still having breathing problems

**pixibubbles** · 08-19-2007, 01:46 PM

a while ago i posted about breathing problems sparky was having

basically somtimes sparky seemed to huff and puff after flying. sometimes she has trouble perching and spends a lot of her time on the floor (however the lack of front claws may cause this).

we tested for most things we could think of and treated for parasites and infection. i took her down to my moms and spent a lot of time in the sunshine and she seemed ok. this has been going on for about 8 months now.

her breathing seems more laboured and sometimes after she's flapped around a lot you can hear whistling.

thing is i'm also under treatment (or investigation) for a range of symptons. one of which includes shortness of breath. Drs think it's my thyroid tho.... just thought it may be worth mentioning in case it flags up anything.

she's currently on baytril with a vitamin supplement (i put her back on it yesterday) and obviously we will be at the vets first appointment.

just wondered if anyone has any more suggestions my vet an i havn't thought of.

and predicting questions, no is not officicially avian vet but he has kept birds for about 2 decades and has personal interest in them, and is better than the so called avian vets round here. yes her diet is fairly varied and the only new thing in it is cooked egg white. her droppings are normal, eating habits normal and she is spending usualy time out of cage although is sleeping a lot. (bizarely another sympton we share).

as ever all thoughts are appreciated

**Roscoe's Mom** · 08-19-2007, 08:24 PM

Do you live in an older-style house? Are there any other environmental factors that you can think of that may influence both of you at once?

**Lovebirdfan** · 08-19-2007, 10:34 PM

Hmm.. seems like something in the home environment such as carbon monoxide, freshly painted walls, new carpeting or flooring, mold problems, all can cause symptoms that you've noted. Do you notice any difference in how you feel in the house or when you are not in the house?

**2cay2** · 08-20-2007, 04:08 AM

Originally Posted by Lovebirdfan

Hmm.. seems like something in the home environment such as carbon monoxide, freshly painted walls, new carpeting or flooring, mold problems, all can cause symptoms that you've noted. Do you notice any difference in how you feel in the house or when you are not in the house?

Mold and Carbon monoxide where my first thoughts too. It does sound enviromental.
I would get your appliances checked out/serviced. And have someone in to check for other toxins like mold/chemicals.

**pixibubbles** · 08-20-2007, 04:26 AM

i have a monoxide detector so boiler is ok. plus we dont really use it.
Yes carpeting is new, although she didnt decline rapidly after we put it in and the glue smell was gone in hours. Plus carpet is berber so allergen free, house is 1970's and I'm very careful with chemicals for animal sake as well as my own (asthma)

HOWEVER: Mould (or mold) depending on where in the world we are is a possibility. Except this has been going on for longer than we;ve bene there. but it could certianly worsen it.

I dont know how much of our uk news everyone else gets but we have had TERIBBLE problems with rain over here. like a weeks work in half an hour in some places. Luckily coventry hasnt flooded (yet) but a lot of the country has and we've had problems with leaks and mould. i mean i;ve cleaned it as soon as i've seen it, but spores could still get into the air i guess. we had damp in the bathroom that we have just refitted, but i kept her well away from any dusts, solvents and chemicals

Would mould effect other animals? coz i have a hamster and she is fine, plus so is my partner, although we know i have ongoing respiritory illnesses. And sparky has always bobbed her tail a little, and given what she may have went through as a baby before i found her i suppose her immune system might not be so great... she's always been skinny. (sorry just thinking on type here)

i'll discuss the mold option with the vet tonight and my GP tomorrow.

Anyone know how it would be treated? i suppose it would be a fungicide needed? anyone know how effective it is? Or if it can even be treated. (we're always the last to get the good meds over here)

fingers crossed,
-Helen

Ps... i dont mena to whinge about me being ill or anything... i just thought it might be relevant... seems i could be right. maybe i shoudl get my vet to examine me? he's cuter and better than my GP lol

**Roscoe's Mom** · 08-20-2007, 04:59 AM

Yes, when I mentioned "an old house" mold was one of the factors that I was thinking of.

**pixibubbles** · 08-20-2007, 05:13 AM

ohhh *%)$*£"_£$$*%*£%(£$)$%
add your own expletives.

i feel so guilty. i knew we had damp, but i didnt think

*&%^!

right i'll talk to the vet, and the GP about it and any tests can be done one me. it's my fault and blood tests are less dangerous to me. I'll have to clean the house from top to bottom (or end to end as is only flat)

any idea on treatments anyone?

