HELP !!!

I took my budgie to the vet this evening for a routine check up and she discovered a "fatty lump" on his tummy. She wasnt very helpful and just told me that only 1 in 4 budgies survive getting it removed. When I asked what I should do she said not to do anything unless it gets so big that it restricts him getting around or gets so big it rubs on his perch and gets sore.

Hes well in his self and hasnt changed his habits.

Im so worried, can anyone give me any advice.

a fatty lump is also called a lipoma. budgie are prone to lipomas partly due to the way that they have been bred and partly to do with diet. making sure your budgie is fed lots of fresh vegetables everyday is a must and a way to prevent lipomas occuring. it can also help to prevent the lipoma from getting larger and becoming a problem. what do you feed your budgie at present?

 

it is true that removal of the tumour is only used as a last resort - very few budgies survive the operation as they are so small and have such a tiny body weight. i used to have a budgie called peanut who developed a lump on his chest, he could not fly due to other medical problems and landing heavily or friction/pressure on the lump caused it to grow. try to avoid any pressure on the area.

 

other than the things i have mentioned there is very little else you can do im afraid. im not going to lie to you, some budgie live for years with small lipomas that do not grow, while others die younger because the lipoma grows rapidly. you will just have to monitor it very closely and check the area every day. if the area starts to be plucked or looks to be growing you must take your budgie back to the vets. also be very careful to monitor signs of general ill health in your budgie as if the area is knocked wth some force it is possible for an infection to develop and cause problems.

 

but its important not to give up hope until you know the severity of the growth - a lot of budgies do just fine with them and they dont cause a problem at all.

 

keep us posted on his progress and with the diet.

Edited November 24, 200519 yr by pixie25

Thanks so much for your advice.

To be honest I only feed him his seed and the occasional peice of lettuce.

I have tried him on things like carrots apples grapes etc but hes not interested.

Hes never been much of a flyer he generaly crash lands as he doesnt seem to be able to keep up in the air for long. Thats always been the case though and hes 6 now.

The lump seems quite big (but I wouldnt really know) the vet didnt comment on the size so Im not too sure.

Its hard to notice these things when you see your pet every day. His feathers are all healthy looking and clean and he doesnt pluck the area at all. It doesnt seem to bother him.

Oh what a shock it must have been for you to have heard that news from the vet! You can always give the vet a ring, and ask how large the lump is. Write it down, that way you will have a base point to work on. Or part the feathers, and take a photo. It is very important to know how fast it is growing, as it will make a difference to how you feel. Why panic if it is very slow growing?

Introducing fresh vegies to a budgie is an exercise in patience and perserverence. But it is soooooo important, and worth doing, especially in your situation. You might be able to reduce the growth of the lipoma, so please do a search on this site, there are a lot of posts dealing with this issue. There may be one in the faq's, I'm not sure.

Why is he such a poor flyer? Is he overweight? It's highly likely on an all seed diet that he is overweight, and a few grams can make a big difference to their flying ability. Did the vet weigh him? If so, ask for the weight. If not, you need some accurate scales, pop him in a container, weigh him, then weigh the container, and you'll be able to work out the weight. If your not sure if it is too heavy, or you need tips on helping him slim down, then ask away, or do a search. Again, I know that it has been an issue for people here before

i know i felt bad because i didnt notice my budgie had one until it was very large. but its one of those things.

 

an all or mainly seed diet is thought to be a major contributing factor to budgies developing lipomas. lipomas are just excess fat cells growing in the wrong places. diet change is practically the only treatment, together with restricting his flying so that he does not land heavily and aggravate the lump.

 

lettuce as a fresh food offers very little nutritional value unless it is romaine lettuce. better things to try are carrot tops, broccoli, baby spinach leaves, kale and wheatgrass. if you have a browse through our food and nutrition forum there are loads of ideas in there.

 

if he is on his own i found the best way to get him to try is get him perched at eye level with you and eat the veg or pretend to eat it right in front of him. then offer him some, keep peristing with this method and he will have a nibble. then be sure to leave the fresh food right next to his seed bowl, clipped to the cage bars with a peg so that he will recognise it with food. if he still doesnt go for them - take the seed away fora few hours are only leave fresh veggies clipped to the bars. and give him his seeds back for supper.

 

best of luck to you, and if you need any more pointers you only have to ask. a search of the forum can bring up loads of helpful advice too.

Edited November 24, 200519 yr by pixie25

To tell you the truth I didnt think it was possible to be overweight. I just thought that I had to make sure there was enough food in his tray for him to eat as much as he wanted. I know that sound terrible but the books I have read have only ever given me general care tips. The vet didnt weigh him. The only problem is with monitering the growth is that he will sit on my hand but wont let me get a hold of him to check him.

Hes always been so happy and active so i thought there would be no problems.

I will start introducing new foods into his diet and will look for advice on amounts of seed to feed him.

Thanks.

ahh, if he will sit still long enough you can stroke his tumy and lift the feathers up as you stroke to feel the size. i would catch him gently in a teatowel and have a proper look about once a week.

 

obesity in budgies is unfortunately an all to common problem because many budgie care books were written decades ago and new veterinary research has since been done but the books have not been updated.

