I think Kermit has a seizure this morning :(

This bird has terrible timing. Christmas morning I wake up to my dad bringing a limp bird to my room, and I was convinced she'd die right in my hands. She recovered fast, and my parents spelled out what happened that morning.

The bird spooked and took off flying (not unusual). She did not crash, but instead landed in my mom's hair. As soon as she landed, her wings flopped to her side and her tail spread out. My dad removed her, trying to get her to perch on his finger, but she had little balance. They put her flat on the table, and she collapsed right onto her beak. Which is about when they rushed her upstairs to me.

The episode couldn't have been longer than a minute. Afterwords she seemed sleepy, very puffy and just wanted to snuggle against my neck. That's very unusual, because she's normally hyper in the morning. My dad is a medical professional (for humans) and told me these three stages (the unusual behavior, the seizure itself, and the sleepiness afterwards) are the exact steps of a seizure.

Because it's Christmas day, there's no way I can rush her to the avian vet until tomorrow at earliest. I made her comfortable, rearranged her cage so everything is low, and put lots of towels on the bottom of her cage in case she has one again. She now seems perfectly hyper and active, annoyed really that her cage has been rearranged the way it is. I'm praying she holds out until tomorrow.

It seems seizures can be a symptom for just about anything. My dad was even wondering if the christmas lights triggered it somehow. At minimum, I'll be in for a blood count, a gram stain, and another fecal test ( to rule out parasites I think) my vet always insists on. We've never done a blood test before because I don't like subjecting a tiny bird to one without undue cause but... this seems due. It also looks like they commonly do radiographs to rule out metal poisoning. There goes the Christmas money, but I'm just hopping it's nothing too serious Prayers and kind thoughts would be appreciated !

edit; I will also mention she's a young bird (will be 2 years in May), and has a reasonable diet that includes Roudybush pellets, a bit of seed, and mixed veggies, fruits, and legumes multiple times a week. Her droppings were normal this morning and her weight is healthy. In her last vet exam, her gram stain revealed a slightly high bacterial count, but my vet said it was within reason and I gave her apple cider vinegar and monitored her weight afterwards. I'm trying to avoid postulating what it could be without further information, but it seems very strange because she has none of the typical risks one would expect.

Awww so sorry to hear this. I know lights can cause seizures to a very minor percentage of people, animals, but who's to know. Keep positive, give your birdy some love and let us know how things are after the vets. We are here for you and wishing your lil guy well, keep your chin up everything will be ok x

While it's horrible to think of what you are going through, it is SO ENCOURAGING to hear you saying you are going right to the vet! Thank you!

Keep in mind that many people and animals love long and otherwise healthy lives after a seizure even if it is an ongoing condition. So while it is urgent to take her, it may not be as serious as it seems; I hope that is comforting. Please keep us updated!


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oh no! could it be something as simple as the hair she landed in confused her? I want to say sometimes my cockatiel acts so strangely I feel shes having a seizure but it's just the nature of my tiel. none of my conures have experienced this... so I am watching to see what the vet says. I'm intrigued. Can seizures just be a freak of circumstance then go away forever? I had one when I was a kid while with fever and I suppose maybe that explains the mental disorders I have but I'd like to think not lol. good luck please keep us informed!

Carl; Thank you. Kermit got a lot of attention this morning following the incident. I'm sure she loved it. I can hear her screaming for more.

SilverSage; Thank you <3 I keep contingency money just in case something like this ever came up, but I was always hoping it wouldn't. I had actually been planning a trip before canceling, and I'm glad because otherwise my funds might not be as good as they are.

Kermit will be so upset if her living conditions will be permanent. She's been screaming all morning about the state of her cage. Hopefully I can get her in soon to the vet; because they're closed today, I have no idea how many people have them booked up.

Very sorry to hear Kermit had a scare. Definitely seek help from an avian certified vet, and in the meanwhile keep her quiet and calm. This may be a one-off fluke, but a thorough exam will set your mind at ease.

Please keep us updated as able!

Poor Kermie. Hope this was a one off.

Saying a prayer that is it nothing serious. :heart:

Check your CAV's website! Its not uncommon to be able to set an appointment on their site or at least get a message in for the Vet or the Avian Vet Tech.

With most Clinic's being closed for two days, their phones will be very busy in the morning with lots of dogs and cats eating near everything.

Here (https://www.beautyofbirds.com/seizures.html) they are talking about possible causes and one of them is heavy metal poisoning. Can he be chewing the cage or something?
I hope it is nothing serious. <3

Thank you everyone for your support it means a lot. Kermit will most likely be the last bird I own, for better or worse. We've become fast friends in these last two years and I could never imagine another after her.

