kyva
New member
On April 2nd, my husband and I woke to find our sweet cockatiel of over 10 years had passed away.
The events leading up to his passing didn't seem to warrant such a severe result.
On March 19th, I noticed he was fluffed up a bit more than usual, and when we took him out, his poo was more like pea soup and that he had a very slight limp with his left foot.
He was still eating, drinking, had clear eyes and nose, so I kept an eye on him, changed the paper in his cage and checked his droppings which got considerably more normal as the night went on.
The next day, he was still limping, but a little more feisty. We had a feeling he'd hurt a toe, so I removed the dangling toy he liked to wrap his foot around, watched him again and covered him for the night with a heat lamp. We didn't have an aquarium, otherwise I would've placed him in there.
The next morning, he insisted on climbing all over his cage, even going upside down. I was worried about his foot since the limp was still there, so I removed all the perches, weaved cardboard between the bars to make a low ceiling and made him comfortable on the bed of his cage (the grated part, not actually on his feces) along with his water dish, another dish with pellets and a third with seed as a treat.
Later that day, I heard something rattling and looked back to find him chewing through the ceiling I'd made for him.
He was squeezing through a hole he'd made, so I gently reached in for him, asked him to step up, changed out the cardboard and this time, I placed him on top along with his bowls.
Hubby and I watched after him closely, and as the days went on (over the span of about a week), he was moving around more and the limp had mostly disappeared. His eating, drinking and droppings were still normal.
I kept the lamp on him and the cage stayed as it was because I wanted him to heal more before he could climb all over the bars again. Good thing we had a lot of cardboard to spare. It made it easy for us to change his makeshift floor/platform.
That night, before bed, he had a night fright. I checked on him and everything seemed fine, so I gave him kisses, covered him and we all went to bed.
The next morning, he was limping around. Hard. It was very noticeable. The vet hadn't opened yet, but he was still able to eat and drink for me.
I called the vet once I was able and got an appointment later in the afternoon (first open slot) and I said it was an emergency. Between that call and the visit, Sweetpea avoided standing on his left foot and, by early afternoon, he was resting on his breastbone, using neither foot at all.
I called my hubby at work, told him and asked him to go to the vet with me. We went in and the vet did a full exam.
At the time of his visit, Sweetpea weighed 79 grams, which the vet said was good. She checked all of his organs, feeling them as well as his air sacs, but she didn't find anything out of place. She then moved to his left leg and foot, feeling around where it met his belly all the way down to his toes.
She said nothing seemed fractured either. She never took x-rays as she said he likely didn't need them. He was very well behaved and didn't cry a single time when she was handling him.
Even though his foot wasn't swollen, she gave him an injection of metacam in his chest. She told me to keep a lamp on him and to call if anything changed.
So, we got him in his carrier, took him home and kept an eye on him. He ate, drank and was a little less interested in us, but I figured it was the stress from his visit, so we mostly left him alone.
I'm a light sleeper. Whenever he had a fright, I always woke up, turned on the light and uncovered his cage to check on him until he was safely perched and comfortable again.
That night, I didn't hear anything out of the norm.
When I uncovered his cage the next morning, I found him splayed under his heat lamp with his wings open, next to his water dish.
I have no idea what happened. Aside from his limp, he didn't show signs of anything else. When I spoke to the vet, she said it's possible he has a seizure, stroke or it could've been from shock as he was mostly fine during his visit the night before.
She offered to do a necropsy, but I was too upset to take him back, so we buried him under a bunch of pines nearby.
I keep wondering if I waited too long to go to the vet, or if I should've skipped the vet. maybe taking him in was too much. Maybe when she examined him, something broke loose from his foot.
I don't know, but I realize I'd have just as many questions if I hadn't taken him in. I just wish I could explain it. We did everything we could, and with the peace of mind from our vet visit, I was sure he'd bounce back in a week.
It didn't hit me until last week that he's really gone, and with the house being so quiet, I can't stand not having him here.
The events leading up to his passing didn't seem to warrant such a severe result.
