Snowdrop's Illness

wetheril · 07-02-2005, 03:39 PM

Hi! I noticed the board has been down for a couple days. I just came back from Taiwan yesterday.

While I was getting ready to board the plane, my boyfriend noticed that Snowdrop was sick. She had phlegm all over her face, was puffed up, had runny poop, and was not eating or drinking. He took her to the vet right away and they drew blood for a blood test as well as did a beak swab. They also gave her antibiotics (baytril?), which we have to give her once every 12 hours. I heard that she was also "pretending" to preen at the vet, but falling asleep when she thought nobody was looking.

When I finally got back to Davis and was able to see her, she was feeling a little better by then. The phlegm had stopped, but she was still sleepy for a good part of the day. It seems that that she fought her biggest battle in my absence, and is now on the way to recovering.

I was so sad to hear about her sick while I was on the plane coming back.

She was really quiet. When I got her out of the cage yesterday, and sat her on my shoulder, she didn't make any of the usual kissey noises she always made. When I spoke to her, she made a soft little purr, and I started to cry, because it was the first sound she made, and it seemed like she was doing her best to reassure me she was alright. Then she started to nip my boyfriend, like she usually did, and my boyfriend was actually happy about being nipped (because it meant she was acting more like her usual self).

Last night, we disinfected her entire cage and all her toys. She slept in her play area in my room last night, and I slept downstairs so as not to disturb her. This morning, she woke up and was pretty active for a while. But she's still very sleepy in general, and her entire vent area is green from runny poop, and her face also has greenish tint near her beak because she started to preen herself, and the dirty color on her vent is staining her beak. I've been spraying her with a spray bottle, but I don't dare let her bathe, since I don't want her to be shivering and soggy.

I'm really happy now that she's feeling better, thanks to my boyfriend's care (I'm really grateful that he was able to spot signs of her sickness and took very immediate, careful steps). The blood test results should be in sometime next week, and Snowdrop is due for a check-up to see how she's doing. Right now, she's sleeping in her covered cage downstairs, because she needs all the rest that she can.

budgie-boy · 07-02-2005, 03:45 PM

aww, I really hope she get's better and pray that nothing else is wrong with her. Looking forward to hearing about that blood test.

Luna1285 · 07-02-2005, 04:38 PM

I guess you have done all you can, really...Taking her to the vet, getting treatment, cleaning the cage and accesseries, letting her sleep....All you can do is keep her calm, let her rest, keep the cage clean, and offer fresh foods and water to her...Let us know what happed with the blood results..

bubbles · 07-02-2005, 05:47 PM

Oh I hope Snowdrop's getting better soon! It was really great of your boyfriend to take her to the vet while you were away -good on him for being so caring! I know how scary and frustrating it can be to take care of a sick bird... My warmest thoughts go out to you and Snowdrop!!
Bubbles

wetheril · 07-03-2005, 03:04 AM

Thanks a lot, Henry, Lauren, and Adele.

Snowdrop's been preening regularly, and her poop is slowly reverting back to normal. Her vent area is not as dirty anymore, so it seems that the antibiotic is working out for her. She's still sleepy and sometimes really cranky. She'll bite if she's tired and doesn't want to be disturbed. When we took her out to be medicated this afternoon, she was kicking and biting--a good sign that she's starting to becoming herself again. We'll definitely update you on her progress and her blood test results when we hear from the vet.

raptorace · 07-03-2005, 08:20 AM

I'm glad Snowdrop is getting better.

Birdmad Girl · 07-03-2005, 09:41 AM

You boyfriend is a star!

I hope Snowdrop gets better. Please let us know what the blood tests say.

Luna1285 · 07-03-2005, 09:50 AM

wheeew. I am glad things are looking better for her. Hopefully, we will see a full and quick recovery so she feels better. Poor little thing..

M&Ds Budgies · 07-03-2005, 11:58 PM

Glad Snowdrop is on the mend.

Your boyfriend did a great job!!!

Evil Pentane · 07-05-2005, 08:35 PM

Boy, I was worried when I saw Snowdrop like that. But you know that already. =)

Anyway, hopefully you didn't have too much trouble giving Snowdrop her medication this morning. Poor Snowdrop, I don't think she'll ever get used to the taste of it!

