Hi all,
My Disco has a history of recurring respiratory infections but he's been doing pretty well lately, and I obsessively take notes of any symptoms he has so I can get him seen ASAP. The vet thought that he may be hypothyroid - explaining his heavy weight and recurring infections.
Today is the last day of my weekend, tomorrow I go back to work but the vet doesn't have an opening until tomorrow afternoon, even as an emergency.
Suddenly today he is breathing very hard, no tail bobbing like he usually does when sick, just really fast breathing. Has not eaten today yet (he's been up for a few hours and normally the boys chow down first thing). Drank a few sips of water and keeps clearing his crop. Earlier he was holding his wings out a bit from his body as if he was warm so I adjusted the heat down a bit. This is really strange because when he has been sick in the past, he has wet sneezes and tail bobbing, but he is hardly sneezing right now.
So far all he has done today is preen, chatter, and try to sleep (but it's obvious he is uncomfortable and not getting much sleep). This is unusual for him, he usually has a lot of energy and likes to bully his brother. I guess it's a good sign that he's still talking and on the highest perch in the cage...
Having gone through this so often, I thought I would try to wrangle him and give him some fresh avian antibiotics I have on hand from previous mishaps, but he is so squirrely that I can't hold him good enough to give him a dose. (His main vet says he is a pistol). And obviously this makes him breathe even harder and tire himself out.
Any recommendations for what I can do until I can get him in? At the moment I have him and his brother separated but in sight, I have his cage mostly covered and he has fresh food and water available. Running the humidifier as well.
Thanks in advance
My Disco has a history of recurring respiratory infections but he's been doing pretty well lately, and I obsessively take notes of any symptoms he has so I can get him seen ASAP. The vet thought that he may be hypothyroid - explaining his heavy weight and recurring infections.
Today is the last day of my weekend, tomorrow I go back to work but the vet doesn't have an opening until tomorrow afternoon, even as an emergency.
Suddenly today he is breathing very hard, no tail bobbing like he usually does when sick, just really fast breathing. Has not eaten today yet (he's been up for a few hours and normally the boys chow down first thing). Drank a few sips of water and keeps clearing his crop. Earlier he was holding his wings out a bit from his body as if he was warm so I adjusted the heat down a bit. This is really strange because when he has been sick in the past, he has wet sneezes and tail bobbing, but he is hardly sneezing right now.
So far all he has done today is preen, chatter, and try to sleep (but it's obvious he is uncomfortable and not getting much sleep). This is unusual for him, he usually has a lot of energy and likes to bully his brother. I guess it's a good sign that he's still talking and on the highest perch in the cage...
Having gone through this so often, I thought I would try to wrangle him and give him some fresh avian antibiotics I have on hand from previous mishaps, but he is so squirrely that I can't hold him good enough to give him a dose. (His main vet says he is a pistol). And obviously this makes him breathe even harder and tire himself out.
Any recommendations for what I can do until I can get him in? At the moment I have him and his brother separated but in sight, I have his cage mostly covered and he has fresh food and water available. Running the humidifier as well.
Thanks in advance