Conure health problems?

[Allanimals]

Hello there, new to the forum! This week has been a frustrating and expensive time taking my 4 year old conure Tootsie to different vets (yes both vets are avian vets). The problem with him (unsexed though), is that he has extreme weakness in his body after flying. Almost like tremors, can barely stand, but is totally normal after 10 min or so.


I took him in for a check up and blood work. His liver enzymes came in elevated and lytes were off. I was referred to another vet to proceed for further testing. After paying a hefty visit, still no answers and they want to take Tootsie for an x-ray. I love my bird, but I also don't have a endless financial supply to pay for random testing. Plus I'm scared that dragging him back and forth for appointments can stress him out. He does need more exercise, but is on a diet of roudybush pellets, fruits/veg and sometimes seeds. What do I do?

 

[Kiwibird]

I would get the X-ray. You already know his tests came back outside the norm. Sometimes seeing inside the body can pinpoint the exact issue when no other diagnostic method can.

Last year I took my amazon to the vet for an itchy butt. I felt kind of stupid making an appointment with my very expensive and experienced CAV for that, but my gut said something was wrong. The vet determined through blood/poop testing that he had an UTI and prescribed antibiotics. She wasn’t initially too concerned but said if the symptoms continued t bring hm back for an X-ray. I insisted she just do the X-ray right then and there to be safe. I’m glad I did, because it turns out his kidney was so inflamed it was pressing into his spine and it was the pressure on his spine causing numbness and tingling in the area that I interpreted as an “itchy butt”. The kidney is permanently damaged but it would have only gotten worse had it not been treated. Because the X-ray could see inside his body, we were able to get him on additional medication to flush the kidney and put him a renal diet that same day to prevent further damage to his kidney and to get the swelling down so the pressure was taken off his spine. He will be on a renal diet forever, but that X-ray kept him from having to be on medication for the rest of his life. Lifetime kidney medication would have cost a lot more than an X-ray!

 

[GaleriaGila]

I don't have any specific suggestions, just a salute of appreciation and encouragement for you! You are really taking this situation on with determination and open-mindedness. I am so sorry this experience is becoming so stressful for you and your bird.
I hope we can support you. I'm glad you're here.

 

[Laurasea]

I'm sorry your baby is so sick, and that it is difficult to pin down.
Liver diseases, what are their ideas of cause? If they think bacterial infection they can treat, viral more difficult , toxin find the cause, metabolic diet changes ..... Depending on how high the values tgeiver disease can cause the weakness , and if the liver is enlarged it can press on organs causing weakny from decreased blood flow or oxygenation...
I guess I'd ask what are they expecting to find on the radiographs? Maybe cultures and viral osnals might yeild more. I'd try and have a conversation with the vet as to what diagnosis they are leaning towards?
Have they talked to you about milk thistle? Milk thistle helps support the liver.
Also don't be afraid if talking frankly with the vet, tell them you need to spend your money on the tests that are most likely to yeild a diagnosis.
Sometimes it just is difficult to figure out what's going on with the bird.
Please keep us posted so we can learn from your journey.
I hope your fid feels better , and recovers.
You can only do things to support health, probiotics, real sunshine, veggies with vitamin A like red hot chili peppers, a big cleaning of the cage, and maybe switching to bottled water ( incase of contaminates, and think of adding milk thistle discuss with vet

 

[Laurasea]

Also get a digital kitchen scale that weighs in grams, from Walmart or such.
I put a sturdy dish on mine with a few seeds in , zero it out and add my bird. Get a note book a d keep track. It's ok to see a few gram fluctuations, but what you are looking for is trends. Like is the weight slowly going down? As long as he is sick I would weigh him at the same time every day. Once he is well you can weigh a couple of times a month, it's just a good idea.
I think you said he had some electrolyte imbalance? That can be linked with decrease in food and water intake, among other things. Sick birds hide being sick, this can include playo with food making you think they are eating normally...

When my bird was sick last year,the vet thought she was normal weight, and I hadn't been weighing her other members here recommend that I get a scale and track weights. In doing so I saw her weight increase when she recovered. I think her lowest was 67 Grams, her well weight is 74 grams, that's actually a big difference in a creature so small!!! As I weigh her regular now her weight has becer gone below 72 grams, and maintaining an average of 74 grams. I'm so happy I learned this here and can pass on the advice to you now.

 

[LaManuka]

I’m so sorry you and Tootsie are going through all this. Did the vet specify why they want to do an x-ray? My bird vet once had an eclectus patient showing all the classic symptoms of heavy metal toxicity and the owner was adamant he had never chewed or ingested metal of any kind, and lo and behold there they were in the x-ray, little bite sized chunks of metal in the bird’s innards. Thankfully the bird made a full recovery.

I know bird vet bills can be hideously expensive - i lost a green cheek conure to a major illness last year after having spent insane amounts of money on his treatment and his loss was utterly devastating but I would have felt even worse if I’d not done everything possible for him to try to save him.

I wish you and Tootsie all the very best and that you find a diagnosis for him soon!

