Sneezing, Wheezing, Thin Conure
Phoenix
began making a soft wheezing sound from his nostrils when he breathes. He's
not breathing through his beak or bobbing his tail and all the rest of his
behavior seems perfectly normal. Well, I took him to the vet the very next
day and the vet noticed he was a bit thin, definitely had some respiratory
noises and announced a 90% chance that he has a "respiratory infection". My
bird was given a vitamin shot, a baytril shot and baytril to take home and
mix with his water. It's been a couple days and he continues to wheeze
softly and occasionally sneeze, and though I asked the vet what else it
could be if it turned out to be something in the 10%, I didn't get a
satisfactory answer and I am continuing to worry. Should I have had some
kind of tests done? What tests? What other conditions could look like this?
Could it be some sort of seasonal allergy that has never happened before?
Could it be something that is deadly if I don't take steps to treat it right
away? Can anybody can give me ideas on what to follow up on with my vet and
what treatments it would make sense to ask for if the antibacterial med
doesn't work?
Phoenix
Owly
A/B's require exact dosages over exact periods of time and at precise
intervals. I really REALLY find it hard to believe that a vet would
recommend this, and the only conceivable way that I could imagine it
(and even then it's a stretch!) is if they know nothing about birds and
figure an owner wouldn't be able to dose the bird. But I've heard it
from several people recently and am pretty surprised by it. Too small a
dose and you have a resistant bug, and certainly that's the case with
dosing in water.
Unbelievable.
Get a 2nd opinion. From an avian vet. Who will KNOW what to test for
and treat, rather than offer you odds like a Jimmy the Greek wannabe.
"Phoenix" <Pho...@LookingGlass.mlnet.com> wrote in message
news:3906176a$0$15...@fountain.mindlink.net...
jessib
used in birds and reptiles. If you want to pursue more diagnosics on your bird-
tell the vet, and they *should* know the next steps to take. They need to
differentiate between upper and lower respiratory disease (from clinical signs
and listening with a little stethescope!), and take samples from the
appropriate places. You might want to ask for a CBC, direct smear from nares
(if there is discharge), or choana- looking for fungal hyphae, yeasts,
protozoal organisms, gram negative bacteria ect. There are many other tests
that can be run- you just need to go to a vet with bird experience and proper
equipment. Birds can have allergies, but you want to first rule out the other
possible diseases.
good luck with your bird, jess
Jennifer Mullen
[wheezing conure, vet dx with respiratory infection, antibiotics in water
(bad)]
I agree with everything Owly said. I just wanted to add that you can help
your bird out by keeping him extra warm. An excellent way to do this is to
place one of the red "nightlight" bulbs manufactured for reptiles (look for
ZooMed or Coralife/ESU bulbs) over the cage where the bird cannot get
access to it. These bulbs can be left on 24 hours a day with little effect
on nighttime sleep. Ideally, the temperature should be around 85F under
the bulb - be sure to provide a cooler area in case the bird overheats. If
you need to, you can cover part of the cage with a towel or blanket to hold
in heat. Be sure to use a thermometer so you *know* what the temperature
is.
The added heat will help make your bird more comfortable and fight off the
infection. Lessening stress and handling will also help your bird to rest
and devote more energy to getting better. If your bird is losing weight,
try adding more of his favorite foods to his diet to encourage eating and
weight gain. Higher-fat foods can help at this time.
Since you're giving antibiotics, try adding vitamin B and probiotics to the
diet to bolster the immune system. Antibiotics can knock down the normal,
beneficial bacteria in an animal's gut while killing off infectious
bacteria, and this can lead to secondary infections. Small amounts of
yogurt with active Lactobacillus sp. bacterial cultures can be given.
I agree that you should get a second opinion - I would be very
underimpressed with a vet that gave out the usual "URI, give Baytril"
advice without doing any sort of culture and sensitivity tests to determine
if the bird has a bacterial infection and, if so, which antibiotics are
effective. Please keep in mind that none of the above is a substitute for
vet advice - just my own thoughts on how to work *with* the bird's immune
system to complement medical care. If you like, try posting your location
here - perhaps someone lives near you and can recommend a bird vet.
