Apologies for the length of this post in advance.
Ludie is a blue masked lovebird. We have had her for nearly 10 years. Long story short, she enjoyed 7 years of healthy, happy life...then this happened.
When Ludie turned 7 she began to have some now and again issues with her right foot – occasionally losing her grip. This did not seem to trouble her at all though. Then in May 2012 she had a massive seizure late on a Friday night. Honestly thought we were going to lose her. She spent 2 days and the emergency vet clinic in Adelaide – bloods were taken and all okay. We also involved our local vet who has been a godsend for us. Eventually she was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy. Despite being prescribed phenobarbitone at this point to help control the epilepsy, Ludie was having none of it. Trying to actually catch her to administer via a syringe was truly stressful for her and worried us that we’d bring on a seizure. I even tried to syringe the dose into a shelled sunflower seed [she is obsessed with them] but to no avail. The seizures where very spaced apart and thankfully she never hurt herself. Later that year, she had a seizure that lasted for nearly 4 hours – I was shocked and almost speechless that she survived that, but she did. :53:
We noticed at this time that the issue with her foot was happening more often. A trip to the vet and it was felt that she more than likely had a tumour and we looked at palliative care scenario. Course if antibiotics ensued [happy enough to take this from the end of a skewer] and about 3 weeks later, Ludie [who we thought was Ludwig] laid two eggs – gasp. Needless to say, if she has a tumour, it is gone because she is still with us.
The seizure scenario continued to play out intermittently and the valium works within 10-15 secs of giving it.
About 4 weeks ago, her foot became a more ongoing issue – causing issues with gripping and staying on perches [she has a mix of wooden and calcium of varying sizes and positions in her cage] Another trip to the vet and she has an arthritic joint in her right leg so Meloxicam prescribed, with a pretty fast positive effect. Where she has been having issues about turning around on perches, she now had a better range of movement. Last Wednesday she seemed a bit off. Thursday she had a seizure – recovered quickly but the foot issue has become really bad. Hopped up on her lowest perch for the night, fell off, and decided to sleep on the floor. Off to the vet again last Friday – and she had a seizure while we were there. Valium was given by the vet and decided to hold off for now with Meloxicam and if she was okay over the weekend, try again with the phenobarbitone from this week. Friday night, another seizure. In the past, the closest the valium doses have ever been has been 3-4 days or more. For her to have 3 doses of valium in 32 hours, well, knocked her a bit. Vet suggested we also buy her a new, smaller cage [she had been living in the Taj Mahal of cages] which was done this past Saturday [much to her disgust]. So, the poor darling has had a fairly rough time of it over past 5 days – to the Vet, seizures, Valium, a new cage. All of this presents some real challenges, and I/we would be deeply appreciative of any help, advice, experiences.
[1] Will she get used to the new environment?
Ludie is naturally a bit *off* about the new cage – in the past 24 hours she has shown more interest in her new home but seems frustrated by it not being the same layout. Ludie takes being a creature of habit to a whole new level and it’s understandable given she lived in her other cage for 9 years.
[2] Can she stay healthy, eating off the floor?
She continues to have grip issues. But is trying so hard to fly up and settle, even on the bottom perch…lasts for a few minutes, then, no, she flutters/falls off and then gives up and stays on the bottom. Nearly makes me cry watching her try so hard…she is such a fighter. The bottom of the cage has the grill removed [I personally detest them in cages]and the tray filled with shell grit [took 2kgs to achieve that] and we have also mixed loosely on top, her seed mix, loose millet sprays, crumbles etc.
^^apologies for pic quality - didn't want to use flash - this is the new cage
[3] Cage/bowl issues
The new cage presented challenges – it has horizontal bars on both sides [bonus we thought, but Ludie has yet to realise this will help her climb] but it is deeper than her old cage. This means that she is having some problems getting herself from the floor to her seed and water bowl. She flies really well, infact, she can do 180’ turns in a hover mode, but she has not attempted to fly up to her feeders. She has today, twice, climbed up to her water feeder bowl and had a very good drink each time, but as soon as she goes to fly from that to the next perch [wooden] she actually *overshoots* it and flies nicely straight over it to the bottom at the back of the cage. I have been searching for bowls that hang down perhaps, so are closer to the floor of the cage, with little success.
[4] Warmth and comfort for a potential floor dweller
Presently it is summer in Australia – we have her cage in a great position , be it winter or summer – however, she has now spent 4+ days/nights on the bottom and I am worried about that re the colder weather later in the year – how to ensure she is comfortable and warm and clean.
[5] Seizure management v’s seizure control
I have searched the Lovebirds in Species/Specific but haven’t found anything pertinent to Ludie and her issues so far. I did find, in a reply, something called Vetri DMG Liquid Formula but not sure if this would be okay as the dosage for a bird says : One drop by mouth per 100 grams of body weight daily. Ludie weighs about 28 grams.
