Maureena

thank you everyone for your kindness.

Cleo didn't get any better, he died just a little while ago. He's being sent away to find out what was wrong with him, in case it was something that could affect all my other birds. He was such a sweet little guy. Thanks everyone for your wishes. Here are the very few pics I have of Cleo. He's the little green guy.

Hi everybody Sorry, but there's nothing like speaking too soon. We brought Cleo home last night and he was great, so lively, excited, happy to be home. We gave him all his meds at 8 p.m. and he seemed to be doing just fantastic. It was like a little miracle. He seemed fine when we went to bed, he was all tucked in and sleeping. But my God, this morning we found him barely standing on his perch, he had one wing supported by a toy on the side of the cage and the other wing on the perch. I carried him in my hands to keep him warm all the way to emergency. He was so weak that his little feet were curled under him and he could barely move, and finally by the time the vet arrived, Cleo was so weak that I thought he would be gone before the vet came in. It was so traumatic. Anyway, we just don't know...he was doing so good. I guess it was just way too soon to take him home, but he sure fooled us all, even the vet. I don't know if he will make it now. He is one sick little bird. He's back in the incubator and we haven't heard anything yet. It's 11:59 a.m. and we took him there at 7:30 a.m. The vet said he would phone in the afternoon. If he can pull through this, he's staying in there where he can get oxygen. I'm not bringing him home again until he is stronger. I sure hope he's a fighter.

thank you Celeste! Me too!

Vet just left a message on my home phone. He says that Cleo is looking a lot better today and probably can go home tonight!! I'm to phone him at 5 p.m. to see how it is going then, and then I might be able to take him home with some meds.

thanks very much Cheeky. Hoping to hear something good today.

thank you Riebie for your kind words!

Thank you Nerwin for your kind comments as well, makes me feel better. This evening after work, the vet called and he told me that Cleo has brightened up a bit, is not as puffed up and he's not out of the woods but the oxygen and antibiotics in the vapour are having some effect. He is staying overnight still and tomorrow he will see if he is well enough for some tests.

Thanks very much Bea and Lovey. I needed the support.

I had made another post earlier describing the fact that we got 4 new budgies from the Humane Society (that was 10 days ago). On Sunday we took them for a complimentary checkup to a vet clinic. We didn't go to the avian clinic because of time constraints through the week. They all checked out fine, the only thing was that the vet could feel Cleo's keel quite prominently. She didn't think that was a problem. We have them quarantined from our other budgies, they are in a different room. We have been watching and interacting with them and they all appeared fine until this morning. My BF when he was gathering their dishes for washing noticed that Cleo had vomited and it was all over his face and feathers. So he cleaned him off and then we noticed that he is very weak, puffed up and bobbing and very labored and is very weak. We took him to emergency this morning and he is going to stay there over night in an incubator. His crop is full and it could be a variety of things, impacted crop, infection or if he inhaled the vomit, he could get pnenomia. Unfortunately, he was so weak that at this point they can't do any x-rays or anything because he may die with the handling. If they don't do anything, he will also die. So for now he is an incubator, he is getting oxygen, and they want to put him on a humidifier with antibiotics in the humidifier. They also want to give him a direct injection of antibiotics. We had to leave him there because we had to go to work, but he's on my mind constantly, and I am worried sick. We've only had the little guy 10 days but we are very attached to him. The vet said since he is so thin and that since we got him from the humane society, that he probably was already sick. We are hoping he's a little scrapper and he'll put through this.

Thanks for replying, and oh yes, I'm anxious to have 'em all together but I have a lot of work ahead of me before I can introduce them. They so need to be hand tamed. I can see that one will be easier than all the rest, he just jumped on my finger. His cagemate was a little anxious but he, too, gets on my finger. Unfortunately, the two others were terrified so it's going to be much slower for them. Someone taught them to whistle though, because the female whistles. I can't wait to photograph them. Our house is quite vibrant now - the new budgies and my other budgies in another room, talk and squak back and forth. I know they are anxious to see these newcomers. Perhaps this is a new thing for our Humane Society because the lady that we spoke to asked us to catch them to put into our cages and she really didn't know a lot about them or how to take care of them. They had seeds, water and lettuce but I don't think they know more than that about budgies and she indicated that their vet didn't know much about birds. I think they don't usually get birds.