WolfRyder · 07-05-2005, 08:39 PM

baytril is nasty. I've tasted it. All the "sweet" they've added doesn't change the nasty taste.

Evil Pentane · 07-05-2005, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WolfRyder

baytril is nasty. I've tasted it. All the "sweet" they've added doesn't change the nasty taste.

Haha, it never occurred to me to taste the stuff. Not that I'm going to try it any time soon, though. Kind of reminds me of those sickly sweet cough medicines.

I did try Snowdrop's Harrison pellets once, and while it wasn't bad enough for me to want to spit it out, it wasn't good enough for me to start snacking on them myself. :P

wetheril · 07-06-2005, 06:23 AM

Hehe...I'll admit, yesterday morning, it was a bit of a fight to get Snowdrop to down her medicine. But I think I'm getting the hang of it. She looked much better yesterday, and basically stayed out of her cage nearly all afternoon without falling asleep. It's still early in the morning now, so I'm not going to wake her up until around 7:00.

Evil Pentane · 07-06-2005, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wetheril

Hehe...I'll admit, yesterday morning, it was a bit of a fight to get Snowdrop to down her medicine. But I think I'm getting the hang of it. She looked much better yesterday, and basically stayed out of her cage nearly all afternoon without falling asleep. It's still early in the morning now, so I'm not going to wake her up until around 7:00.

Well, it's good that she's more lucid now. =) I'll give you a hand with medicating her later.

M&Ds Budgies · 07-06-2005, 10:08 AM

Snowdrop is getting better! She's puting up a fuss about her meds!!!

mamajodi · 07-06-2005, 12:23 PM

I'm SO glad she is getting better! By the way, are you still getting a male budgie this summer? Any update on that?

wetheril · 07-08-2005, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamajodi

I'm SO glad she is getting better! By the way, are you still getting a male budgie this summer? Any update on that?

Yep.

Still getting a male this summer. Originally, I would have gotten the male not long after I got back, but since Snowdrop got sick, we're going to be careful and wait a couple weeks to get him.

Tomorrow, we're going to take a look at Feathered Follies, the bird store recommended by Dani, to look for Snowdrop's potential playmate. Chances are we won't be getting him yet, but if I find a bird I fall in love with, I might actually bring him home!

I already have the perfect name for the new boy. I'm calling him Angel.

P.S. News on Snowdrop's vet appointment today: her physical examination went well, and she seems to be fine again. On the blood test, she tested negative for chlamydiosis(sp?), so that's good. It's very likely some kind of bacterial infection, and the Baytril helped her recover.

Tomorrow will be her last day on medication!

PhoenixK · 07-18-2005, 09:59 AM

Gaah, I'm really behind on the times... I'm so sorry that Snowdrop has been sick! But yeah, you and your boyfriend both did a great job of making sure she got better.

I've had to medicate Ebo before. Not fun. Right now I'm still medicating Oscar, using pretty much the same method as Ebo, but MAN is it so much harder to medicate birds than it is ferrets. I remember tasting Ebo's medicine before, too. Sweet and weird. I know that Oh Mowsie got millet-flavored medicine for her birds when they were sick. ^_^

Oh yeah, it's so cool that you're getting a second budgie. How is that going to work? Are you going to discourage them from mating?

Anyway, it's only a few more days now, isn't it? I bet you can't wait! And I can't wait for pictures of the new guy!

wetheril · 07-18-2005, 05:16 PM

Quote:

I know that Oh Mowsie got millet-flavored medicine for her birds when they were sick. ^_^

I thought that was way cool!

If I knew anybody around here that would do that, I'd pay them for it. It would make medicating Snowdrop so much easier! Budgies are so small, and they squirm a lot. $:\$ \

Quote:

Oh yeah, it's so cool that you're getting a second budgie. How is that going to work? Are you going to discourage them from mating?

Well, Aster is in fact a little baby (because last I saw him, he was still in the process of getting weaned), so he won't be trying anything "funny" for a few months yet.

Don't worry. He'll have his own cage. After the quarantine, I plan to cage them separately and only supervise playtime outside together.

No plans for letting them breed for a good while yet. Don't have the time, and I'd like to have lovebirds and finches and tiels some day too. That will be more than enough.