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Urgent Toxic fumes

Shezbug

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Sounds like she is coming along nicely which is great to hear.
Can I just suggest you be very careful using a blanket to cover your lamp, they can heat up and catch fire unfortunately and I would hate for you to have a problem with that.....especially while you have frayed nerves, lol.
Fingers crossed she keeps recovering smoothly for you :)
 

soleaux

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Sounds like she is coming along nicely which is great to hear.
Can I just suggest you be very careful using a blanket to cover your lamp, they can heat up and catch fire unfortunately and I would hate for you to have a problem with that.....especially while you have frayed nerves, lol.
Fingers crossed she keeps recovering smoothly for you :)
Aaand I just turned it off. What a disaster THAT would be, smoke inhalation and a potential fire...

She is still weak and I think a bit wobbly but it’s an improvement over earlier. Fingers crossed!
 

soleaux

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Hi everyone. Basil is doing a lot better this morning, earlier she was climbing around her cage a little. She’s still weak and a bit off balance and won’t eat pellets yet (tried both soaked and dry to no avail), but she drank some water and is eating her apple/pellet powder mix right now. HUGE improvement from yesterday. So proud of her!!!:sad3:
 

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Hankmacaw

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I often say that our birds live despite us many times, instead of because of us.

I'd mark Simple Green off the list of things to use. I had a terrible experience with it when I first got Hank (21 years ago). I had looked at Simple Green and thought OH Boy this is completely natural and will be great around my brand new bird. The first time I used it, Hank went into respiratory distress and I ended up holding him under my coat outside for a couple of hours. I was so upset and thought I had killed my brand new bird, who I loved so much already.
 

soleaux

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What an accurate mantra to live by :D

I agree on SG. When I was working with shearwaters at our rehab facility in Hawaii we used it to mop up the floors after exams, it made me cough/wheeze and tear up every time. Always wondered why we used it in the same building as the birds if it was caustic enough for me to react like that.

I am really sorry about what happened with Hank. I’m glad nothing bad happened! :sadhug2:
 

greys4u

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I saw a natural cleaner online and it looked really good till I read the fine print. I called the company and asked if it was ever tested with birds. The only answer I got was 'it was tested on my dogs and used around my kids so it must be okay but I'm not sure.' That was from the lady that owned the company! What a dough head..Anyway I always use a steam cleaner for cleaning bathrooms, kitchen counters, stove, her cage, etc.
 

Greencheek Lee

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So Happy Basil is doing better:dance4:
 

iamwhoiam

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The fact that she is eating and she is holding her foot with one foot while balancing on the other is excellent! Great that she continues to improve.
 

soleaux

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I saw a natural cleaner online and it looked really good till I read the fine print. I called the company and asked if it was ever tested with birds. The only answer I got was 'it was tested on my dogs and used around my kids so it must be okay but I'm not sure.' That was from the lady that owned the company! What a dough head..Anyway I always use a steam cleaner for cleaning bathrooms, kitchen counters, stove, her cage, etc.
What a numb skull... do you remember what the cleaner was called so I know to stay far, far away?

We just got back from the vet. Apparently Basil has a heart murmur, which the vet did not hear during Basil’s checkup a month ago.... the doctor mentioned that sometimes toxins can cause hemolysis (rupturing of red blood cells) which is sometimes seen in Teflon poisoning. This wasn’t the case here, but I think whatever chemicals she was exposed to must have done this for her reaction to be so severe. I asked if you’d see the blood in droppings (which I hadn’t) but if the lysis happens outside the GI tract you wouldn’t see evidence of blood in their stools.

Basil may have anemia if the hemolysis was bad enough but both myself and the vet were hesitant to do bloodwork since she’s still recovering/weak. I plan on going back in two weeks to check it out.

She was eating quite a bit and pretty alert. I got some syringe and formula for her from the doctor just in case she stops munching on her own but I think she’ll be okay :loveshower:

Gonna go pass out in bed now. LOL.
 

rockybird

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I am so glad she is doing better. What a horrible ordeal you both have been through!

This sounds similar to what my conure went through, but she was not exposed to any chemicals that I know of.

A few months ago, she seemed a little listless, but otherwise was fine. But, as it was Friday before Memorial Day, I dropped her off at the vet on my way to work. I thought I was over reacting. The vet called a couple hours later to say she had gone down hill rapidly. I was completely shocked, as she just seemed a little sleepy when I dropped her off but was eating, climbing, etc.

-she was severely anemic
-she was bradycardia, with irregular heart rate
-she was incredibly fatigued. When I went to see her, she was falling asleep while eating.

The vet did a CT, which showed an enlarged kidney, possibly compressing nerves to her leg, (she began limping). He also thought there was something in her liver. She also had a couple black droppings before getting sick, which resolved. None of the symptoms were compatible with a diagnosis.

The vet said the prognosis was poor. Like you I sat by the phone expecting the worst. Then, a few days later, she rebounded. She is now doing great, although has a very slight limp.

