would be sky high. Is this not correct? What specific test should I ask for? The other doctor that works with her i don’t trust he’s very rough and has had bad reviews. There’s Dr. Cecil, I think he’s hard to get an appointment with. Dr. Loudis, we’ve been to before with another sick bird that ended up dying.. we asked at the time for blood work but he thought it was unnecessary. (I think this info could’ve saved her) For good avian vets in San Diego there seems to be not a lot of good options. Thanks for helping.

Yes the WBC may be high when fighting any infection, but it wouldn't specifically point to a fungal infection. Any time the body is responding to a "threat", or even stress, it can cause a high WBC.

 

[itsjska]

Yes the WBC may be high when fighting any infection, but it wouldn't specifically point to a fungal infection. Any time the body is responding to a "threat", or even stress, it can cause a high WBC.

Yes I understand it doesn’t reveal what TYPE of infection (bacterial, fungal, viral). But the fact that it’s normal, should I rule out it could’ve been the mold or a fungal issue. Again I don’t know what test to ask for.

 

[Mizzely]

Since the WBC and x-rays are both normal, I wouldn't be suspicious that fungal infection is a possibility.

Aspergillosis in Birds | VCA Animal Hospitals

Aspergillosis is a common cause of respiratory disease in pet birds. It can cause upper and lower respiratory problems or a more broadly distributed infections.

vcahospitals.com

 

[Pixiebeak]

What kind of parrot? How old? What's the diet? Indoor or aviary burd? Any changes in weight? Or changes in poop? Any new parrots added?

Great job in getting your burd to a veterinarian, getting blood work and x-rays and such. Im sorry there wasn't a clear answer......

You are deffinatly describing weakness, with wing drop. And night time falls...

Possibility one of the Avian viruses..

X ray rules out acute metal toxicity like having metal in gi systems. Im just going to throw things out to consider .. But a possibility of chronic zinc toxicity still exists

Again im just throwing out ideas...there is a blood born parasite I think called plasmodium..its identified by very careful going through multiple blood smear stained slides by a person looking through microscope....I think there is another type as well were you doing a hematocrit tube and look above tge Buffy coat... these are nearly always seen only in aviary birds

As Mizzely shared asper.. is a possibility

And as she mentioned getting a second opinion from a different Avian veterinarian practice not a different doctor st the same practice. And thst isn't putting down your current veterinarian. It's just a good idea to get different eyes a d ideas on a tricky problem. Same for human medicine

Im trying to think.....

 

[itsjska]

What kind of parrot? How old? What's the diet? Indoor or aviary burd? Any changes in weight? Or changes in poop? Any new parrots added?

Great job in getting your burd to a veterinarian, getting blood work and x-rays and such. Im sorry there wasn't a clear answer......

You are deffinatly describing weakness, with wing drop. And night time falls...

Possibility one of the Avian viruses..

X ray rules out acute metal toxicity like having metal in gi systems. Im just going to throw things out to consider .. But a possibility of chronic zinc toxicity still exists

Again im just throwing out ideas...there is a blood born parasite I think called plasmodium..its identified by very careful going through multiple blood smear stained slides by a person looking through microscope....I think there is another type as well were you doing a hematocrit tube and look above tge Buffy coat... these are nearly always seen only in aviary birds

As Mizzely shared asper.. is a possibility

And as she mentioned getting a second opinion from a different Avian veterinarian practice not a different doctor st the same practice. And thst isn't putting down your current veterinarian. It's just a good idea to get different eyes a d ideas on a tricky problem. Same for human medicine

Im trying to think.....

She is a green cheek cinnamon conure. She is about 12-13 years old and Ive had her since she was a baby. Never got sick once for 10 years. I have her on the Origins Wild Diet pellets (thebestbirdfood.com). About half of that and half seeds (i wish she could eat all pellets but she’s very stubborn), also gets mango, banana, blueberries, carrots. I try to get her to eat more green veggies but she doesn’t really like them. Indoor bird. We have another bird as well, an Indian Ring neck. Showing no signs of being sick. They’ve been housed together (not same cage of course) for 2 years no problems. Both were tested for various bird diseases (pscittocis, pbfd) when we first got them. No changes in poop that i can tell. I attached olives weight history. It is a bit lower but it may be because i’m trying to feed her less seed and more pellets.


UPDATE: gram stain came back normal. she has been sneezing a bit today. vet says there’s nothing really else they can do besides doing more intense imaging (CT scan?) at a hospital and sending her x-rays out to a radiologist specialist.

 

[itsjska]

What kind of parrot? How old? What's the diet? Indoor or aviary burd? Any changes in weight? Or changes in poop? Any new parrots added?

Great job in getting your burd to a veterinarian, getting blood work and x-rays and such. Im sorry there wasn't a clear answer......

You are deffinatly describing weakness, with wing drop. And night time falls...

Possibility one of the Avian viruses..

X ray rules out acute metal toxicity like having metal in gi systems. Im just going to throw things out to consider .. But a possibility of chronic zinc toxicity still exists

Again im just throwing out ideas...there is a blood born parasite I think called plasmodium..its identified by very careful going through multiple blood smear stained slides by a person looking through microscope....I think there is another type as well were you doing a hematocrit tube and look above tge Buffy coat... these are nearly always seen only in aviary birds

As Mizzely shared asper.. is a possibility

And as she mentioned getting a second opinion from a different Avian veterinarian practice not a different doctor st the same practice. And thst isn't putting down your current veterinarian. It's just a good idea to get different eyes a d ideas on a tricky problem. Same for human medicine

Im trying to think.....

As Mizzely said, asper I think would probably show up in the blood CBC and/or on the lungs in the x-ray. I have an old wire cage for her with some metal exposed, sometimes she bites this area. (she’s not strong enough to bite pieces out of it however) I never thought it could be a problem. What test could be run to find out? or have the tests I’ve done already would have shown something?

 

[Pixiebeak]

Lead and Zinc Poisoning in Parrots

Here is information on what causes lead and zinc poisoning in Parrots, symptoms of poisoning in pet birds and what treatments are available for Parrot owners.

www.northernparrots.com

 

[Pixiebeak]

She is an older girl...while they can live longer ...her age is a common life span. But with all her organ functions great, xrayed, poops and weight normal I would think she has some years left.

You could get zinc level checked..
possibly check vitamin levels but with pellets snd some fresh stuff..probably low chance of thst being an issue .
Try bell pepper especially yellow and orange seem favored by mine. I roast sweet potatoes and offer a little mashed as well as butternut squash well loved by all of mine. A little boiled egg a couple if times a week with a little shell offered too.

I think a radiant heat source like sweter heater is always beneficial with supporting health issue even if home is normal room temp.

 

[itsjska]

She is an older girl...while they can live longer ...her age is a common life span. But with all her organ functions great, xrayed, poops and weight normal I would think she has some years left.

You could get zinc level checked..
possibly check vitamin levels but with pellets snd some fresh stuff..probably low chance of thst being an issue .
Try bell pepper especially yellow and orange seem favored by mine. I roast sweet potatoes and offer a little mashed as well as butternut squash well loved by all of mine. A little boiled egg a couple if times a week with a little shell offered too.

I think a radiant heat source like sweter heater is always beneficial with supporting health issue even if home is normal room temp.

Yes, she gets hard boiled eggs sometimes too. I just made some chop for them. Quinoa, dandelion greens, broccoli, sweet potato, carrots, peas, red bell pepper. She picked at it a little bit. She likes the quinoa. Her flying is back to normal it seems I will look into and ask the vet about lead and zinc. Thanks for your input and advice.