Worried about Bambam

During the 7 months Bambam was at the breeders home and then the shop we visited and bonded with him. We only saw him for a few hours a few times a week and he was always active and alert.
BamBam came home 2 weeks ago although he still takes 1 feeding a day and isn't 100% weaned. He has taken his feeding well every day and has been very active, playing happily on/in his cage and talkative every day.... until today.

Usually every morning he has a 15 min talking/squawking period and talks throughout the day but then has another talking/squawking period towards the end of the day. He is usually independent and chooses to play with his toys in and on his cage but today he has wanted to be with me the whole day. He has been sleeping a lot and even took a nap on my shoulder this morning. He hasn't played with his toys or talked much at all and definitely didn't have his short noise sessions. When I tried to give him his feeding he only took half and then wanted back on my shoulder.

I'm worried about him because this behavior is something new. I don't know enough about birds to know if they can have "off days" where they might be tired or just need more rest or if these are signs of a problem.
Two days after he came home he went to the vet and had a full set of labs. Everything was normal. I checked his droppings from today, they all seem normal - nothing different.

The only thing different around here today is that we had very little sunshine. It was dreary with snow most of the day. I appreciate anything you all can tell me.
I don't know if I'm being a worrwart of a parront or if these different behaviors are indictative of problems.

I'm a self-proclaimed worry-wart DELUXE. Avian Vet time again, say I.
*waiting and watching*
:22:

Hi Peg
i would check him tomorrow, i have noticed quiet days with each
of my birds. also he has only had a few weeks home i would think he is still adjusting and
figuring things out.

The breeder also told me to watch him and if he's this way tomorrow I should get him to the vet. I just don't want anything to happen to him and especially if it could've been prevented if I had taken him to the vet sooner.
For about 15 minutes before time to cover up the birds, Bam started talking & acting silly then went in the cage & started play with his toys. I'm going to watch him through the night and see how he behaves tomorrow. If the same as today I'll take him to MedVet emergency services. His normal vet is in that practice.

Although Amy isn't a 'too,she has her "off days" where she is very quiet ( she isn't very loud like a lot of 'zons are anyway,but she does usually "talk" and do 'zon gibberish every day)

Yup...see how Bam is tomorrow..I bet he'll be his old self. ( he may know its crappy outside too)


Jim

The area where the birds live and play is usually bright and sunny but today, no sun to be found and it depresses me. I'm praying is truly is his old young self tomorrow.

Just a thought after reading your thread, is BamBam getting enough sleep, undisturbed? Was he just catching up on some zzzz's? Might be idea to review bedtime and whether it is light or dark?

Agree with AV visit if he is same on second day. Hope your baby is OK?

While they can have "off" days with less activity, a trend should trigger a vet visit. Probably nothing, but proactive caution is best.

Please keep us updated on Bambam's progress!

I scheduled an appt for him for Tues morning with his reg vet but although he's acting more like himself he's not eating or drinking. He just wants to sit with me all the time. He likes snuggling but up until yesterday he was happy 90% of his time to play by himself.
We're on our way to the ER vet now. If something happened to him because I waited 2 days for a "regular" appt I could not live with myself. After all if it were my son or daughter we'd be at urgent care.
I'll let you all know what comes of the visit. If his labs and gram stain are normal I'll know I'm just an overbearing parront. I can take that and ya'll can laugh at me!!

No one will be laughing at you, if one of my birds was acting funny and then stopped eating and drinking I'd be at the emergency vet so fast you wouldn't believe it! So no laughing here at all. I hope all is well and he's just having an off day or is just tired from lack of sleep or something, but you're definitely doing the right thing, always better safe than sorry!

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

You know him best- if something felt "off" enough to post about it, then that's a good gut instinct! It's good you're taking him to the vet. What a good parront!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

How is he today. Every bird has their off days.

We were there 5 hours but they couldn't tell me for sure if something was wrong. They did some x-rays to make sure he didn't ingest something from one of his toys etc....
I thought they'd check his droppings and blood to see if he had a virus or whatever but they told me that they would do the non-invasive testing first. They also said that although you can take your dog or cat to the vet for the same symptoms and they'd immediately draw blood and check feces and do a battery of tests and the dog/cat wouldn't be any worse for the wear but to do a battery of things to a bird could cause more harm than good since a birds system is so much more delicate. He had a full work-up two weeks ago and they didn't want to cause him anymore stress than he was experiencing.
I had taken a bottle of water and large soufflé cup with me in case he would take water while we were gone and at the vet he did drink quite a bit.
In checking his weight they found that it was up which I felt was a good sign. They did feel that he could use fluids so he rec'd fluids, Reglan(for nausea) and an anti-inflammatory.
I had already scheduled an appt with his vet for Tuesday and asked that they leave it scheduled so he could have a follow-up with his normal doc.
Bam slept most of the time at the vet (when they weren't working with him) But on the ride home (about 45 minutes) he pepped up. Spent 30 min trying to find a way out if his carrier. He also ate a few. It's if his kibble.
When we got home it was past his feeding time so I got it ready as soon as we hit the door and unlike yesterday he took the full feeding which is about 80 cc. He then went on to play with some toys and make some noise. He wasn't back to his old self but improved from yesterday.
I have Bird Butler water bottles in both birds cages but was thinking I should add a bowl of water next to his kibble so he has a choice to drink from his bottle or the bowl -maybe he doesn't like the water bottle and will drink more from a bowl. Whatever it takes we'll accommodate make things the best for him.
I'm praying that tomorrow will be a better day and he'll be peppier yet. If anything changes/gets worse, we'll go back to the ER without waiting until Tuesday.
Do you all feel that the info from the vet is good info or do you feel that they should've gone ahead and fine the invasive tests on him.
Again, this is the first time we're dealing with a situation with the birds. I just don't want to buy into BS and have him get worse because they didn't do the tests "I" thought they should do.
Tonight will be another like last night where I'm up every hour checking on him. I try not to wake him or let him know I'm looking under his cover but sometimes he hears me and theni hear "hisssss!"