I cant help but wonder if this had nothing to do with the fumes and if there is another cause. I’d still be so very careful when the house cleaner is over. The vet said he had seen similar symptoms in a pionus, and it also recovered. Anyway, we know who little about parrot medicine. It makes me wonder though if our birds had the same illness.

Whatever the cause, thank goodness your baby is doing better!
 

soleaux

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I am so glad she is doing better. What a horrible ordeal you both have been through!

This sounds similar to what my conure went through, but she was not exposed to any chemicals that I know of.

A few months ago, she seemed a little listless, but otherwise was fine. But, as it was Friday before Memorial Day, I dropped her off at the vet on my way to work. I thought I was over reacting. The vet called a couple hours later to say she had gone down hill rapidly. I was completely shocked, as she just seemed a little sleepy when I dropped her off but was eating, climbing, etc.

-she was severely anemic
-she was bradycardia, with irregular heart rate
-she was incredibly fatigued. When I went to see her, she was falling asleep while eating.

The vet did a CT, which showed an enlarged kidney, possibly compressing nerves to her leg, (she began limping). He also thought there was something in her liver. She also had a couple black droppings before getting sick, which resolved. None of the symptoms were compatible with a diagnosis.

The vet said the prognosis was poor. Like you I sat by the phone expecting the worst. Then, a few days later, she rebounded. She is now doing great, although has a very slight limp.

I cant help but wonder if this had nothing to do with the fumes and if there is another cause. I’d still be so very careful when the house cleaner is over. The vet said he had seen similar symptoms in a pionus, and it also recovered. Anyway, we know who little about parrot medicine. It makes me wonder though if our birds had the same illness.

Whatever the cause, thank goodness your baby is doing better!
Oh my goodness, how scary :( I am so glad your baby made a recovery :hug8:

You know, it’s really interesting that you mention the leg issue, because I noticed something strange about Basil’s left leg these past few days. She’s not limping, but when she picks up a food item with it she’ll occasionally twitch her leg rapidly (as of she’s trying to scratch herself). She also put down her leg and vibrated/stomped in place really fast (almost like Thumper in Bambi), I had never seen her do this before but it only happened that one time yesterday and I haven’t seen her do it again.

What treatment did you give your baby especially for the kidney/liver issue, or was it just lots of rest? Are both back to normal now that your little one recovered?

I can’t help but wonder now because it sounds suspiciously similar. The cleaning lady actually mentioned Basil was “puffier than usual” that morning she was over (she has birdsat for me before), but I didn’t notice anything amiss when I interacted with Basil before her bath. They are so good at hiding it though. I will bring all this up with the vet the next time I see her.
 

rockybird

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Wow, I really wonder if they have the same disease! We considered stroke and tumors, but nothing seemed to fit the symptoms.

I'll see if I can find the receipt (the $1600 receipt!) when I get home tonight to check what treatments were given. Mostly I think she received supportive treatment. She was in an incubator with oxygen at the vet for about 4-5 nights. She did get a shot of antibiotics, but we didnt think really it was infectious. I know she went home on sucralafate and iron. Her anemia rebounded pretty quickly while at the vet. She was in such bad shape, that we discussed letting her just come home where she would be more comfortable. Needless to say, the vet was amazed that she recovered. For about two weeks, her leg was weak, but I could see it improving daily. She is doing great now. I can see a very slight limp when she runs across the counter, but otherwise she is her normal playful self. On the follow up visit, the vet said she is still bradycardic. He even consulted an avian cardiologist, but no one could come up with a diagnosis that fit her symptoms. For now, I am keeping her in a smaller cage - 30" wide x 18" deep, which is not tall. I'm building a new bird room, and if she is still doing well when it is completed, I will mover her back into her bigger cage. But, because of her heart condition, I feel better keeping her in a smaller cage with low perches.
 

soleaux

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Wow, I really wonder if they have the same disease! We considered stroke and tumors, but nothing seemed to fit the symptoms.

I'll see if I can find the receipt (the $1600 receipt!) when I get home tonight to check what treatments were given. Mostly I think she received supportive treatment. She was in an incubator with oxygen at the vet for about 4-5 nights. She did get a shot of antibiotics, but we didnt think really it was infectious. I know she went home on sucralafate and iron. Her anemia rebounded pretty quickly while at the vet. She was in such bad shape, that we discussed letting her just come home where she would be more comfortable. Needless to say, the vet was amazed that she recovered. For about two weeks, her leg was weak, but I could see it improving daily. She is doing great now. I can see a very slight limp when she runs across the counter, but otherwise she is her normal playful self. On the follow up visit, the vet said she is still bradycardic. He even consulted an avian cardiologist, but no one could come up with a diagnosis that fit her symptoms. For now, I am keeping her in a smaller cage - 30" wide x 18" deep, which is not tall. I'm building a new bird room, and if she is still doing well when it is completed, I will mover her back into her bigger cage. But, because of her heart condition, I feel better keeping her in a smaller cage with low perches.
Now that’s a pretty penny :omg: we hit close to 750 this time for Basil, my mom joked that “that sure was some expensive oxygen they gave her” :p

It’d be great if you could find it, thank you so much!! Sounds like it was a long road to recovery and very scary (I cannot even imagine 4-5 nights overnight, what a nailbiter) but I’m glad she made it in the end!!

