Hi all, I know I haven't posted in a while, but I got problems with my budgie having nerve damage in his left claw. I noticed that his one leg on the side was under him and he could not put it flat down, so I thought his claw maybe long, so I took him the emergency vet to see.

 

He said that his claw was swollen and that it might be that he hurt himself in the cage or a tumour or something, but cant tell as I would have to take him to my regular vet for after treatment and find out what it is. They have give him a injection of an anti-inflammatry stuff to see if it will reduce the swelling, so got to wait 12 - 24 hours now to see if it works or not.

 

Had to post, as I am a little upset at the moment .

 

Anthony

I hope your budgie will be okay soon

hugs, and fingers crossed

Update

 

I know the stuff has got to work, but I think I may have to have him put down tomorrow after the period said for kindness, as he is falling and missing his perches when trying to jump, hobbling on the floor moving around, and struggling to stay on my hand and you can see when he moves his leg to open the feet, they don't want to move for him and he struugles then.

 

I don't want to, but it is hurting me seeing him struggling around the cage more than the thought of putting him to sleep for kindness to him. What would you lot do.

 

Thanks for reading this post, as now I am upset a little more.

 

Anthony

So sorry, don't give up hope, miracles do happen!

Talk to your vet and see what s/he says. Perhaps you can make modifications to the cage so the little one has some flat surfaces. Some of my budgies prefer to sit on this little feeding house I have in their cage, rather than on the perch. I think there are some members here who have, or have had disable budgies. Perhaps they might have some suggestions. My thoughts are with you.

Another update

 

Took him this morning to the vet and he seemed to think that give him a while. He suggested to lower his perches so that he can get to his food and water easier and use something soft like kitchen roll on the bottom to soften the floor and allow him to walk flat on the bottom. He also give some drops to put in his water each day for while, anti-biotics I think.

 

He seems to be moving around the cage or adapting to the condition, but I suppose only time will tell. He seems happy, cleaning and pruning himself and now he is eating and had a drink of water on his own.

 

Seems strange how his leg nerves became damaged, he did not do nothing in the cage to hurt himself, and he showed no signs of problems with his feet, as he was playing on my hand normal sunday morning, normal like he does running on and off, kissing my thumb, and with my father as well. Went down stairs to see him around 4:30 after sorting out my computer and he came down to the door as normal, then I noticed his leg weren't right.

 

Thanks for the wishes.

It could very well be a tumor but I wouldn't jump to having him put down. They can live quite a while with one IF that's even the problem. I would find another avian vet to go to so you can get a proper diagnosis. At this point, there's no way to figure out what's best for your budgie as you still don't know for sure what the problem is. Good luck!

throwing this out there because I have seen this missed alot you don't have any type of rust in your cage or on any of the toys you have? Any toy that was not meant for birds, or does he play with anything metal? Metal poisoning can cause seizures in budgies and much more.

 

Terri is right it can be a tumor which is pressing against nerves in his body which could be causing the nerve damage.

 

What type of tests did your vet do so far on your bird?

Edited July 10, 200619 yr by lovey

Hi, no rusty parts on the cage and the cage is clean regualarly. He has ran no tests yet, just give baytril incase of an infection.

Hopefully the antibiotics were all that Buzby needed, report back to us.

How old is Buzby? My first thought unfortunately was he may have tumor. Did the lameness in the leg come on suddenly, or was it gradual, over a period of weeks? My namesake, Rainbow, had similar symptoms. It started off with a slight lameness in his right leg, then progressed to where he could no longer grip the perch. At first his toes stayed straight out, but then became curled and difficult for him to straighten. He began to stand on one foot only, then when that became tiring he would put some weight on the actual leg itself, but by laying it on the perch. Then the leg became drawn up into the feathers and he had to sit lopsided. Eventually the leg became straightened out behind him, as in a permanent stretch. The different stages of leg paralysis and stiffness was due to the growth of the tumor, and how mch and where it was pressing on the sciatic nerve. He was on steroids for the inflammation, and an antibiotic in case of infection. I don't type this to scare you, but to give you something to possibly watch for. There are things you can do to keep his quality of life high if in fact he does have a tumor. In Rainbow's case, he had a kidney tumor and lived 6 months AFTER diagnosis, which is outstanding. Who knows how long it was growing in him before outward symptoms began. I did have to modify the cage somewhat towards the end, and placed him in a cage alone for his safety, as many of the flock were trying to "off" him since he was obviously not in perfect health. A normal occurance in the wild, but if you have other birds something else to be aware of. He was still let out every day, still flew everywhere he normally did, and still sang his little heart out constantly. He was allowed out with the rest of the flock under supervision, and except for not being able to get around well seemed perfectly happy. I don't think he was in any pain. Birds accept their fate a lot easier than their people do. If I were you, I would not jump to euthanasia. It could also be a pulled muscle or a sprain, and he could have gotten it as easily as landing on a perch wrong or getting a bit tangled up in a toy before extricating himself on his own, without your knowledge.

Hi and thanks for the reply. Buzby is about 2 weeks under 3 years old. Yes it was sudden as he is always on mine or my father hands several times a day and never had any mobility problems in his leg, not even sunday morning, as I had him on my hand then. It was only when he came down to his perch to see me and come on my hand in the afternoon did he have the problem of straighten his claw.

 

He went to the vets beginning of june for his claws clipped and the vet never mentioned nothing nor did buzby have any problems then. It's wierd though, as he is still eating, his usually chatty, contented self, willing to play on the hand as usual, still clean and preens himself, moves around, not as well but is adapting really well and not falling now. The only problem is not drinking much, unless I give him the water, then he will drink. It is near a perch so he can get to it, but other he is quite happy in himself. Also he is not putting his head back neither.

 

If it is a sprain, then how long can it take to heal?? just a rough time limit will do. Thanks.

 

Anthony

Edited July 11, 200619 yr by acharris

Since it came on suddenly, it does not seem as likely to be a tumor. I don't really know, but if it is a sprain, I would guess a week to 10 days to show improvement?