Do you have any tips on slimming him down please?

as he isnt so good with flying i would cut down his fly time until his diet is improved. you dont want to risk aggravating the lump until you know how big it is and whether or not it is slow growing.

 

diet is the only way forward here - use my tips in my earlier post. you are obviously a very caring owner or else you wouldnt have visited our site, if you would like more info on the affects of an all seed diet, google search 'all seed diet' and you should get a lot.

 

be very persistant, dont give up and constantly make sure fresh food is available in the cage and new fresh foods are replaced every few hours.

Weigh him first, as it is important that you monitor his weight loss (we're talking budgies here, nothing is easy ). Budgies need 2 teasoons of seed a day, and it is important that you provide that much, at least until he is happily eating new foods. Then do a search for the budgies that have been on diets, and see what you are in for! Budgies are very obstinate creatures I think Pixie had a budgie on a diet at one time? Might have been Rainbow. Anyway, try new fresh foods clipped to the side of the cage, and see how you go.

I just realised, I didn't say Hi and Welcome!

Edited November 24, 200519 yr by Lin

twas booms i think.

 

my peanut had a lipoma in the same place as bluebudgies budgie.

 

and yes, if you have gram scales its a good idea to weigh him. (if you dont then just make sure that seed is offered for a good few hours twice a day at least. a healthy budgie should eat about a flat tablespoon of seeds a day to maintain their weight).

Thanks - I wont tell u approx how many teaspoons of seed Ive been giving him - greedy little bugger. I will go tomorrow and buy some exciting new food for him and see how he goes. I really hope its not too late as I feel awful. Hes talking so happily in the background I feel so guilty. Hes like a little best friend.

Thanks to you both so much Pixie and Lin i wish I had found you both earlier and I may have been able to prevent this

By the way - if he doesnt like being handled will it not distress him as I havent ever got a hold of him before because he gets so distressed?

Yes, he probably will get distressed, but as you need to check on him, all you can do is be as quick as possible. With expreience, you'll become quite good at it Grab him firmly, and cover his face with the towel, that will reduce some of the stress, and lesson your chances of a bite

And don't worry about what you've done in the past, we've all made bad mistakes with our birds! I blush to think of some of the things I've thought are right!

Please ask whatever questions you want - the only stupid question is the one you don't ask! We love pictures, so if you can post a picture, we'd love it! Instructions on how to are pinned to the picture forum Good luck, your budgie will be very stubborn, but you will win in the end!

Ive been trying to send a picture all night but it wont work. i will try again tomorrow and will keep you posted.

Thanks again.

Does he have to have the tumor removed? 2 of mine have lipomas which are gross looking fleshy tumors but benign. They are given Synthyroid (people medicine for thyroid probs) every other day which dissolves in their water dish. It shrinks the tumors somewhat and they aren't good flyers but my female of about 9 years (and quite possibly the nastiest budgie I have ever seen) has about 4 over various parts of her body and is doing just fine on the meds. They also eat a wide variety of vegs, grains and will nibble @ pellets. So maybe removal isn't the answer, good luck! :greenb:

No he doesnt have to have it removed - the vet said it was a benign fatty lump - is that the same as a tumour? If its the same then I wonder if medication for him as well as a balanced diet would work?

bluebudgie dont feel bad, its not your fault at all - you were just doing what you have always thought was right from the information you had. you obviously care a great deal about you little budgie otherwise you wouldnt have tried to find us here.

 

i wasnt aware that there was some medicine out there that can help. maybe it is worth finding an avian vet in your area and getting a second opinion and some nutrition advice. where abouts are you from in the UK? i will see if i can find you some links.

 

and a benign lipoma is the same as a tumour except because it isnt cancerous it wont spread to other parts of the body, thats why some budgies can have static lipomas for years without it causing them any discomfort.

And no fattening millet or honey treats for a while!

Sure, ask the vet and in the scheme of things, Synthyroid is very cheap and goes a long way. Good Luck. Like I said, it won't erradicate the fleshy tumours but it will make the budgie more comfortable.

my budgie is plunp all over i hope hes just fat! :fear he needs a diet :glare: to much millet spray

Ive looked for avian vets and there doesnt seem to be any in the area - Durham or Newcastle!

Im going to ring round the local vets on Monday and see if any of them specialise in birds.

Just out of curiosity does anyone know why hes started eating the plastic covering on the bars of his cage. I got him a new cage about a month ago and he starting eating it about 2 weeks ago? The vet said its fine it will be just because its new. Hes never done it before - Im not sure if hes just being naughty?

By the way he doesnt think much of the new veggies surrounding him haha. :

give him time he will come round

 

have you tried the new food 'training' method?

Ive only put a small amount of seed in and Im waiting for him to try his new veg - no luck yet though! I will persevere.

try the traning method by having him perched at eye level and eat them or pretent to eat them in front of him. then offer him some. if he sees that you (the other member of his flock) is eating it he will then recognise it as food and not poison

 

it really does work.

I tried that earlier I think he thinks I have lost the plot. He seems quite tempted though when I have something in my mouth like a slice of carrot or baby corn. Ive put a dish of carrot and turnip in his cage but he seems more interested on destroying the container that eating any of it. Its quite fun doing it though.