Hello again everyone! Made a trip to the humane society last weekend and picked up 4 adult budgies. There were 9 there that had come from one home alone. I wish I could have taken them all, but I already have 4 and I have room to maintain 8 comfortably, but it would be pushing it to have more than that. They are all about 3-4 years in age. We took them to a vet clinic just yesterday, and though there was absolutely nothing wrong with the vet herself, nor her student who is interested in avian medicine, the clinic itself is for all types of animals. The budgies were all in good health. However, it was a strange and uncomfortable visit for us. Immediately upon entering, this young man with a very large dog approached us in an overly friendly manner and was attempting to let his dog get very close to our cages. I kept standing in front of the cages blocking the dog from getting near them. It was very disturbing and annoying. Finally he left the building. He kept telling me that his dog was used to birds because they have many at home and he's around them all the time. Well, excuse me, but I don't think the birds were used to large dogs and it alarmed them and me. While we were waiting, many animals came and went. I found myself wishing that I was able to take a week day off and just go to the avian vet clinic where they were only exotics. I almost left a couple of times but I was there, and we were almost ready to be seen. We finally got in, and the birds checked out okay. When we left the examining room with the cages, we had to pass people sitting in the waiting areas. Immediately as we walked by someone with a cat, they commented on "there's a snack for our cat!". To make matters even worse, while we were standing at the counter waiting for them to close us out so that we could leave, the very friendly girl behind the counter couldn't help but relate her story about the only budgie she ever knew, and how that it had "ran away" one day and it had found it's way back the next day, however "the dog bit it's head off." Truly a weird experience. Nothing wrong with the vets as I said, but some people are so damn stupid. I don't have any photos that are good enough to post as I keep focusing on their cages instead of the budgies. However, after I've trained them a bit (they apparently have never been let out) and after their quarantine, I will take some good photos. There are three males and one female. Cleo, Anthony, Alex and Caesar. Their names were written on their papers but unfortunately, it was two birds in each photo they provided and it is difficult to know what name belongs to whom?!

Oh thank you, it feels wonderful to have good news instead of bad for a change. We were out on a limb on this one because our avian vet was not only not able to help us, but was really cold and unfeeling and didn't have any good suggestions, didn't like our approach..our collar and using polysporin cream. But you know what, we stuck with what we thought would be best for her, and in the end our patience, and Berdie's patience paid off. She's alive today only because of the little plastic collar we made. It gave her the time needed to heal that ulcerated tumor.

Hi there, I'm really ecstatic to come back and make this posting about my budgie, Berdie! I'm just thrilled to say that the tumor she had on her abdomen is now GONE! After months of having her wear her collar, her ulcerated tumor had a chance to heal, and heal it did. Did a good inspection of her today and it is definitely gone! We really thought when the vet sent us home with her, that she was given a death sentence. We are really overjoyed about it! It may have helped that she has three males that constantly keep her on her toes, lots of exercise! Before: After: and Berdie with her boys and all the boys

Thanks Phoebe. I now and then feel bad because of the collar, and I've had some very unempathetic people proclaim how cruel I am, but I think it would have been more cruel to let her bleed to death from picking at her ulcer. She's a very well adjusted happy bird. The only time she makes any fuss about it is after she's had it off for the day and I have to put it back on. She's downright mad as hornets...and will attack anything in her vicinity. It takes about half a minute and she's calm again. I have them bathing on video and I captured a few of the stills from that too, it was really funny but much too big to share. It's so much fun to watch all four of them taking baths.

Hi This is just an update on Berdie (she's had a xanthoma[fatty tumor]). Berdie is still doing very well. She still has her tumor and still wears her clear collar. Every Saturday we take off her collar and let her preen and bathe. Because of the collar, she can't attack her xanthoma, so that at least has allowed the ulcer to heal. It hasn't grown and hasn't shrank but stays much the same. It doesn't interfere with her activities and as a matter of fact, she has a very active, happy life and here is a link to my website which includes new bathtime photos! Bathtime in our house!

