Zilla Sick Again????

So she was fine this morning. Eating, drinking, chattering just like normal. She is still doing all of this and acting normal.

I noticed about 30 min. ago she sneezed which is not normal for her, so went to have a look. I saw "snot" in one of her nostrils??? Reminded me of a toddler who can't blow their nose yet, snot going in and out with her breathing.

NO labored breathing, no open beak, no tail bobbing, no "wheezing" or noises while breathing, none of the other signs I would be looking for to determine how bad it is.

Called vet and they can't get her in today at all. I could drop her off in the morning and then pick her up tomorrow afternoon, but I couldn't be with her in a room while they examined her.

Or I can keep an eye on her and if she doesn't get any worse I can keep the appointment Friday and be with her when she is examined.

They advised turning up the heat a bit, running the humidifier, and keeping her calmer than normal (how to keep her from playing I don't know)

Now I'm scared for her again! I really thought she was well finally!

Oh No! Is it possible she got some water in her nose? No other symptoms make me think just keep a close eye on her.

labell said:

Oh No! Is it possible she got some water in her nose? No other symptoms make me think just keep a close eye on her.

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The way she shoves her head into her food bowl I was thinking something like that. I didn't see her at the water dish and I haven't misted her yet today.

I will be keeping a super close eye on her and if any little thing changes she will go as soon as I can get her there.

As far as the sneezing is concerned, it seems to be absolutely normal among all of our birds. Sammy, my Yellow-Naped 'Zon, sneezes several times a day, as does Reno, our CAG. When they bathe, they DO get water in their nares (unlike a lot of mammals, they have no way of preventing this) and the only way to eliminate it is...to sneeze it out. Since there is always a little mucus in their nasal passages, if it mixes with water it will appear "snotty" when expelled.

Considering that she's not wheezy, it's unlikely that she has a respiratory problem.

While I'd have her checked by an avian vet (if it goes on for a few days), I wouldn't be too worried about it.

A certain amount of mucus is often expelled when they sneeze from inhaling a little dander while preening, too. The mucus serves the purpose of preventing the foreign material from sticking to the nasal passages, so that it can be easily expelled by sneezing.

Sammy often gazes at me, lovingly, when he's on my shoulder...and sneezes in my face. And (trust me!) it's NEVER a "dry" sneeze! I always have to wipe my face off afterwards (ewwwww!). Even our GCC and Lovies do this.

Take heart, I doubt she's actually sick.

Maybe her body was just expelling the residual gunk left over from the infection?

Maybe....

It's hard to judge her body language this afternoon because of the landscapers being on the property with all their noisy equipment. They scare her every week for the couple hours they are here.

Right now she is sitting very still, no noises even when I go talk to her. All she wants to do is make sure they aren't going to eat her.

I will re-evaluate after they leave and see if anything has changed from earlier.

Amanda, I know this must be very scary after all Zilla's been through, but maybe this isn't an indication she's sick again. She's been doing so well, if nothing changes between now and her appointment on Friday, I think you are right to wait so you can be with her for her exam.

Allee said:

Amanda, I know this must be very scary after all Zilla's been through, but maybe this isn't an indication she's sick again. She's been doing so well, if nothing changes between now and her appointment on Friday, I think you are right to wait so you can be with her for her exam.

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I am scared, but I will be watching her very closely and will take her in if anything changes.

I just hate the idea of dropping her off and not being able to be with her. It would be like dropping my 3 year old human child off at the doctor and then coming back hours later to get them! If she gets worse tonight I will have to do it though.

Be careful, Keep a close eye on her and watch for any changes. You're doing the right thing worrying about her getting sick again.

But I think what you described just seems like she has had some particle in her nose, and it might or might not have mixed with water when she sneezed. I have observed this on my OWA Kiwi when she goes berzerk on the foodbowl and she is perfectly fine.

Oh no Amanda, my heart just fell as I read your title. Hopefully it doesn't mean that she is sick again! I've never been on a friendly forum before and it's amazing to me how much it seems like I "know" you and Zilla from reading your posts. Sending prayers your way and please keep us posted!

How is Zilla doing tonight? I am also send prayers that everything is fine. The two of you have been through so much already.

She seemed OK the rest of the afternoon and evening. Ate well as usual, wanted to be with me/on me like normal.

Maybe a little less energetic, didn't really seem to play as much, not quite as vocal as she normally is in the evenings. She kind of just wanted to sit with me on my shoulder and snuggle.

Not seeing any more "snot" but she wasn't really cooperating with my trying to look in her nostril either! Didn't hear any more sneezes. Not hearing any wheezing or anything when she breaths (she thinks me putting my ear on her side & belly is a game now & it means she is supposed to nibble on it and purr)

She put herself to bed about 30 minutes earlier than she normally does and I haven't heard a peep out of her since. I will probly spend the night in my recliner so I can hear her and know if she starts having any problems.

No wheezing is good, but I wish she would have been as energetic as usual.
I have said it before and want to say it again, you are such a good Momma to her. You both are in my prayers tonight.

So this morning she did the usual "little puppy" whine while watching me make her breakfast. She ate fairly well, but not with her usual dive head first into the bowl and chow down gusto.

I'm wondering if the dandelion greens I finally got her to eat night before last have too much iron or something in them??? I have omitted them from her diet for now, but have been wondering since her liver and kidneys were in such bad shape that maybe it was too much since she NEVER eats the dark leafy greens I give her??? It's the only thing "new" in her diet that she hasn't had before and nothing else make sense!