Also... As time goes on, I do get a bigger hunch that it may be the same disease. Basil’s droppings today were.. black. She hasn’t been eating her normal roudybush for some reason, and only wants to eat Zupreem fruit blend (along with corn and apple.. junk food eating with all that extra sugar, go figure :rolleyes:). Everything else is the same however.. an assortment of berries, peppers, carrots... I’ve been giving her a lot of sunflower seeds to keep her weight up but I feel like that shouldn’t make her droppings black. I’ve never seen them this color before, at their darkest they’re usually purple from the berries.

Whatever the heck this is.. it’s pretty terrifying!
 

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Now that’s a pretty penny :omg: we hit close to 750 this time for Basil, my mom joked that “that sure was some expensive oxygen they gave her” :p

It’d be great if you could find it, thank you so much!! Sounds like it was a long road to recovery and very scary (I cannot even imagine 4-5 nights overnight, what a nailbiter) but I’m glad she made it in the end!!

Also... As time goes on, I do get a bigger hunch that it may be the same disease. Basil’s droppings today were.. black. She hasn’t been eating her normal roudybush for some reason, and only wants to eat Zupreem fruit blend (along with corn and apple.. junk food eating with all that extra sugar, go figure :rolleyes:). Everything else is the same however.. an assortment of berries, peppers, carrots... I’ve been giving her a lot of sunflower seeds to keep her weight up but I feel like that shouldn’t make her droppings black. I’ve never seen them this color before, at their darkest they’re usually purple from the berries.

Whatever the heck this is.. it’s pretty terrifying!
Keep a white paper towel in the cage. Any possible way you can bring in a fresh dropping to your vet so they can make sure there isn't any blood in that? Also, leave the Fruitblend and pick out the purple ones!
 

soleaux

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Keep a white paper towel in the cage. Any possible way you can bring in a fresh dropping to your vet so they can make sure there isn't any blood in that? Also, leave the Fruitblend and pick out the purple ones!
Yes! I definitely plan on bringing a couple of fresh samples in. I’ve been covering the platforms/bottom with paper towels so I can see her poop and she actually just gave me a fresh one 20min ago. It looks really scary :unsure1: besides sleeping a lot, she’s eating on her own and even was perky enough to growl/lunge at my lovie when she was sitting on my shoulder and I was changing Basil’s water.. but I hope this is just her cleansing the system :arghh: When she was at her worst on Thurs/Fri/Sat, her droppings were the usual brown...
 

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soleaux

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Oh! Also my zupreem doesn’t seem to have any purple pellets. They’re red, orange, green, and yellow. Are there any I should pick out from that ensemble?
 

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Oh my gosh! THis is exactly what Rocky had! She had black dropping also, but it occured a couple days before I took her to the vet. They resolved. Can your vet get her on iron? Poor baby!!!
 

rockybird

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I cant find the receipt, but I can call and ask for a copy of it tomorrow if you like. The meds I have are acetysalicyclic acid, isoxsuprine, enalapril, also sucralafate. I think the vet may have given her a shot of iron in the office.

I believe Rocky’s droppings were black from digested blood...ie internal bleeding. This would explain the anemia and fatigue, but not the SLOW heart rate (should be fast if anemic) nor the enlarged kidney.

How is she doing?
 

soleaux

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That would be amazing if you could!! Thank you so much for all your help and input :heart::hug8:

So both Rocky and Basil definitely had some hemolysis it seems and fell asleep while eating. Did Rocky’s kidney ever shrink if you had a followup CT? I’ll ask the vet for a CT scan as well to check out her kidney/liver and let you know... my gut says that Basil probably has anemia as well...

Minus the black droppings, Basil’s doing better! She sleeps A LOT but perks up when I move around or check on her. Yesterday she was out like a light with every nap, so I hope the upward trend continues!
 

rockybird

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I didnt do a follow up CT. It’s been about three months so it’s possible the kidney has improved.

I dont know if it’s hemolysis that is causing the anemia. If they are losing blood in the stool, ie bleeding internally, than they may be the cause of the anemia. Did the vet say Basil had hemolysis?

Interestingly about a week later, my caique had bright red blood in his droppings! A lot of it! I sent pics to the vet and had a plan to get him over there, but they resolved and he was acting normally. The vet said there was no need to bring him in, since had improved.

If the disease progresses like Rocky’s, your little Basil will get better. I will leave the vet a message that I met someone else with a bird with similar symptoms when I call tomorrow. He will be intrigued!
 
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