hello...

early sunday morning my beautiful budgie riley passed away . He was 4 years old and had suffered diabetes. After continuous visits to the vet for check ups, two weeks ago he caught a cold which led to a kidney infection and after a course of antibiotics he gave up his fight. He lived with my female budgie called matilda and i separated them on friday but kept thier cages together so they could be near each other and she was happy with this. However now that he is gone she has gone all mopey and sits on his mirror.She hardly chirps and despite all the attention she is recieving from me i obviously am not a replacement for his company. My question is how do i overcome this????? am i supposed to replace him with another????? is it too soon to replace him??? if i do replace him how do i introduce a new companion??? so many questions...... i am devastated that he has gone and am now worried about her.... any advice would be greatly appreciated....thanks

I went through this with Harley after I lost Queenie. I took on Blue and it did pick him up. However you have to remember Quarantine to make sure that neather bird catches anything and also make sure you are ready to get a new one as well.

 

Good luck with what you decide it never gets any easier but time does help.

Edited June 16, 200817 yr by KAZ
Please do not abbreviate ( shortcut ) words such as quarra in place of quarantine ...its confusing and against forum rules re shortcuts

Hi Shannon,

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of Riley and how you are all missing him so terribly. I have been through this with a few of my pairs of budgies and some of them do actually go into a form of depression over the loss of a partner.

The thing is, even if you do get another budgie, it must be quarantined away from your existing budgie for at least 30 days in case it introduces an illness to the budgie you have now. That means another room and another cage for a minimum of 30 days. A great time to get to train and tame your new budgie, but no instant fix for your sad budgie. Another thing is they may not get along, and to add new stress to Matilda while she is feeling so low, might not be the best thing. You will need to watch Matilda for signs of stress and ill health as its when under stress that they become ill. Check her for poopy bottom and for weight loss. Be very sure she is still eating well.

If in the future you aim to get another budgie, try and choose one the same type and colour as Riley, as that was the only way one of mine would accept a new friend...it had to look the same.

Good to have you here....welcome

I am so sorry for your loss

You have been given some great advice already by AV and Kaz. So i just wanted to say....

 

...Hello and welcome

thanks for everyones speedy response and kind words......i stumbled across this forum and am glad that i did......im sure u (you) will hear alot more from me in the future..i will keep a close eye on matilda and hopefully she will shine again in a few days thanks again to those who replied and thanks for the warm welcome....

Edited June 16, 200817 yr by Elly

Hi and welcome. I'm so sorry for your loss. Biggest hugs to you!

Hi and welcome, I also agree with all advice given.

Hope Matilda feels better soon!

Very sorry for your loss. I have been through the same thing, I personally chose to take time with Merlin my existing budgie to tame him down more and get to know him for his personality when Pretty died suddenly last year. Since then I have chose not to get another bird and am very happy with this decision. Merlin was very quiet the first month or so but started to come more and more out of his shell since then he is such a sweetie with me, talks, can't wait to see me etc..I am also home a lot too that is one thing to consider if your budgies is home 8 hours a day alone then considering another budgie friend would be a good idea. Quarantine as mentioned above is very important and should be followed strictly.

Very sorry for your loss. I have been through the same thing, I personally chose to take time with Merlin my existing budgie to tame him down more and get to know him for his personality when Pretty died suddenly last year. Since then I have chose not to get another bird and am very happy with this decision. Merlin was very quiet the first month or so but started to come more and more out of his shell since then he is such a sweetie with me, talks, can't wait to see me etc..I am also home a lot too that is one thing to consider if your budgies is home 8 hours a day alone then considering another budgie friend would be a good idea. Quarantine as mentioned above is very important and should be followed strictly.

 

 

thanks for your advice.....i dont think im ready to replace him yet..although i do work 8hr days i do mostly night shifts so am home most of the day...since he has been gone i have spent all my time at home with matilda..since i have had her she has not been fussed on being handled so i am hoping she might become more tame with the extra attention...she has started to talk this afternoon before i left for work (since he left she had hardly made a sound) so am hoping she will not be too badly affected by his absence...thanks again for your reply

your welcome, if you work the night shift and home the majority of the day she will do fine as a lone budgie, you know everyone has their opinions and I have read articles with strong opinions against lone budgies but I do believe Merlin is happy, at times I think about a new friend but think about the progress we have made together, I also know what it is to have 2 vs 1 and with 1 budgie you do get more one on one attention with them because you are their focus now, it really is all what you want and are willing to take on. Take your time and again welcome.