Irene

So the bad news is: I still haven't been able to take him to the vet. I did find a clinic about 30km away... but they said it was $50 more for emergencies (which I would have eventually scrounged up). But they also gave me a time I just couldn't make. The good news is: yes! he's still alive!! Apparently, (drained) mung beans soup is some sort of miracle cure. It really opened up his appetite so he's gained some weight. The dark, tar droppings have disappeared and I'm starting to see greener feces (still kinda watery though). He's still preening, sleeping less, and a bit more energetic than before. I'm going to continue keeping him warm and monitoring his diet, and will take him to the vet as soon as I can.

His droppings are back to all urine/urates, no feces, and he seems to have gained a bit of weight, but with the way his condition has fluctuated recently, I don't trust this to be any indication of his state. I also caught him preening towards the evening yesterday, while he was almost semi-comatose during the day. During the night, he wakes up around 3am and flies onto my bed to sleep with me... been keeping me up as well. He's not taking to fruit or veggies but he's still eating (corn flakes + water + honey water + occasional homemade bread). I called and the receptionist confirmed that the avian won't be in office at all this week. The earliest time he's back would be Mon/Tues. There's an Emergency Clinic in the next city over... but they're only open after hours and on weekends. After hours isn't a problem for me, but I don't think my parents would let me stay out until 11pm... much less for my bird. Saturday is a possibility but I don't know if he'll make it until then. I don't know what I should do.

I tried adding apple cider to his water before (about 4ml per 100ml water); he could taste the difference and refused to drink. I was afraid he'd dehydrate so I stopped. Now that I think about it, I feel so bad and irresponsible. We generally let him go wherever he pleases as he's tame. He liked to perch on my windowsill and look outside, and sometimes, even used to nibble on the paint on the windowsill. I'd shoo him away every time I saw him do this, but it's possible he ingested some paint (with maybe lead or zinc inside). His droppings are changing state very quickly. Last night, they were yellow and foul smelling (urine, no feces). After watching him through the night, I saw more solid droppings so went to sleep. This morning, I'm seeing thick, dark, bubbly and sticky droppings (kind of like tar ). There's so many things it could be; even with your help and advice, nothing much has changed except he's gotten worse. I'm sick of doing nothing and feeling helpless. I found an avian vet in my city, I will call later and ask if anything can be done. I just noticed this... but his left foot is having some sort of blood clotting or bruising since it's turning purple from the top down. His right foot was always wacky and more purple than pink, but I think this was from when he was outside and got injured before I found him. There are some pinfeathers on his mask/cheeks so more stress from molting, combined with more recent bad weather. Which brings up another concern: if I try to get him to the vets tomorrow, how do I keep him warm on public transit? The forecast says there'll be another storm. Thank you, everyone. I'll keep you updated. Update: I emailed the avian, and he replied. However, he said he won't be in for the next week, so I'm not sure what to do now. Should I try bringing him to a non-avian? I'm afraid they won't have enough experience to diagnose him and prescribe him the right meds.

Hi Elly, you're right, his state changes so quickly. He has gone back to watery droppings except now there's no more feces, just really yellow urine with a bit of cloudy white stuff (urates?). He still preens occasionally but I haven't heard a chirp out of him for a while - he's mainly resting under the lamp. He wanted to eat his seeds so I gave him some, but after watching him, I think he's mainly just shelling and not eating to fool me. He's also making vomiting motions but nothing is coming out (I don't think there's anything in his crop). A few times, like yesterday, a warm transparent liquid came out. I'm not sure what happened during the day as I was not home, but I fear that he wasn't kept warm so he took a turn for the worse. :sadsorry: Perhaps this is weather related? It's been rainy for the past week or so, which is when Buddy stopped acting 'normal' i.e sleeping a bit more during the day, picking at his seeds. I'm surprised I didn't notice then. It's raining again right now and I feel a slight chill to my bone, which is why I thought of the possible connection. :S And how can I tell when he doesn't want the lamp anymore? Sometimes, he gets up to move away, but if I position the lamp near him again, he stays and doesn't leave. Maybe he's too weak to move?? Thank you for all the replies. You guys have really been helpful. Edit: so he did eat as he just vomited again. I'm going to hide the seeds so he can't see them anymore. His head is itchy due to the molting so he's rubbing it on any available surface, even my hand. I'm taking this as a sign that he's too weak to run away from me... =/

He's eating better now (corn flakes... seeds still make him vomit so I removed them completely. I spiked his water with some honey for energy too). Instead of being hot, his feet have cooled down and are almost cold, which is really weird. :S I checked on him throughout the night; he's pooping more regularly - green and still watery but at least everything (feces + urine + urates) is present. I'm going to call the vet on Monday and try to see if I can pay it in multiple installments or something. PM'd you as well. Thank you. P.S. Is it normal that he's still preening and chirping?? Maybe he's been sick much longer than I've realized and has been pretending the whole time , since aside from his recent symptoms, he seems 'normal'... he's even playing with the mirror

Once I move out in a month, I'll be able to seek med help, but I don't think he can wait until then. In the meantime, do you think ANYONE - breeders, rehoming service, humane society??? - would house and take care of a sick budgie?? I'm afraid that if it keeps dragging on like this, nothing good will result. I know I'm on the other side of the world, but in your experience, is this possible? I love him so much and would do anything for him, but the situation right now makes things difficult. He's starting to eat again and pooping more solids. His feces is still very green even after eating so I don't think it's hunger that's causing the colour change, but something more severe.