On March 19th, I noticed he was fluffed up a bit more than usual, and when we took him out, his poo was more like pea soup and that he had a very slight limp with his left foot.
He was still eating, drinking, had clear eyes and nose, so I kept an eye on him, changed the paper in his cage and checked his droppings which got considerably more normal as the night went on.
The next day, he was still limping, but a little more feisty. We had a feeling he'd hurt a toe, so I removed the dangling toy he liked to wrap his foot around, watched him again and covered him for the night with a heat lamp. We didn't have an aquarium, otherwise I would've placed him in there.
The next morning, he insisted on climbing all over his cage, even going upside down. I was worried about his foot since the limp was still there, so I removed all the perches, weaved cardboard between the bars to make a low ceiling and made him comfortable on the bed of his cage (the grated part, not actually on his feces) along with his water dish, another dish with pellets and a third with seed as a treat.
Later that day, I heard something rattling and looked back to find him chewing through the ceiling I'd made for him.
He was squeezing through a hole he'd made, so I gently reached in for him, asked him to step up, changed out the cardboard and this time, I placed him on top along with his bowls.
Hubby and I watched after him closely, and as the days went on (over the span of about a week), he was moving around more and the limp had mostly disappeared. His eating, drinking and droppings were still normal.
I kept the lamp on him and the cage stayed as it was because I wanted him to heal more before he could climb all over the bars again. Good thing we had a lot of cardboard to spare. It made it easy for us to change his makeshift floor/platform.
That night, before bed, he had a night fright. I checked on him and everything seemed fine, so I gave him kisses, covered him and we all went to bed.
The next morning, he was limping around. Hard. It was very noticeable. The vet hadn't opened yet, but he was still able to eat and drink for me.
I called the vet once I was able and got an appointment later in the afternoon (first open slot) and I said it was an emergency. Between that call and the visit, Sweetpea avoided standing on his left foot and, by early afternoon, he was resting on his breastbone, using neither foot at all.
I called my hubby at work, told him and asked him to go to the vet with me. We went in and the vet did a full exam.
At the time of his visit, Sweetpea weighed 79 grams, which the vet said was good. She checked all of his organs, feeling them as well as his air sacs, but she didn't find anything out of place. She then moved to his left leg and foot, feeling around where it met his belly all the way down to his toes.
She said nothing seemed fractured either. She never took x-rays as she said he likely didn't need them. He was very well behaved and didn't cry a single time when she was handling him.
Even though his foot wasn't swollen, she gave him an injection of metacam in his chest. She told me to keep a lamp on him and to call if anything changed.
So, we got him in his carrier, took him home and kept an eye on him. He ate, drank and was a little less interested in us, but I figured it was the stress from his visit, so we mostly left him alone.
I'm a light sleeper. Whenever he had a fright, I always woke up, turned on the light and uncovered his cage to check on him until he was safely perched and comfortable again.
That night, I didn't hear anything out of the norm.
When I uncovered his cage the next morning, I found him splayed under his heat lamp with his wings open, next to his water dish.
I have no idea what happened. Aside from his limp, he didn't show signs of anything else. When I spoke to the vet, she said it's possible he has a seizure, stroke or it could've been from shock as he was mostly fine during his visit the night before.
She offered to do a necropsy, but I was too upset to take him back, so we buried him under a bunch of pines nearby.
I keep wondering if I waited too long to go to the vet, or if I should've skipped the vet. maybe taking him in was too much. Maybe when she examined him, something broke loose from his foot.
I don't know, but I realize I'd have just as many questions if I hadn't taken him in. I just wish I could explain it. We did everything we could, and with the peace of mind from our vet visit, I was sure he'd bounce back in a week.
It didn't hit me until last week that he's really gone, and with the house being so quiet, I can't stand not having him here.
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At least he passed knowing he was loved and had had a happy, healthy life right up until the end. Sometimes with such little creatures, it can be hard to tell how ill they are or what they are sick with. You did the right thing taking him to the vet, even if they weren't able to help.
