Awww pixie25 I'm so sorry

I hope peanut has got enough fight in him to fight this disease, we'll all be here right behind you and supporting you whatever happens.

Best wishes and prayeres to Peanut and you. :angel1:

thanks for your support guys, i really appreciate your thoughts - it is good to know that there are people out there that know exactly how i feel.

 

the worst part is not having him at home with me so i can try to look after him and see how he's doing. it makes me so worried that he is somewhere unfamiliar probably very scared and all on his own i hope he comes home tomorrow and with some hope that he will get better.

 

i will post again tomorrow night to keep you informed

 

love pixie x

Oh no! Poor Peanut! Sending best wishes your way!

hi all, i have the final verdict! i suppose its a bit of a mixed bag of news. peanut is now home again and reunited with casper!

 

for those that are interested in learning about avian medicine and diseases here is the full detail:

 

peanut tested positive for PVD (polyomavirus). he probably contracted it from the pet shop he came from when he was about 6 weeks old. he must have caught it after he was weaned because this disease is fatal to unweaned birds.

 

some birds can carry the disease without showing any symptoms or very few symptoms but others will lose their feathers prematurely as it affects the way the feathers grow. peanut lost his tail feathers a few days after we bought him home but we thought that this was just because he was a bit older than casper and he had started his moult. however this was the first sign of PVD. PVD weakens the immune system of the birds and can bring on secondary infections such as bacterial or fungal infections. peanut had a respiratory tract infection and the antibiotics he took to treat it brought on a fungal infection. as the immune system is weakened such infections can be fatal if they are not treated quickly - so peanut is very lucky to still be alive after such a bad infection. well the good news is that i know exactly what is wrong with peanut and how i should look after him now

 

but the bad news is, there is currently no cure or treatment for PVD so he will have it for the rest of his life. adult birds are unlikely to die from PVD alone, but are much more likely to die from pneumonia or another secondary infection. the saddest thing is that peanut may never fly :glare: there is a possiblility that his wing feathers will grow back when he has recovered but new tail feathers will almost certainly continue to fall out prematurely for the rest of his days. also, PVD is passed from bird to bird via feather dust so casper is most likely a carrier of the disease but shows no symptoms like peanut does. caspers feathers Should not be affected in the same way as peanuts are so that is good.

 

so from now on they will have to go for regular checkups and will have to be monitored more closely. they have probiotics to put in their water to help their immune systems and if they get an infection in the future they will have to have different antibiotics to stop them getting fungal infections afterwards. peanut is looking much happier but he needs to put on a bit of weight, same as casper. casper has always been a tiny little bird and it is more than likely down to the PVD.

 

they are both doing well at the moment and the vet was very pleased with peanuts progress so hopefully both of them will still be able to live long and happy lives together

I'm so relieved to hear that Peanut will make it> I was scared to read this in case of really bad news but thank god he'll be okay.

 

I'm a little worried about Piper... she lost all her tail feathers AGAIN. The first time I thought she was just playing too roughly and they had broken but it's odd that it's happened once again. :glare: I think it's time for her to head back to the vet.

i am very relieved devvle, although they are both terminally ill it doesnt mean they cant be happy. no doubt they will both be spoilt rotten now! i just want them to be happy. the fact that they may have a shorter lifespan than an average budgie is just something that i will have to accept. it will take some getting used to and it makes me so sad that this will be hanging over them for as long as they live, but i will do everything i can to make their lives as happy as possible!

 

i got both the budgies from the same place, but at different times. the really sickening thing is that the disease can be passed to almost all types of parrot and the place there i got them from had macaws and other birds there too. do you think i should go in and tell them? they werent very nice people there, so i dont think they would take to kindly to it. i would just hate to think what is going to happen to the larger parrots there... PVD can cause anorexia and depression in larger birds and may have devastating consequences. i dont know what i should do. :glare:

 

if pipers lost feathers are full feathers that have dropped out then definitely get her tested. how old is she? it is odd if she is older than a year becuase the signs usually show up within the first few months of the birds life. did you ever find out the cause of pixies death?

Edited April 29, 200520 yr by pixie25

I think it would be a good idea to tell them. It sounds like they're typical and probably won't do anything about it though. :glare: But at least if you tell them they'll have a chance to do something if they're willing to. Pet stores have some of the most heartless staff sometimes.

I've been reading about polyoma virus and many places say that adult birds will often clear the virus from their system in a matter of months. Did your vet say anything about that? Maybe it doesn't have to be a terminal illness? That's definitely something to look into at least. I hope it's true!

Pixie, glad to hear Peanut is home, but it's bittersweet, isn't it? Polyomavirus isn't necessarily a death sentence anymore, and since you have the knowledge to properly treat them, you can make sure their quality of life is the best you can give. As far as them having a shorter lifespan than the "average" budgie...we never know what that will be anyway. Thanks to bad genes, Rainbow made it to 4. Should he have lived longer? Without a kidney tumor, yeah probably. But with the genetic problems that are now due to inbreeding, he was very lucky to have made it over one year of age, so I was told. So if you look at it that way, he thumbed his little birdy beak at the statistics and lived 3 years longer than he should have. It depends upon how you look at it, just remember they are here however long they are here to soak up as much love as you can give them and return it all back tenfold. No matter what, you still win. I'm sorry to hear about it, but I know your little birds are in more than capable hands.