Good luck - let us know how he does!
-J.
--
Jennifer Mullen | "I'm gonna take all of my
arat...@home.com | friends/and we're going to move to
http://members.home.net/aratingae/ | Canada/and were' gonna die of old
| age." --Ani DiFranco
|
Cockatoos
contageous to human beings. It can be anything from Psit to just an
infection. Have the tests done asap.
Renee
PS- Good luck with your birdie.
Phoenix
Jennifer Mullen <arat...@news.scllg1.pa.home.com> wrote:
>> Phoenix <Pho...@LookingGlass.mlnet.com> wrote:
>> [wheezing conure, vet dx with respiratory infection, antibiotics in water
>> (bad)]
> infection. Lessening stress and handling will also help your bird to rest
> and devote more energy to getting better. If your bird is losing weight,
> try adding more of his favorite foods to his diet to encourage eating and
> weight gain. Higher-fat foods can help at this time.
Thank you (all of you!) for the additional things to do. I have to admit I
instinctively didn't feel totally comfortable with the treatment the vet
gave, though I didn't have the knowledge to do anything about it or know
why. The office I went to calls itself an animal and bird hospital, but I do
know of a place totally devoted to treating birds where I can go for a
second opinion.
The vet did recommend keeping my conure warm, and he also recommended a
vitamin powder which I have been adding to his food, not his water. He seems
to like the addition, I think it's fruit flavoured. Is this okay? Do you
have any recommendations for good high fat foods I can offer? He will eat
almost anything we eat, and he eats a mix of tropican and zupreem pellets. I
feel very bad for not noticing his thinness sooner, but it just wasn't
something I knew to look for and though he's a very hands on bird, that
generally doesn't involve his breast area :-(
Phoenix
Mike & Eliz
mixed to exact strength & dosages based on weight & we gave it to them
with a syringe. Thought it was funny though that he buys orange syrup
from McDonalds to mix with the Diflucan to make it a little more
palatable. Mike
Owly wrote:
>
> It blows me away the vets that recommend giving antibiotics in water.
> A/B's require exact dosages over exact periods of time and at precise
> intervals. I really REALLY find it hard to believe that a vet would
> recommend this, and the only conceivable way that I could imagine it
> (and even then it's a stretch!) is if they know nothing about birds and
> figure an owner wouldn't be able to dose the bird. But I've heard it
> from several people recently and am pretty surprised by it. Too small a
> dose and you have a resistant bug, and certainly that's the case with
> dosing in water.
>
> Unbelievable.
>
> Get a 2nd opinion. From an avian vet. Who will KNOW what to test for
> and treat, rather than offer you odds like a Jimmy the Greek wannabe.
>
> owly
> www.usol.com/~cinderella
>
> "Phoenix" <Pho...@LookingGlass.mlnet.com> wrote in message
> news:3906176a$0$15...@fountain.mindlink.net...
Toucanldy
http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww45eiv.htm
Hope this helps.
Regards
carla....@robeson.k12.nc.us
> I noticed my conure suddenly begin sneezing more than normal, and worse, he
> began making a soft wheezing sound from his nostrils when he breathes. He's
> not breathing through his beak or bobbing his tail and all the rest of his
> behavior seems perfectly normal. Well, I took him to the vet the very next
> day and the vet noticed he was a bit thin, definitely had some respiratory
> noises and announced a 90% chance that he has a "respiratory infection". My
> bird was given a vitamin shot, a baytril shot and baytril to take home and
> mix with his water. It's been a couple days and he continues to wheeze
> softly and occasionally sneeze, and though I asked the vet what else it
> could be if it turned out to be something in the 10%, I didn't get a
> satisfactory answer and I am continuing to worry. Should I have had some
> kind of tests done? What tests? What other conditions could look like this?
> Could it be some sort of seasonal allergy that has never happened before?
> Could it be something that is deadly if I don't take steps to treat it right
> away? Can anybody can give me ideas on what to follow up on with my vet and
> what treatments it would make sense to ask for if the antibacterial med
> doesn't work?
>
> Phoenix
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