We are just, I guess, frustrated for her and want to be sure we do all we can in her best interests. Thank you for your patience in reading this.http://www.parrotforums.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/
Ludie is a blue masked lovebird. We have had her for nearly 10 years. Long story short, she enjoyed 7 years of healthy, happy life...then this happened.
When Ludie turned 7 she began to have some now and again issues with her right foot – occasionally losing her grip. This did not seem to trouble her at all though. Then in May 2012 she had a massive seizure late on a Friday night. Honestly thought we were going to lose her. She spent 2 days and the emergency vet clinic in Adelaide – bloods were taken and all okay. We also involved our local vet who has been a godsend for us. Eventually she was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy. Despite being prescribed phenobarbitone at this point to help control the epilepsy, Ludie was having none of it. Trying to actually catch her to administer via a syringe was truly stressful for her and worried us that we’d bring on a seizure. I even tried to syringe the dose into a shelled sunflower seed [she is obsessed with them] but to no avail. The seizures where very spaced apart and thankfully she never hurt herself. Later that year, she had a seizure that lasted for nearly 4 hours – I was shocked and almost speechless that she survived that, but she did. :53:
We noticed at this time that the issue with her foot was happening more often. A trip to the vet and it was felt that she more than likely had a tumour and we looked at palliative care scenario. Course if antibiotics ensued [happy enough to take this from the end of a skewer] and about 3 weeks later, Ludie [who we thought was Ludwig] laid two eggs – gasp. Needless to say, if she has a tumour, it is gone because she is still with us.
The seizure scenario continued to play out intermittently and the valium works within 10-15 secs of giving it.
About 4 weeks ago, her foot became a more ongoing issue – causing issues with gripping and staying on perches [she has a mix of wooden and calcium of varying sizes and positions in her cage] Another trip to the vet and she has an arthritic joint in her right leg so Meloxicam prescribed, with a pretty fast positive effect. Where she has been having issues about turning around on perches, she now had a better range of movement. Last Wednesday she seemed a bit off. Thursday she had a seizure – recovered quickly but the foot issue has become really bad. Hopped up on her lowest perch for the night, fell off, and decided to sleep on the floor. Off to the vet again last Friday – and she had a seizure while we were there. Valium was given by the vet and decided to hold off for now with Meloxicam and if she was okay over the weekend, try again with the phenobarbitone from this week. Friday night, another seizure. In the past, the closest the valium doses have ever been has been 3-4 days or more. For her to have 3 doses of valium in 32 hours, well, knocked her a bit. Vet suggested we also buy her a new, smaller cage [she had been living in the Taj Mahal of cages] which was done this past Saturday [much to her disgust]. So, the poor darling has had a fairly rough time of it over past 5 days – to the Vet, seizures, Valium, a new cage. All of this presents some real challenges, and I/we would be deeply appreciative of any help, advice, experiences.
[1] Will she get used to the new environment?
Ludie is naturally a bit *off* about the new cage – in the past 24 hours she has shown more interest in her new home but seems frustrated by it not being the same layout. Ludie takes being a creature of habit to a whole new level and it’s understandable given she lived in her other cage for 9 years.
[2] Can she stay healthy, eating off the floor?
She continues to have grip issues. But is trying so hard to fly up and settle, even on the bottom perch…lasts for a few minutes, then, no, she flutters/falls off and then gives up and stays on the bottom. Nearly makes me cry watching her try so hard…she is such a fighter. The bottom of the cage has the grill removed [I personally detest them in cages]and the tray filled with shell grit [took 2kgs to achieve that] and we have also mixed loosely on top, her seed mix, loose millet sprays, crumbles etc.
^^apologies for pic quality - didn't want to use flash - this is the new cage
[3] Cage/bowl issues
The new cage presented challenges – it has horizontal bars on both sides [bonus we thought, but Ludie has yet to realise this will help her climb] but it is deeper than her old cage. This means that she is having some problems getting herself from the floor to her seed and water bowl. She flies really well, infact, she can do 180’ turns in a hover mode, but she has not attempted to fly up to her feeders. She has today, twice, climbed up to her water feeder bowl and had a very good drink each time, but as soon as she goes to fly from that to the next perch [wooden] she actually *overshoots* it and flies nicely straight over it to the bottom at the back of the cage. I have been searching for bowls that hang down perhaps, so are closer to the floor of the cage, with little success.
[4] Warmth and comfort for a potential floor dweller
Presently it is summer in Australia – we have her cage in a great position , be it winter or summer – however, she has now spent 4+ days/nights on the bottom and I am worried about that re the colder weather later in the year – how to ensure she is comfortable and warm and clean.
[5] Seizure management v’s seizure control
I have searched the Lovebirds in Species/Specific but haven’t found anything pertinent to Ludie and her issues so far. I did find, in a reply, something called Vetri DMG Liquid Formula but not sure if this would be okay as the dosage for a bird says : One drop by mouth per 100 grams of body weight daily. Ludie weighs about 28 grams.
We are just, I guess, frustrated for her and want to be sure we do all we can in her best interests. Thank you for your patience in reading this.http://www.parrotforums.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/