Sailboat; Thank you for the advice, I didn't even think of that. I did find out my vet clinic does have an online request form for appointments so I sent one in. I'll call tomorrow morning right before they open to see if I can get her in the same day.

syakti; I appreciate the advice. I looked at both her cages and did not see anywhere the finish has peeled off. She does chew on her bars a little, so it's possible, but there doesn't seem anywhere unusual. Can a bird get heavy metal poisoning without other symptoms like a change in droppings or weight loss ?

My first conure had them, but I never found out why... and because they were so "infrequent", he was never put on meds for them.

What legumes does get? And how are they prepared?

Anything is possible at this point - until we can hopefully get more info from the vet.


I would suggest getting some Vetri-DMG and following through with the vets advice. Best of luck!

Just wondering if she winded herself in the process of landing in your mum's hair, thus appearing to recover fairly quickly? Your CAV is still a good port of call though IMO.

Is your mom a heavy hairspray user?

The vet appointment is set for later this afternoon, so hopefully we'll get some answers. Kermit always gets so stressed by the drive, so I hope she's up for the task.

MonicaM; Legumes are infrequent. I've been bad about veggies these last few weeks because of the holidays. But they're in her frozen mix that I made her which has mangoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, purple yams, quinoa, peas, and mung beans. Mung beans were boiled, as per directions, and frozen in the individual portions with the other baggies. But she's mostly been eating pellets these last few weeks. I'll bring up the idea of any supplements at the vets today.

plums; I'm positive she wasn't winded. She's gotten pretty buff from flying, and it would have taken more than that for her to get winded. She also wouldn't completely stretch out like that or loose her balance the way she did. By the time I got her, she didn't even seem to be breathing heavily. She was just limp. Then she recovered and was sleepy.

Flboy; No, none of the ladies use hairspray in the house, so it's not that.

I did notice a small amount of chipping on her sleep cage this morning, but on the outside door, like it was knocked against something. I'll bring up the possibility with the vet today in case it is heavy metal poisoning, but it seems odd she doesn't have any other symptoms.

IndySE said:

The vet appointment is set for later this afternoon, so hopefully we'll get some answers. Kermit always gets so stressed by the drive, so I hope she's up for the task.

MonicaM; Legumes are infrequent. I've been bad about veggies these last few weeks because of the holidays. But they're in her frozen mix that I made her which has mangoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, purple yams, quinoa, peas, and mung beans. Mung beans were boiled, as per directions, and frozen in the individual portions with the other baggies. But she's mostly been eating pellets these last few weeks. I'll bring up the idea of any supplements at the vets today.

plums; I'm positive she wasn't winded. She's gotten pretty buff from flying, and it would have taken more than that for her to get winded. She also wouldn't completely stretch out like that or loose her balance the way she did. By the time I got her, she didn't even seem to be breathing heavily. She was just limp. Then she recovered and was sleepy.

Flboy; No, none of the ladies use hairspray in the house, so it's not that.

I did notice a small amount of chipping on her sleep cage this morning, but on the outside door, like it was knocked against something. I'll bring up the possibility with the vet today in case it is heavy metal poisoning, but it seems odd she doesn't have any other symptoms.

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So how is everything? Any updates??

Yeah, we just got back. From the physical exam, Kermit was the picture of health. Feathers shiny, everything inside her beak was nice and pink, and her heartbeat sounded good. I really like this vet and he seemed impressed with the care I was giving her. I think the vet will have me restart an apple cider vinegar treatment in her water just in case. I'll have to wait back for the results on the fecal, gram stain, and blood panel to see if anything is out of norm. The vet will make more recommendations after.

IndySE said:

Yeah, we just got back. From the physical exam, Kermit was the picture of health. Feathers shiny, everything inside her beak was nice and pink, and her heartbeat sounded good. I really like this vet and he seemed impressed with the care I was giving her. I think the vet will have me restart an apple cider vinegar treatment in her water just in case. I'll have to wait back for the results on the fecal, gram stain, and blood panel to see if anything is out of norm. The vet will make more recommendations after.

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Please let us know when you get the results

IndySE said:

Yeah, we just got back. From the physical exam, Kermit was the picture of health. Feathers shiny, everything inside her beak was nice and pink, and her heartbeat sounded good. I really like this vet and he seemed impressed with the care I was giving her. I think the vet will have me restart an apple cider vinegar treatment in her water just in case. I'll have to wait back for the results on the fecal, gram stain, and blood panel to see if anything is out of norm. The vet will make more recommendations after.

Click to expand...

Glad to hear Kermit presented well. Step one of the exam complete! Hopefully the labs will all return negative for abnormalities.

Updates from the results?


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