So he's been sleeping on my lap for the past few hours with the lamp directly above him (not scared anymore)... and he has pooped 4 'regular' stools so far! The droppings are green, as expected, but they're not watery, which is a surprise (still kind of mushy though). After waking up from his nap, he was also hungry, so he ate a bit too. No seeds because he keeps vomiting when he eats those, so I've given him corn flakes for now. Is this okay?? I figured that him eating anything would be better than starving, and corn flakes are supposed to be 'healthy'... He is busy preening at the moment. I'm probably hoping for too much, but I really hope he gets through this.

As of last night until now, his poops have had no feces (I watched him during the night). Before it was watery but at least he was eating. He just vomited everything he ate this morning... so I think it might be a bit too late now. I hope he at least had a decent life before this. We've had him for a year and a half but as to how old he is... I have no idea. Thank you, everyone, and I'll try to keep you updated.

Thanks for the replies. He seems better today (eating slightly, even sleeping on one leg) but I think he's pretending. During the night, his droppings were completely void of feces and he's pooping less than normal during the day. He vomitted once yesterday, just liquid, and today morning, some seeds. His 'droppings', if I can even call it that anymore, is starting to smell of urine. Basically, he seems turned off by seeds but is still interested in sweetcorn and 'human food' (which I don't allow him to eat because of the sugar/sodium/oil content, but he tries to steal scraps...) I put him in his hospital cage but he wanted to come out soon after. The lamp is also giving him some frights so maybe this is part of the reason he doesn't want to stay in. He also appears to be molting and spends most of him time either preening or sleeping/resting. I know he's very sick, and it breaks my heart to see him like this. But as a student with no car and no income, I don't know how I can take him in for a diagnosis + meds since there will be no help from my parents. Even if I could find the monetary resources, my parents are strictly against 'wasting money on a $20 sick thing picked up from nowhere'... If he doesn't get to the vets, there's a good chance of him not making it through. Is there anything I can do to make his life easier?? Should I keep him in his cage even if he wants to come out? Or should I let him do what he wants for the remaining days/weeks? Right now, he just wants to be around me and my little sister. I feel like such a bad owner. I wish I had found him a home with someone capable of providing the right care when he was still healthy. I wish love could cure illnesses

Hi, recently my budgie has been having loose, watery droppings. Before, it usually went away within a few hours but this time, it hasn't gone away and it's been a few days. He's still chirping and lively, but not as energetic as before. He picks at his seeds, preferring to eat ANYTHING but them, and sometimes even vomitting the seeds back up. I'm certain he's sick, but I don't know what to do. I found Buddy outside and my parents have always been against me keeping him, so a vet trip is out of the question. Other symptoms include hot feet, wing flapping (because of hotness), sleeping during the day (wing tucked, both feet planted on ground), staining on feathers above cere (this used to go away after molting), general weakness (shaky when on perch), aversion to seeds, weight loss, watery droppings, and unquenchable thirst. I've read that the thirst is because of his droppings. I've tried to get him to drink more water to prevent dehydration, but not much luck with getting him to eat more. He used to occassionally have hot feet but they too, went away after a few minutes until recently. His droppings are green like he's been starved, even though food is readily available. The feces part is fine, but there seems to be excessive urine. Once or twice, there's been NO feces or urates at all, just urine. His vent (for now) is clean and there's no matting on his feathers. I read that hot feet may be a symptom of kidney problems; nephritis also matches the description of his aversion to seeds. (Source: http://www3.sympatico.ca/davehansen/gout.html) However, since he's on an all seed diet with supplementary fruit + veggies (he'll eat anything...), could this be a fatty liver issue?? He gets plenty of exercise although recently, he's been less active. He seems lighter and lighter every time I hold him and it feels like he's losing strength fast. He's still perching well and has enough energy to fly back and forth. Diet related, he doesn't use his cuttlebone at all. Could this be a vitamin/mineral deficiency? Is this old age? Since I found him, I don't actually know how old he is. I just feel so helpless. He's my baby and I'd do anything for him. But without a vet checkup, there's not much I can do. It's so horrible seeing him waste away like this. Since I don't have a heater, I've locked him in the bathroom after running the hot water tap so the room is warm and somewhat humid. I don't think it's warm enough though... what can I do to help him?? I dimmed the lights too so he's sleeping/resting peacefully instead of running around. Edit: he was tame when I found him and always clingy, but more so now than usual. If I leave the room, he'll fly out after me onto my shoulder, or fly out after and find me... sorry for the long post, I feel really useless.