No you did good, relax OK? You have that f/up on Tuesday which is useful and it could have been a bit of dehydration possibly, good you will change to a bowl. Keep a relaxed eye on him, no stress or that will stress Bambam too; he will pick up your stress. If he is hissing he is telling you politely to go away, "I'm trying to sleep here!" LOL. Keep us updated please and thanks for the report.

If you are able to find another good one in the area and you are not happy with the current AV it might be worthwhile changing?
It does need to be a good fit, communication, treatment, facilities, distance away etc.

Have you had an in-depth discussion with the breeder regarding the experiences of other adoptees? Wondering if it is somewhat common for this behavior during the transition to a new home?

Veterinary trust is a sort of circular flow. You choose an avian vet by reputation, proximity, and reviews, but quickly develop a feeling of confidence - or not. Whether your bird has a specific diagnosis and improves is the real-world experience. A good vet will admit when stumped and encourage a second opinion. The problem in many areas is avian vets are rare and often distant.

Your vet thus far seems prudent, and a full work-up two weeks ago is current. Weight is an excellent indicator of health; had Bambam lost a significant amount the process might have differed.

Might want to search for an alternate avian vet and consider a second opinion if Bambam continues to be lethargic with no noticeable improvement.

We're kind of unfortunate because here in the metro Columbus area there are only a few Avian vets and they're both now in the same practice.
The guy who is the normal vet for our birds is an Avian only vet. He had a private practice about 15 min from our house but he's getting up in years and has limited availability. He's doesn't take new patients but since he was our vet for our first bird we were allowed to also use him for our current birds. I like him and I trust him.
The other Avian vet who limits her practice to birds is much younger and I like her but just wasn't familiar with her.
Yesterday we saw the ER vet. She sees all animals including birds. She did call the woman vet who is limited to Avian practice and double checked everything with her before proceeding at all.
Today while Bam is talking more than the last two days he's still clingy and pacing. Hasn't drank or ate anything today. I mentioned he takes 1 comfort feeding a day so I'm wondering if another feeding needs to be added just to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated again? Would that be counter-productive?

MrsBigE said:

We're kind of unfortunate because here in the metro Columbus area there are only a few Avian vets and they're both now in the same practice.
The guy who is the normal vet for our birds is an Avian only vet. He had a private practice about 15 min from our house but he's getting up in years and has limited availability. He's doesn't take new patients but since he was our vet for our first bird we were allowed to also use him for our current birds. I like him and I trust him.
The other Avian vet who limits her practice to birds is much younger and I like her but just wasn't familiar with her.
Yesterday we saw the ER vet. She sees all animals including birds. She did call the woman vet who is limited to Avian practice and double checked everything with her before proceeding at all.
Today while Bam is talking more than the last two days he's still clingy and pacing. Hasn't drank or ate anything today. I mentioned he takes 1 comfort feeding a day so I'm wondering if another feeding needs to be added just to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated again? Would that be counter-productive?

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If he will feed by you giving it him then go ahead, he needs to eat and drink. Starvation is not good.

Wondering If Bam has regressed to being fed which they can do due to a stress or trauma even if only they perceive they've had a trauma?
They can comfort feed until 2 or 3 years of age in the wild. BTW Plum loves me to hold his dish whilst he eats and this may help you to get Bam to eat a little on his own?
Plum also paces/figure of eights, when he thinks he is going to get something to eat so, is Bam doing this to tell you, I am hungry, feed me? A hungry 'too is not going to be on top form IMO.

Do you weigh Bam weekly if not please do, really useful info especially at times like these? Don't believe you have mentioned his weight or if the AV checked?

Sorry I meant to say before never feel that you are being a worry- wart and laugh at you never! OK

Yes, his weight was checked yesterday and then compared to his weight from 2 weeks ago and we found that it was up.

He does like his feeding and gobbled every bit of it again today. When I'm starting to feed him he does this little "whimpering" sound which I thinks sounds just a puppy when they're wee little. Today he's been doing that off and on but especially when I sit in the recliner and have a heated throw on the back of the chair.

He loves playing with those little balls and drums that have bells in them. He sits on the drop-down door of his cage and flings them, sending me chafing them. I had a small supply of them but he had destroyed all of them a few days ago so we couldn't play. Today I asked my DH to stop by petsmart and replenish our supply. He got home and I washed all of them and gave them to him and he started flinging. After a few minutes he started making all kinds of noise, fluffing himself up and acting like Friday and Saturday never occurred.
Is it possible he's playing me? That he's doing these things purposely to get his way and be held more?
I want you to know I love holding him and snuggling with him. He has a ton of new feathers just poking through the flesh so he's itchy and always wanting his head and neck scratched but, I have read so much about people who treat Toos like kids and then regret it later when the bird is spoiled and not wanting to be away from them and I am trying not to be one of those people.
As far as his feeding I'll try to give him another in the morning and see if he's interested in it. He's used to 1 feeding but if he requires more for awhile I'll be happy to give it to him.
You've all been so great about answering my questions and guiding me along. I appreciate each of you and your replies!! Thank you!!

Great news he has eaten today. Showers/spraying will help with those new feathers. Yes a 'too is like a child, boundaries and routines are important and that he is happy to play on his own and not need attention all the time.

As you know/are finding out...too's can be VERY manipulative! Don't you wish you could peek into that little head of his??



Jim