**2cay2** · 08-20-2007, 06:45 AM

Is your flat rented or owned?
If it's rented your landlord should fix it - it is a health hazard.
If you own, then first you need to know why the areas are damp. Is it raising damp? (contractors needed for that) Rising damp will be below 1 metre from ground level. Look out for anything that has bridged the damp proof course, like piled up earth or stored bricks against the wall etc. and move them. Penertrating damp can be from lots of causes such as leaking down pipes, faulty guttering, rotting window frames etc. They need to be fixed before other treatments work. Sometimes corners of houses will be effected by prevailing winds driving rain against the building and can caurse penertrating damp. There are treatments for that. Don't forget that condensation will form on internal walls if they are cold, especially in the kitchen and bathroom. So keep those rooms warm and ventilate them. Use extractor fans and/or dehumidifiers if necessary. Basically you need to do a big search and find all the possible causes of damp and fix them. The damp (and mould) will never stay away unless you do that.
In the mean time any areas that are obviously damp or have mold on them should be cleaned regularly with bleach.
There is a company that supplies products that can be used on areas affected by mould, you might want to give them a call: Mould growth Consultants Ltd (MGC) Tel: 02083370731 I bought a mold eradication kit from them and it did the trick. It was for rain penertrating damp on the corner of my house. I have a built in cupboard on that wall so the ventiation wasn't good enough and mould formed there. My house is 200 years old and there's no mould in the cupboard now!

As for mould effecting some and not others, I think it is quite usual. It will depend a lot on individual responces to the spores, but even then effects may just be mild. In any case mould spores are very unhealthy. It wouldn't supprise me in the slightest if that is the cause of yours and Sparkys problems.

Think it would be a good idea to do some googling on the subject!
I have lived in manky flats in the past and renovated two damp homes, so I know how bad mould can get! Hence my knowlegde on the subject

Best of luck Helen. Let us know how things go.

**Paradoxgirl** · 08-20-2007, 07:52 AM

hmm...i don't really have much to contribute to this thread. i do know that my tiel and my lovie both huff and puff if they fly around more than normal. my vet said that they did that because they weren't used to flying around a lot. they don't gasp a lot or anything, just several heavy breathing breaths and then it stops.

**BareFootAviary** · 08-20-2007, 08:22 AM

Wow Linda, that was a very informative post!

It does sounds like a mold problem or something environmental. I hope all is found and fixed for you and Sparky, Helen!

**pixibubbles** · 08-20-2007, 08:43 AM

thanks... vets is in an hour, and madam of course is hopping around happily looking cheerful. she's not fooling anyone, she knows what the V E T word means lol. usually her on her back with something nasty being squirted in her beak

thanks for all the details Linda

really helpful. especially the phone numbers. you see so much on the market promsing to cure it but never quite believe it. We do get water in by the door if the wind is in the wrong direction and rain too heavy, but it's not too bad. we had problems with condensation when we first moved in, and bad problems with leaking shower tray in bathroom. it literally poured out.

walls got damp and enough said.

we own the house, and rising damp isnt an issue for us (although it is for my poor neighbour who's damp course is below my garden... not my fault tho! )

i think it's mostly condensation, although we had to have some repairs to the pipes after couple more leaks. we've had greeny yellow mould in the bedroom and the hall and black in the kitchen. like i said i clean it off ASAP, but obviously not quick enough always.

i tihnk a lot of the problems came to a head a few weeks ago with all the rain. We didnt flood in Coventry but it was close.
we are curing the problems as we find them and drying house out

anyway... i'm of to chase madam into her travel cage... unfortunately she knows what that means too

**2cay2** · 08-20-2007, 10:18 AM

Good luck at the vets Helen.

Damp problems are a pain in the bum, but can be sorted. Of course it always helps if it isn't raining 24/7

The place I recommended, was recommended to me by a specialist independant guy who advised me on some things on my property. He was from the council, ie not being paid by me, so didn't benefit financialy from giving me this advice. And the stuff worked!

**pixibubbles** · 08-21-2007, 12:54 AM

Vet gave us more super strong antibiotics (and the pre-biotics and vitamin booster) and a list of things my GP needs to test me for. i'm not sure how he will respond to the idea of tkaing advice from a vet. hopefully he wont get snotty over it.

guess we wait and see now.

BTW just so you dont worry about sparky too much she made a COMPLETE show of herself and got up to absolute mischief. will tell you about it in another post later x