Hi Wilgets Is he doing that constantly? And does his tail bob? One of mine did that, looked like he had something stuck in his throat and kept doing that same thing, and it was a respiratory infection and the vet put him on antibiotics.

No, Jada isn't the adventurous type, (Laughing out loud). Nothing seems to stop Monkey though. ...that would be me...the strange part, (Laughing out loud)

My Monkey Bird and Jada watched in total awe or confusion, I'm not sure which...but they were just bug eyed!

Here is a little video of our Monkey Bird...which explains why he's called Monkey Bird. He's still a baby, his wings are clipped so he cannot fly, neither can he soar (they cropped him rather short poor thing) so when he likes to be out with his buddy budgies playing...he climbs a rope...and he's quite awesome at it too! He's brilliant this little guy. Or at the very least, he's so cute! Monkey Bird

Good Luck! I guess docs (like the rest of us) have differing opinions on what and what not to prescribe. Happy has been on Synthyroid for many, many years now with no ill effects, she is very healthy otherwise. unsure.gif ? is that is what makes her a witchy woman? lovey Posted Today, 18:25 best of luck, weight and dosing is very important, and I know with Synthroid (bacause I used to work for an doctor) that it can vary per patient and the adjustment needs to be just right. Keep us update. August Posted Today, 16:43 Reena who is your vet, just wondering. if its kober, she's nasty at treating things and usually takes the most aggressive routes to a healthy bird which is good, but sometimes not what you need. maybe ring wegar (north calgary), he can give you some possible home remedies that aren't so aggressive and don't hurt the birds either way. he helped me when i couldn't get up there right away when i rescued a scaly faced budgie. he'll help you that way, if your looking for a more natural approach. lovey - you're right, the right dosage is trial and error to get it right but I'm kind of on my own with whether or not I use synthroid. It really comes down to whether or not I want to take the chance with my bird...should I or shouldn't I? What is to risk when she was given a death sentence...it's a hard call. Phoebe - It's hard to know what to do when even the vets don't agree. There is so much conflicting information out there, and what is a person to believe when no one can agree. There are so many hotbed topics like pellet diets or not, wing clipping...etc. August - you are correct in the clinic I go to and the vet. We were NOT happy with our last visit with Berdie. We weren't given any other options but to take her home and see what happens. Of course we know what will happen, the tumor will grow until it gets to the point where it will interefer with her activity or she'll catch it on a perch or something some night and I'll wake up to find her at the bottom of the cage. We will wait a few weeks and then we will try to make an appt with Dr. Weger (I assume you mean Richard Weger at the emergency north clinic?). I think when Bluie was a baby 4 years ago and had a respiratory problem, that we went to that clinic and I do believe it was that Dr that we saw. He took care of Bluie quite fine and he was very nice. Everyday I clean her abdomen with water, and then apply some aloe vera to try and heal it, other days I use some polysporin. It gets to the point where it looks wonderful and I'm starting to feel that it's healing and then she catches it somehow and we're back to square one.

I had to take my Bluie for a check up after he had been on antibiotics for a respiratory problem, and while I was there I did ask my avian vet if she had heard of synthroid being used on a budgie for tumors. She hadn't but promised me she would research it for me. She phoned me today and indicated they would not prescribe it for birds. She said that it greatly increases their heart rate and can damage their kidneys. And also we don't know for sure what kind of tumor our Berdie has, and it could very well be cancer. So, we will just let her live out her days as long as she is playful and active.

I don't. Every payday, I put a bit of money into a separate account for pet visits and emergencies.

Welcome! Pretty babies!

Hi I use a piece of cut aloe vera on the ulcer on my budgie's xanthoma. It soothes the itch. I have read the first article some time ago on feeding aloe vera, but since I read so much conflicting information over the internet, I am hesitant to offer this as food. The article makes it sound like it would be a miracle cure for my bird, but would it be? Is it worth the chance? Well, I couldn't bring myself to do it.