Megabacteria In Young Birds

[budgies_are_great 0]

Well there's a possibility my new budgie could have megabacteria, I can't believe it & I hope and prey he's just got a normal bacterial infection which can be cured with some antibiotics, a test for psittacosis has already come back negative & tomorrow I'm expecting a call from the vets to find out just which bacteria is causing sky's illness so they can identify excatly which antibiotic to give him. Sky was a baby when we got him so he can't be more than a few months old & to think he may have megabacteria is just heart breaking as I lost a budgie through that last year & it's a horrendous illness.

 

While we were at the vets, he took sky off and had a look at some droppings under the microscope & he did say he could see a bacteria which looked very much like megabacteria, but it wasn't a 100% match so it may be something else. Is it normal for such young birds to suffer with megabac? I've had budgies as pets since I was a child, & up until pepsi I'd never had a bird suffer with it, & now to think I may have another one with the condition.

 

Below is a couple of pics of the new addition to the family, and I hope he's with us for a very long time

 

[birdluv 0]

l hope that your vet will be able to get a clear diagnose, will give him the right treatment. also l hope that your budgie will get better soon.

[Guest Phoebe]

:ausb: So sorry your pretty guy is having problems, good you got him into the vet, a diagnosis can be made and the treatment can begin. Good Luck to both of you! :oliveb:

[Guest Phoebe]

:ygbudgie: Any news to report?

[budgies_are_great 0]

God what a nightmare, rang the vets yesterday (thurs.) only to be told that the results weren't known yet & to phone back the next day, well after ringing the vets a number of times today I finally get a call back to tell me the test failed, possible due to faulty equipment etc, so we still don't know what exact antibiotic sky needs to get better

 

So they're going to do the test again, but as it takes 48 hours to grow the bacteria or whatever it is they do, that's now monday until I can get a firm diagnosis of what is wrong with sky. To make matters worse the avian vet wasn't in today & he's not back until monday so I couldn't even ask him some questions.

 

I'm worred sky wont even be here by monday, since last sunday he is hardly eaten more than a handful of seeds, I'm really worried this bird is starving to death :budgiedance:

 

There's loads of seed in his food bowl, plus lots of pellets which the vet told us is better for him than trill budgie seed but he never did like that, even when he was healthy. He keeps going to his food bowl, maybe eating a few seeds but then he goes down the bottom of his cage & looks like he's looking for food down there, as if there wasn't any in his food bowl, which is full!!

 

I do have a heat lamp on him but sky is all fluffed out all the time now, whether he's under the heatlamp or not. We're also off to the vets in the morning as we said we wanted to try another antibiotic, just be pot luck right now as to whether it's the right one until the test is completed, but he's not responding to the medicine he's on at the moment, that's baytril & Septrin we've now tried with no improvement.

 

I could use any advice any of you might have about getting sky to eat, he's obviously hungry but he's hardly touching any seed

[Guest Phoebe]

:ygbudgie: Oh dear, poor little guy. Have you tried giving him a millet sprig, when all else fails they will sometimes go for that. Good luck at the vet. :budgiedance:

[*Nerwen* 0]

So the vet didn't even start a broad antibiotics like Baytril? I would have thought that the treatment for Macbac wouldn't be harmful if it turned it it wasn't the issue.

 

I hope all goes well, if he is looking for food on the ground then give him some there, sprinkle it about and add some millet they find that easy to eat.

Edited October 5, 2007 by Nerwen

[**KAZ** 0]

Is there anyone who can help you by crop feeding him ? And is he under a warm lamp or in a hospital cage ?

[Jac 0]

I'm confused, when I bought my baby recently I took her to my avian vet for the initial check up. He found megabacteria straight away and put her on a course of Megabac. When she went back for a check up she was clear. Why is it taking your vet so long to come up with a definite diagnosis?

[Daz 0]

Wow change vet this one doesn't know what he is talking about. Mega is not a bacteria it's a fungus.

 

This is Mega.