 

[Allanimals]

Also get a digital kitchen scale that weighs in grams, from Walmart or such.
I put a sturdy dish on mine with a few seeds in , zero it out and add my bird. Get a note book a d keep track. It's ok to see a few gram fluctuations, but what you are looking for is trends. Like is the weight slowly going down? As long as he is sick I would weigh him at the same time every day. Once he is well you can weigh a couple of times a month, it's just a good idea.
I think you said he had some electrolyte imbalance? That can be linked with decrease in food and water intake, among other things. Sick birds hide being sick, this can include playo with food making you think they are eating normally...

When my bird was sick last year,the vet thought she was normal weight, and I hadn't been weighing her other members here recommend that I get a scale and track weights. In doing so I saw her weight increase when she recovered. I think her lowest was 67 Grams, her well weight is 74 grams, that's actually a big difference in a creature so small!!! As I weigh her regular now her weight has becer gone below 72 grams, and maintaining an average of 74 grams. I'm so happy I learned this here and can pass on the advice to you now.

Thank you for the kind replies. He actually gained almost 10 grams since the last recorded weight. He seemed more healthy on a seed diet then now when I switched to a pellet diet.

I'm absolutely terrified that the stress of an xray could push him over the edge.

 

[Allanimals]

I’m so sorry you and Tootsie are going through all this. Did the vet specify why they want to do an x-ray? My bird vet once had an eclectus patient showing all the classic symptoms of heavy metal toxicity and the owner was adamant he had never chewed or ingested metal of any kind, and lo and behold there they were in the x-ray, little bite sized chunks of metal in the bird’s innards. Thankfully the bird made a full recovery.

I know bird vet bills can be hideously expensive - i lost a green cheek conure to a major illness last year after having spent insane amounts of money on his treatment and his loss was utterly devastating but I would have felt even worse if I’d not done everything possible for him to try to save him.

I wish you and Tootsie all the very best and that you find a diagnosis for him soon!

Yes, the vet said she wanted an x-ray to see if the liver was enlarged, if their was heavy metal poisoning, heart defects etc.

I'm not dismissing treating my animals, but had a horrible experience with a emergency vet (I don't take any animals there) who tried to rip off my parents w/super expensive unneeded tests. They refused to do anything for our cat, ended up charging an arm and a leg. Another emergency vet tackled the problem head on, cost less and saved our cat. Sadly they aren't an exotics vet.

 

[dhraiden]

I would hope that avian vets are a different breed AFA overcharging...any sort of decent bird "people" tend not to do stuff like that. To come through this experience with no regrets in your place I would conclude that the benefits of having the x-ray done outweigh the potential stress; since it will identify this weaknesses that leaves your Tootsie barely able to stand after flying, and that is a very worrying sign of something possibly fatal if left unchecked and untreated.



However, weighing that against in your inability to pay, or if you were in a situation where you had no access to care: you could carefully monitor your bird and try to nudge it towards more exercise, and I'd say even take more time to shift its diet towards a healthful and low-fat/sugar one as possible, but it sounds like that's maybe not the issue as much. I dunno - I'm not an avian vet. One is an investiture of time, the other limited monies.



Sometimes, to get a guarantee of having more time with your bird, you must invest those monies.

 

[Allanimals]

I would hope that avian vets are a different breed AFA overcharging...any sort of decent bird "people" tend not to do stuff like that. To come through this experience with no regrets in your place I would conclude that the benefits of having the x-ray done outweigh the potential stress; since it will identify this weaknesses that leaves your Tootsie barely able to stand after flying, and that is a very worrying sign of something possibly fatal if left unchecked and untreated.



However, weighing that against in your inability to pay, or if you were in a situation where you had no access to care: you could carefully monitor your bird and try to nudge it towards more exercise, and I'd say even take more time to shift its diet towards a healthful and low-fat/sugar one as possible, but it sounds like that's maybe not the issue as much. I dunno - I'm not an avian vet. One is an investiture of time, the other limited monies.



Sometimes, to get a guarantee of having more time with your bird, you must invest those monies.

The stress of the x-ray is what is freaking me out. I'm so scared that this push Tootsie over the edge. I'm gonna do the x-ray and pray he will be able to push through the process.

 

[Laurasea]

ItYou should follow you instincts. If you fear the xray don't do it. They already know tje liver is likely enlarged by the elevated values, and they can palpate that. There is blood work that can test for heavy metal , they can listen to the heart.
Now I'm not saying that something can turn up in the xray, and x-rays are great tools. But if you are truly have a bad feeling, respect that. An x-ray isn't going to cure your bird, it's just a way to gather more information. There are other ways to gather information, sometimes a vet will initiate treatment , and if the treatment works that's there answer.
Did they do cultures? A fecal and oral swab? Did they check for virus like PDD? What did the CBC show?

 

[Laurasea]

How is Tootsie?????? I've been so worried!
Last we heard from you Tootsie was at the vets awaiting x-rays...........I'm so scared since we haven't heard back from you. I hope everything is ok. We are thinking of you.