 

I would let the pet store know too. What they choose to do with the knowledge is up to them, but at least you will know that you made the effort.

 

Hugs and good thoughts to you, Peanut, and Casper from Rainbow, Skittles, Blueberry, Cloud, Patches, Blossom, Mystery, Crystal, Sunny, Arctic, and Sky. :glare:

I'm so glad that Peanut is going to be able to have a good life in your care. I was terrified you were going to post some terrible news!

 

i would also tell the pet shop although they probably wouldn't do anything about it because they will still want to sell all their birds sick or not.

Thats such good news that Peanut has made it. I was getting worried that the worst might happen. I'm sure he will be fine with you and that he has now settled down a bit.

Good luck Pixie25 :glare:

Oh what a difficult post to reply to. I also dreaded looging on to see what might have happened.

I can only echo what everyone else has said and I'm sure you will enjoy spoiling them rotten!

Please do tell the pet store and also your best animal charity.

 

Julie

I've been reading about polyoma virus and many places say that adult birds will often clear the virus from their system in a matter of months. Did your vet say anything about that? Maybe it doesn't have to be a terminal illness? That's definitely something to look into at least. I hope it's true!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

there is some hope that the virus will be cleared, but my vet warned me that there is no treatment specifically for the virus. i was told that the virus tends to flare up sometimes and for the rest of the time the bird will act as a carrier of the disease, showing no signs at all

 

there is certainly the possibility that some of his primary feathers will grow back normally, but its 50/50 as some birds will never fly as a result of the disease. as peanut has not kept a single one of his new primary wing and tail feathers through his first moult she couldnt say whether she thought they would eventually grow back normally. the virus does calm down with age but there are still no guarantees, but im sure peanut will be happy whatever the outcome.

 

thankyou devvle, rainbow, bea and sparky for all your help and support, it really means a lot to me to know that there are people out there that can relate to little peanuts condition. i am still looking up on the disease to find out if there is anything that i can change in their environment that will help them out a little.

 

thanks again everyone!

julie they will be spoilt! definitely!

 

all i can really say is that i am so happy to still have both of my little birdies with me, with the prospect of a nearly normal life ahead of them!

 

it is very hard to get used to though, it was quite a shock when i found out but i am getting used to the idea and i realise that their prospects do look very good at the moment, but it will definitely take some time to sink in!

sorry for posting all in a row but i am not feeling very good today. i woke peanut up this morning to give him his medicine only to find that he is breathing through his mouth again. i gave him his medicine but now he is just sitting on the top perch with his eyes closed, wings held away from the body and when he fluffs up his feathers he gets very off balance and nearly falls off.

 

we dont know whether he will get better. its a bank holiday weekend and all the vets are sht and i dfont know what else to do. i have made him some eggfood but he hasnt eaten any yet its so sad seeing him sit there like that i wish i could do something to help him. i dont want him to die.

Edited May 1, 200520 yr by pixie25

OH NO!!! Poor Peanut! I'll keep him in my thoughts tonight! I'm sure he'll pull through, he's done it before! (((((hugs))))) and best wishes heading your way!

We don't want him to die either pixie25 He fought one battle and now it looks like hes going to be fighting another one, I really hope he can pull through it again.

:excl: Get well soon Peanut :excl:

thanks you guys, he seems to have perked up a bit now but it is very touch and go, one minute he looks okay the next he looks like he's on his last legs.

 

i just hope that he isnt suffering too much. he isnt eating much, i can tell because there arent many poos on the cage floor so i have pegged lots of carrot slices around the cage, they have got a pot of seed, a pot of eggfood, a pot of mashed boiled egg and a budgie sandwich honey treat all dotted around on their favourite perches to try and encourage him to eat SOMETHING. he has had a few nibbles, but it is just so awful to see him when he has a bad turn he is very very skinny and his breast bone sticks out quite far, he has lost a lot of weight this past week.

 

other than that i dont think there is anything else i can do to make him more comfortable.

Oh, i'm so worried! I hope he pulls through!!! Maybe you could put a soft towel on the cage floor incase he can't perch. That would keep him warm. And put a heat lamp on the cage so he's not wasting any energy keeping warm. I know how horrible it is to have a skinny sick budgie. I had that problem a couple of months ago. Again, best wishes for both of you! ((((hugs))))

Did the vet recommend any particular food to feed him to keep his stregnth up.

Still praying for you both.

she gave us some probiotics to put in his water, that was all. he looked to be doing okay when we bought him home on friday.

 

its a really hot day today so i have opened the window to let some fresh air into the room. i will put a teatowel at the bottom of his sleeping perch tonight just incase he does fall off and cant get back up again.

 

i was hoping the eggfood would do him good as it is rearing food that chicks are given. but it is hard to persuade him to eat some. if he can make it through tonight and tomorrow he will go back to the vets on tuesday. maybe it is his antibiotics that are making him a little unsteady. he has come through so much and survived it would be such a shame to lose him now. fingers crossed.

As long as he is drinking and getting his medicine i'm sure he has a fighting chance! Hold on Peanut!!! You've got a lot of people wanting you to get well!

Yeh Peanut doesn't sound like a budgie who is willing to give up, maybe it is the antibiotics taking there affect, I wonder if he would eat a bit of millet just to fatten him up a bit.

Go on Peanut.

Oh pixie, I hate to hear that. Hopefully he will begin to eat a bit more very soon. Keep us posted.

So many people thinking about you and Peanut.