 

Most birds have it but for some reason some are infected by it. It is a secondary disease. Karen can tell you about the trouble it causes. I have had it but have it under control.. at the moment. Most aviaries have it. Baytril won't help. Amphotericin B is the current medication to use. Commonly found in Fungalin or Megabac C.

[Boris' Slave 0]

Trouble isn't the right word Daz.

It was pure mental torture and anguish. To think that your birds are eating til they are full but starving to death! Mate, that's not something I'd wish on my worst enemy.

It took around a year to get rid of it, in which time it took out nearly half my flock. The vet bills mount, the medicine bills mount & the cost of the autopsy were secondary in my thoughts (painful & noticeale though).

It was enough that I contemplated euthanising my entire flock and dismantling and destroying my aviaries and cages to ensure it was gone.

Don't know how these diseases come about. My father bred budgies when he was a boy and until my aviaries got it he'd never heard of it. His birds rarely got sick and if they did a quarter teaspoon Epsom Salts in 100ml water with some straight into the beak a couple times a day & the rest as cage water cured everything.

Maybe I should give all these expensive medicines the flick and go back to the $5 pack of Epsom Salts - the tried and true method of yesteryear (except I've got a fortune in bird medicine!).

[budgies_are_great 0]

On saturday afternoon we took sky back to the vets so they could keep him in as it was obvious the antibiotics weren't working, we had him under a heatlamp as well but he just wasn't improving at all.

 

A little update, it is megabacteria and sky is now on a 10 day course of treatment. He's responding well, is eating on his own & doesn't need force feeding so things are looking up. I Hate to think I've got another 10 days til we can bring sky home but at least he's now getting the treatment he needs.

 

Here' something I'm very concerned about though, I also have another budgie, smarty, who is healthy & chirping away as I type this, but what is the chances that smarty passed on megabac to sky?

 

@Nerwen, yes Baytril was the first medication the vet gave us.

 

To the others who say I should find another vet, well after reading my posts again I probably didn't paint too good a picture of this vet, plus I haven't written down absoutely everything that's been going on. Sure it took longer than I would of liked for a firm diagnosis, but at least now Sky is getting the right treatment

Edited September 24, 2007 by budgies_are_great

[**KAZ** 0]

.

 

Here' something I'm very concerned about though, I also have another budgie, smarty, who is healthy & chirping away as I type this, but what is the chances that smarty passed on megabac to sky?

 

As some others experienced in Megabacteria have stated, Megabacteria is a secondary disease and fungal not bacterial. It strikes when all resistance is down from something else that has caused them to be ill. Something else that has struck down their immunity. Megabacteria isnt really just an illness on its own but the second part of another illness. It is commonly believed that megabacteria is in all our birds but only surfaces when other things are at play and the birds immunity drops to a level where the megabacteria rods multiply and take over. So, in light of that, you need to know if your birds are suffering from any other illnesses.

Edited October 5, 2007 by KAZ
spelling

[billyboy 0]

Oh I feel for you. I too had the outbreak of megabacteria and unfortunatley lost my budgie to it. He put up a long fight but he died of a secondary infection. The avian vet gave him Amphotericin B which is an anti-fungal and worked well but Harry was not strong enough to fight in the end, Hang in there, I know how hard it is but it sounds like you are doing all that you can and it's up to the bird now. Good luck

[Bea 0]

I hope your budgie gets better quickly now that he's getting the right treatment. Ask about getting a course of antibiotics to just put in your other budgies water. It's better to be safe in my opinion and always worth mentioning that your sick bird is usually housed/in contact with other birds.

[budgies_are_great 0]

A little update on how Sky is doing, he only weighed 24 grams when we took him to the vets last monday, today he is 32 grams & doing really well. Went to visit sky last friday at the vets & while we were there the vet told us about Megbac-S & advised us to get some so we can use it in his drinking water, I've ordered some from over in the states as you can't get any in the UK!

 

We were planning on bringing Sky home this friday as by then he would have had 10 days treatment by crop tube of an antifungal drug, but there's a postal strike starting in the country from tomorrow & lasting til early next week, so I need advice on whether we should bring the budgie home or leave him in the vets as it's now going to be the end of next week until the Megabac-S will arrive. We've also been putting antibiotics into Smarty's water while Sky has been in the vets, just as a precaution in case she passed something onto sky.

