Hi there,

 

I have a 13 year old budgie who has always been in good health, and has always been a happy bird. Recently, at the beginning of June, we noticed he started favouring one foot over the other, and gradually over time it became more pronounced.

 

In the last few weeks, a lump began to form on the foot he was not walking fully on, which in the past couple of days has formed what looks like a big whitehead. He is in a lot of discomfort, and he's now reached the point where he no longer properly walks on his other foot due to months of added weight on it. He kind of drags himself around, using his wings to keep himself balanced. We believe it is an infection, and we don't know what to do with it. It has also given him the runs, which started in the past week.

 

This has deeply affected his overall personality; he is no longer as outgoing and is not as receptive to my family and I as he was. He also is no longer sleeping comfortably...he lies on his stomach (which he never used to do) and almost rests his head on whatever surface he's sleeping on, or if its the edge of his cage he lets his head hang off (this behavior somewhat began when the limping began). We tried talking to people in the pet store about it, but they've been no help. He's never been to a vet, and even though he has always gotten along good with my family and I, interacting with us over the years, he does not like to be touched or held...he only allows himself to touch you when he wants, so I think a trip to the vet would cause far too much stress.

 

He's old, I realize that, but he's been my pet since I was 5 (guess I gave my age away)...I know it will be his time soon, and if this is it, I just want to know how I can make him more comfortable. We've already done our best to re-arrange his cage so it is more acceptable but he is somewhat non responsive to that. Any tips or thoughts whatsoever would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I hate to be blunt, but he needs a vet and should have seen one the moment you saw a problem (though he REALLY should have seen one long before that since you've had him for such a long time). It will be stressful, but if it's an infection, you'll need vet-prescribed medication. At least call the nearest avian vet and talk to them. None of us are vets here and even if someone gives you a name of a pet store brand medicine (which is possible) I'd ignore it and just take a REAL avian vet's advice. Playing guessing games with your bird often leads to either not helping him at all or just making things worse.

 

Most importantly, a diagnosis must be made before action is taken to treat the problem. You have to KNOW what the problem is before treating is and none of us can do that here. Only a vet will be able to.

 

You can make the trip less stressful by covering the travel cage with a dark blanket so that he doesn't have to see all the weird sights as you travel. If you are just totally opposed to taking him in, call the vet and talk with him/her in detail about the problem. If someone's going to have to guess, it might as well be the vet. They can advise you far better than we can.

 

I hope things turn out okay with your little budgie. Let us know how it goes.

Hi there,

 

I have a 13 year old budgie who has always been in good health, and has always been a happy bird. Recently, at the beginning of June, we noticed he started favouring one foot over the other, and gradually over time it became more pronounced.

 

In the last few weeks, a lump began to form on the foot he was not walking fully on, which in the past couple of days has formed what looks like a big whitehead. He is in a lot of discomfort, and he's now reached the point where he no longer properly walks on his other foot due to months of added weight on it. He kind of drags himself around, using his wings to keep himself balanced. We believe it is an infection, and we don't know what to do with it. It has also given him the runs, which started in the past week.

 

This has deeply affected his overall personality; he is no longer as outgoing and is not as receptive to my family and I as he was. He also is no longer sleeping comfortably...he lies on his stomach (which he never used to do) and almost rests his head on whatever surface he's sleeping on, or if its the edge of his cage he lets his head hang off (this behavior somewhat began when the limping began). We tried talking to people in the pet store about it, but they've been no help. He's never been to a vet, and even though he has always gotten along good with my family and I, interacting with us over the years, he does not like to be touched or held...he only allows himself to touch you when he wants, so I think a trip to the vet would cause far too much stress.

 

He's old, I realize that, but he's been my pet since I was 5 (guess I gave my age away)...I know it will be his time soon, and if this is it, I just want to know how I can make him more comfortable. We've already done our best to re-arrange his cage so it is more acceptable but he is somewhat non responsive to that. Any tips or thoughts whatsoever would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

Hi there,

It's nice to hear of a family budgie that has lived to the age of 13 years. In response to your inquiry, I must say I would have sought vet care long before now. If you were to weigh up the stress of a car trip and vets visit against the stresses the bird is going through trying to cope with obvious pain and discomfort, I think the vets visit is the better option. From what you have described he is going through pain and to wait and observe for a couple of months may not have been the best course of action. Pet store people will never ever give you information that can help you. It takes no training to work in a pet store and they are there to sell you products...no more, no less. By the time they may convince you to buy this or that product that ends up costing you money and time, you may as well have paid for a visit to the vets. It sounds to me like this bird is a valued family member, so please take the chance and take him to a bird vet. We look forward to hearing what the vet has to say. Good luck

I agree with everything being said. You don't want him to pass away from something that was preventable and in pain, that is not fair to the pet that gave you so many years of his life of devotion.

:fear Oh dear, yes please, get that sweet bird to an avian vet to ease his pain and get a diagnosis.