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What could this be?

AGS

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My bird Widget has atherosclerosis. His condition is pretty bad and we are waiting on some other tests to see if there are any other medications that could help him.

A few minutes ago he wanted me to pet him but when I went to pet him he started making a sound like he was in pain, tilting his head with his mouth open and walking forward. I thought he was having a seizure but he stopped after 2 seconds and just moved his mouth weird for a couple seconds, then he was fine again.

I can’t tell if it’s something like a stroke/aneurysm (maybe what he was feeling was a headache?) or if it has something to do with his mouth/throat/crop since he had just got done eating (sometimes he has trouble swallowing and choking because he insists on swallowing his pellets whole), and one of the symptoms was moving his mouth weird.

He’s acting normal now and preening himself. The only thing unusual is he wanted to go up on his cage top/branch and doesn’t want me to pet him anymore. Taking him to the vet is always a last resort for him, because of his condition it often makes things worse, and takes weeks for him to recover. And there’s always a chance he doesn’t survive the appointment.
 

Lady Jane

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How old is Widget? Have you made any diet changes? Tagging two members that may have some info to help you. @Fuzzy and @sunnysmom
 

AGS

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I have no idea how old he is (he was a rescue and we didn’t get him directly from the old owner so we couldn’t ask). I’ve had him for about 4 years and he was an adult when I got him. The vet thinks he’s pretty old though based on the atherosclerosis. I haven’t made any diet changes.

He is letting me pet him now but seems pretty tired. I can’t tell if it’s more than usual.
 

AGS

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I’m thinking it might have been a sharp piece of food he swallowed. There was only about 10 seconds between him eating and him doing whatever that was with his head/mouth. And he always swallows his food whole. He also was walking towards his water bowl when it happened like he usually does when he chokes on food.
 

saroj12

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Can you soften the pellets in juice?
 

AGS

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No unfortunately, he won’t eat any food that’s wet or even slightly mushy.
 

saroj12

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No unfortunately, he won’t eat any food that’s wet or even slightly mushy.
Oh darn. If you crush them into smaller pieces will he accept it?
 

saroj12

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What pellets are they?
 

Priya12

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Im not no expert but I believe atherosclerosis can cause seizures and you may need medication from the vet to prevent or control the seizures .
 

AGS

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He will but I’ve tried that before and he would always still try to pick out the biggest pieces. He usually eats okay I think. He chokes on his food a lot but he’s been doing that for years with no ill effects. He just has a sip of water and is fine. They are zupreem pellets. He used to eat roudybush, kind of a long story but he won’t eat those anymore.
 

AGS

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Im not no expert but I believe atherosclerosis can cause seizures and you may need medication from the vet to prevent or control the seizures .
I think you’re right which is what I immediately thought it was. But I wonder if he would have recovered so fast if it was a seizure? It only took him a few seconds and he was back to normal. He even whistled a bit right after because he was confused why I was upset.

He is on 3 different medications for the atherosclerosis. Are there separate medications for seizures?
 

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From my experience And what I have learned every birds is different some may take time to recover or recover immediately from a seizure, I don’t have to much knowledge in medication but maybe the medication should help the symptoms of atherosclerosis but still do get on the phone with a vet to get professional help and try to remove some of the stuff in the cage and put padding at The bottom to prevent injury if another seizure occurs and keep a close watch .
 

AGS

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From my experience And what I have learned every birds is different some may take time to recover or recover immediately from a seizure, I don’t have to much knowledge in medication but maybe the medication should help the symptoms of atherosclerosis but still do get on the phone with a vet to get professional help and try to remove some of the stuff in the cage and put padding at The bottom to prevent injury if another seizure occurs and keep a close watch .
Okay, thank you. I scheduled a virtual appointment with his vet for now. She knows his situation pretty well so should be able to see if he needs to come in or if there’s anything we can do for him at home.

He did seem pretty tired for the rest of the day which makes me worried it was a seizure. The last time he was like this was when he aspirated his medicine.
 

sunnysmom

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I think seizures are typically a bit more dramatic than that but definitely something to ask your vet about. I'm curious, how did your vet diagnosis the atherosclerosis? Have you thought about giving him senior nutriberries? They have a lot of supplements in them aimed at helping older birds. Also, something to avoid is food with Vitamin K (like broccoli) as it can thicken the blood which isn't good with atherosclerosis. Will he eat things like birdy bread or Higgins Worldly Cuisine? Let us know how the vet visit goes. I hope he's okay.
 

AGS

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@sunnysmom We did x-rays and there is an increased opacity on the descending aorta. It‘s not definite because that can apparently sometimes just happen from motion blur. But we strongly suspect it, especially because his medications really help him, and his toes turn blue. He is on isoxsuprine, benazepril, and pentoxifylline. He also has an appointment next month for an echocardiogram.

I actually have some senior nutriberries for him. But I honestly think he just picks the seeds out. I haven’t tried birdy bread, is that a recipe or a product to buy?
 

AGS

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Well his vet is out of town but I spoke to another vet at the practice and he said usually with seizures they lose consciousness and flap around a lot. I will still talk to his vet when she is back though.

He also mentioned a stroke or transient ischemic attack, but I think those are even more severe usually?
 

sunnysmom

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@sunnysmom We did x-rays and there is an increased opacity on the descending aorta. It‘s not definite because that can apparently sometimes just happen from motion blur. But we strongly suspect it, especially because his medications really help him, and his toes turn blue. He is on isoxsuprine, benazepril, and pentoxifylline. He also has an appointment next month for an echocardiogram.

I actually have some senior nutriberries for him. But I honestly think he just picks the seeds out. I haven’t tried birdy bread, is that a recipe or a product to buy?
Well his vet is out of town but I spoke to another vet at the practice and he said usually with seizures they lose consciousness and flap around a lot. I will still talk to his vet when she is back though.

He also mentioned a stroke or transient ischemic attack, but I think those are even more severe usually?
Thanks for explaining the testing to me. Birdie bread can be both. There are mixes you can buy or you can make your own. Do you break the nutriberries up for him? My tiels won't eat them in a ball for some reason.

My cockatiel Sunny had a stroke. He kind of stared off into space and was just not "there" for a few minutes. He left wing drooped and he wasn't able to lift it. My vet said the good news was that tiels tend to recover pretty quickly from strokes- and he did. But my vet said usually if a tiel has one stroke, he will have a second at some point.
 

AGS

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Yes, I break them up for him. I did give him some yesterday and surprisingly he actually showed some interest in the other pieces, not just the seeds.

I’ll see about making/buying some birdie bread for him.
 

Priya12

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Yes, I break them up for him. I did give him some yesterday and surprisingly he actually showed some interest in the other pieces, not just the seeds.

I’ll see about making/buying some birdie bread for him.
Are the seeds u mentioned sunflower seeds?
 

AGS

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No, there are different types of seeds but I don’t think there are sunflower seeds. He doesn’t like sunflower seeds anyway.
 
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