 

I'll admit I've been counting the days til sky comes home & I did have my heart set on picking him up Friday, but what would everyones advice be, would it be okay to bring sky back home on Friday & then start putting the Megabac-S in his water when it arrives, or would it be safer to leave him at the vets so they can continue giving him the Antifungal drug by crop tube.

 

Another question, my other budgie who's missing sky alot I can tell (Laughing out loud), would it be safe if he drank water treated with Megabac-S, or should I only let Sky drink it. Reason I ask, budgies will be budgies as you know & they're forever flying in the other birds cage & eating out of their food bowl & drinking their water! Or should I just put the Megabac-S in both budgies drinking containers.

Edited October 3, 2007 by budgies_are_great

[Guest Phoebe]

Sorry I can't help you with your question but delighted that Sky is doing well and gaining weight!

[**KAZ** 0]

A little update on how Sky is doing, he only weighed 24 grams when we took him to the vets last monday, today he is 32 grams & doing really well. Went to visit sky last friday at the vets & while we were there the vet told us about Megbac-S & advised us to get some so we can use it in his drinking water, I've ordered some from over in the states as you can't get any in the UK!

 

We were planning on bringing Sky home this friday as by then he would have had 10 days treatment by crop tube of an antifungal drug, but there's a postal strike starting in the country from tomorrow & lasting til early next week, so I need advice on whether we should bring the budgie home or leave him in the vets as it's now going to be the end of next week until the Megabac-S will arrive. We've also been putting antibiotics into Smarty's water while Sky has been in the vets, just as a precaution in case she passed something onto sky. an antibiotic in the water of a bird with no obvious illness or an undiagnosed illness is ill advised. Especially since megabacteria is a fungal disease and not bacterial. Antibiotics is for bacterial.

 

I'll admit I've been counting the days til sky comes home & I did have my heart set on picking him up Friday, but what would everyones advice be, would it be okay to bring sky back home on Friday & then start putting the Megabac-S in his water when it arrives, or would it be safer to leave him at the vets so they can continue giving him the Antifungal drug by crop tube. err on the side of caution and let him stay and be treated while you wait for your meds. You would kick yourself if something happened just because you were anxious to have him home sooner

 

Another question, my other budgie who's missing sky alot I can tell lol, would it be safe if he drank water treated with Megabac-S, or should I only let Sky drink it. Reason I ask, budgies will be budgies as you know & they're forever flying in the other birds cage & eating out of their food bowl & drinking their water! Or should I just put the Megabac-S in both budgies drinking containers.a question for your vet, I am sure

Edited October 5, 2007 by KAZ

[budgies_are_great 0]

Yes I know megabacteria is a fungal condition but as your probably fully aware megabac often follows on from a bacterial infection, that's why I was asking those questions!!! Think I'll stick to ringing the vets instead of doing that and asking people on her for advice as well!

[Elly 0]

I am glad to hear that your bird is getting better and was dx and treated correctly.

What is nice about this forum is that you get a lot of good advice that you can take back to your avian vet and brainstorm. I know when I took in Merlin after Pretty died he was amazed by how much I knew about budgies. I told him I learned most of it from a community I have been part of for over 2 years now

[Rainbow 0]

Think I'll stick to ringing the vets instead of doing that and asking people on her for advice as well!

 

That is entirely your prerogative. People are trying to help you.

[Daz 0]

Yes I know megabacteria is a fungal condition but as your probably fully aware megabac often follows on from a bacterial infection, that's why I was asking those questions!!! Think I'll stick to ringing the vets instead of doing that and asking people on her for advice as well!

 

I would actually read up on Mega as you have been ill informed. Mega is a secondary condition which can results from stress, (Which is not a bacterial infection) before shooting down the advice given to you i'd do some research.

 

Many of us have had mega or known some one with it. So can speak on the subject. By the way Megabac is a medication not a disease.