My lovebird Zeus has been pretty sick this month,it started on the 9th when I noticed he was picking at his wing joints and upon close inspection I realized the skin looked infected so I took him in to the vet here. We do not have an avian vet and this vet is the only vet in town qualified to treat birds even though her qualifications are questionable. When I asked what kind of experience she has had with birds she said ," I know I like them".
Anyways I went in armed with a list of meds I might need and their proper dosage given to me by a friend who is very savvy when it comes to Lovebirds. I asked the vet is she would do a gram stain and she looked at me like I was crazy and told me she would do one if the meds she gave me didn't work...
So off I went back home with my Metacam,Nystatin ointment and a 10 day supply of Baytril. I thought things would get better but instead they only got worse. On the 19th Zeus stopped eating and drinking and had lost alot of weight. I had a scale and had been weighing him and it had looked like he had only lost a couple of grams,however when I took him to the vet on the 20th she had reweighed him and it turns out he had lost 9 grams
I asked for a gram stain again and a culture and sensitivity to be done and finally the vet agreed to do them. The vet said the gram stain looked ok,but that's assuming she knows how to read it... C&S will be back Monday hopefully.
I ended up hand feeding him with finely ground Tops pellets and ordered some Harrisons handfeeding formula on Fedex overnight. The Harrisons took several days to get here...there is no overnight when you live in Alaska =(
I stayed up with Zeus the first few days feeding him 1 cc every hour around the clock and gradually increasing the amount of food and the time between feedings. I haven't had more than 4 hours of sleep since all this started. I have the heat cranked up all the way during the day and at night I put him in his travel kennel covered with blankets over a heating pad which I have to turn back on every hour throughout the night.
Zeus has gained weight back,but his keel bone still sticks out =( I forgot to weigh him when before he ate this morning,but he was at 55 grams when I put him in his cage just a little bit ago.
Yesterday when I was scratching Zeus's head I noticed he had several red feathers growing on his chest and I remember reading about it a bit ago and it had said it could be from liver disease so I Googled liver disease and found out that Zeus has just about every symptom they had listed. Tonight I noticed his abdomen looks swollen and bruised almost
I am wondering if anyone has any advice on liver disease? Things I should ask the vet,stuff he should or shouldn't be eating? I read milk thistle is good and aloe detox but how do you administer them? Has anyone here successfully treated liver disease in their bird before? Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.
I want to order one of the Avitech heat panels and I saw they sell 24" full spectrum fixtures Avitech Exotic Birds - Supplies, Equipment and Nutritional Supplements for Birds! and I was wondering if anyone has used these and if you like them.
My heart is breaking right now,this is my worst nightmare come true and I feel absolutely horrible not being able to take him to see a vet who knows what they are doing. Unfortunately,the closest avian vet is almost 900 miles away.
Anyways I went in armed with a list of meds I might need and their proper dosage given to me by a friend who is very savvy when it comes to Lovebirds. I asked the vet is she would do a gram stain and she looked at me like I was crazy and told me she would do one if the meds she gave me didn't work...
So off I went back home with my Metacam,Nystatin ointment and a 10 day supply of Baytril. I thought things would get better but instead they only got worse. On the 19th Zeus stopped eating and drinking and had lost alot of weight. I had a scale and had been weighing him and it had looked like he had only lost a couple of grams,however when I took him to the vet on the 20th she had reweighed him and it turns out he had lost 9 grams
I asked for a gram stain again and a culture and sensitivity to be done and finally the vet agreed to do them. The vet said the gram stain looked ok,but that's assuming she knows how to read it... C&S will be back Monday hopefully.
I ended up hand feeding him with finely ground Tops pellets and ordered some Harrisons handfeeding formula on Fedex overnight. The Harrisons took several days to get here...there is no overnight when you live in Alaska =(
I stayed up with Zeus the first few days feeding him 1 cc every hour around the clock and gradually increasing the amount of food and the time between feedings. I haven't had more than 4 hours of sleep since all this started. I have the heat cranked up all the way during the day and at night I put him in his travel kennel covered with blankets over a heating pad which I have to turn back on every hour throughout the night.
Zeus has gained weight back,but his keel bone still sticks out =( I forgot to weigh him when before he ate this morning,but he was at 55 grams when I put him in his cage just a little bit ago.
Yesterday when I was scratching Zeus's head I noticed he had several red feathers growing on his chest and I remember reading about it a bit ago and it had said it could be from liver disease so I Googled liver disease and found out that Zeus has just about every symptom they had listed. Tonight I noticed his abdomen looks swollen and bruised almost
I am wondering if anyone has any advice on liver disease? Things I should ask the vet,stuff he should or shouldn't be eating? I read milk thistle is good and aloe detox but how do you administer them? Has anyone here successfully treated liver disease in their bird before? Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.
I want to order one of the Avitech heat panels and I saw they sell 24" full spectrum fixtures Avitech Exotic Birds - Supplies, Equipment and Nutritional Supplements for Birds! and I was wondering if anyone has used these and if you like them.
My heart is breaking right now,this is my worst nightmare come true and I feel absolutely horrible not being able to take him to see a vet who knows what they are doing. Unfortunately,the closest avian vet is almost 900 miles away.