I have also been giving her the Aloe Detox for about a week now. I mix it 50/50 with organic apple or cranberry juice. I can usually get 6 or 8 beak fulls into her while she is on my shoulder and then I put the bowl in her cage by the water dish and I see her drink a few sips from time to time.

Could this be the detox working??? Or not working??? Is she drinking too much of it??? I'm mixing 2 Tablespoon detox to 2 Tablespoon juice and she is probably drinking about 1 Tablespoon total.

She is still being "snuggly" with me and wanting me to pet and scratch her, just not as active as she was being. Still chewing on toys but not "kicking their butts" like she was. Doesn't seem to be sleeping more than normal, except for going to bed 30 min. early last night.

Any time animals or human's detox they are going to start feeling punky and not as much energy. Her body is more than likely pushing out more toxins and her liver is working harder because of the aloe detox. Dandelion greens and other dark leafy greens actually help strengthen during detox. Small amounts for certain to start with, but her appetite will naturally be down as well.

Think about when a dog is sick or feeling bad they don't eat as much or nothing at all. Same with other animals, we are the only animal that thinks eating while you are detoxing or sick is something you have to do. The truth is it is better to eat less or even skip eating when you are sick. It takes a lot of energy to fight off sickness, infection, to detox but it takes even more energy to eat and digest food, animals instinctively know this and will let their bodies rest from digesting to really focus on getting well.

That makes me feel better, but I'm still keeping my "eagle eyes" on her!

Right now she is sitting on her top perch preening and chattering like a budgie to the radio.

I've become so attached to her it's hard for me to just sit here and watch when I know she isn't feeling well! I want to hold her and snuggle her and make her feel better, but I know she wouldn't see the holding and snuggling as a "good" thing.

To play it safe when you see she isn't feeling herself (it may take a long time to undo the years of bad diet) you might want to choose nutrient dense foods to add to her regular diet such as Spirulina (not good for eclectus too dense but great for other parrots and humans)
Kale is a power-house super-food! Dandelion detoxes, Hemp seeds unsalted of course, Broccoli organic if possible, Chia seeds, the Aztec's used it as a super food and it really is even better than flax seed and can be kept longer without going rancid like flax seed, and lastly berries these really need to be organic, berries are highly sprayed if not organic. They are also lower in sugar than other fruits and very nutrient rich. Black berries and raspberries especially. You can buy them frozen and thaw them and mix them into brown rice or quinoa mine love them like that.

labell said:

To play it safe when see she isn't feeling herself (it may take a long time to undo the years of bad diet) you might want to choose nutrient dense foods to add to her regular diet such as Spirulina (not good for eclectus too dense but great for other parrots and humans)
Kale is a power-house super-food! Dandelion detoxes, Hemp seeds unsalted of course, Broccoli organic if possible, Chia seeds, the Aztec's used it as a super food and it really is even better than flax seed and can be kept longer without going rancid like flax seed, and lastly berries these really need to be organic, berries are highly sprayed if not organic. They are also lower in sugar than other fruits and very nutrient rich. Black berries and raspberries especially. You can buy them frozen and thaw them and mix them into brown rice or quinoa mine love them like that.

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Spirulina? Hadn't heard of giving that to parrots, but maybe it's worth a try. So hard to get her to eat the leafy green stuff! I wish she would eat kale, but so far she just tosses it out. I will have to get some hemp & chia seed next time I'm at the health food store and see if she will eat it. She loves her seed mix, but is very picky about which seeds she eats and which ones either get tossed out or left in the dish.

I do give organic berries, she loves blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. I buy them frozen and just defrost a few a couple times a week and toss them into her dish, she loves them and will dig around to make sure she gets every last one!

The only way I can get mine to eat greens is in birdie bread. Otherwise they get tossed like you said. I don't know what to do about that otherwise. Nothing else works. Even the berry juice cover up is no longer working. Applesauce gets the greens licked, not bitten into.

Is a detox necessary? What is the bird being detoxed from, diet or just general sickness? I guess I don't get it, is this an important step in treatment for parrot illnesses? Did a vet tell you to do that? It makes me wonder if it's the detox causing the lethargy and not the greens? I see people here tell others not to add any supplements to the water, or give extra vitamins if the bird is already on a healthy diet. Is this untrue in the case of illnesses?

Minimaker said:

The only way I can get mine to eat greens is in birdie bread. Otherwise they get tossed like you said. I don't know what to do about that otherwise. Nothing else works. Even the berry juice cover up is no longer working. Applesauce gets the greens licked, not bitten into.

Is a detox necessary? What is the bird being detoxed from? I guess I don't get it, is this an important step in treatment for parrot illnesses? Did a vet tell you to do that? It makes me wonder if it's the detox causing the lethargy and not the greens? I see people here tell others not to add any supplements to the water, or give extra vitamins if the bird is already on a healthy diet. Is this untrue in the case of illnesses?

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I guess you would have to know Zilla's whole story to understand why the detox. It is important for her to be detoxed because of her past life and what she has been through. Her previous owners were feeding her coffee, soda, and a lot of processed foods. When I got her 4 months ago she had a history of upper respiratory infections and had been on a lot of different antibiotics in less than 2 years. Then she was diagnosed with apser and just finished a 90 day round of anti fungals on 1/4/15. her kidney and liver function was very low, and both were enlarged. She was put on a kidney safe diet along with the medications. The vet has OK'd the detox, but had me wait until all meds were finished before starting them so the meds would work and not get detoxed out of her system.

You can get more of her history and a timeline of the last 4 months by going to my page (clicking on my name) and searching the posts started by me about her.

I don't add vitamins or supplements to her water or food, just try to get her to eat the "good for her" foods and now the detox.