My Senegal keeps getting sick with the same thing, need advice please : /

Hello fellow parrot lovers,

I am new here but figured I may find some good ideas outside of simply the vet given our reoccurring issue. We need help :/

My parrot Simon is an 8 year old Senegal who has been catching smelly stools due to bacteria every 3 to 4 months for the last year.(this never happened during the first 7 years of his life, and nothing has really changed; the habitat is cleanly and everything)

Each time this was observed, his vet has diagnosed him with the bacteria giardia, upon which he would undergo anti-biotic treatment for 2 weeks. After the treatments ended we retested his stool to verify the bacteria has disappeared. Now this is the 3rd time this issue has occurred, with the last time being January.

Note that when the smelly stool first appears it is accompanied by diarrhea. The diarrhea dissipates after the first day; however, subsequent morning bombs aren't completely tubular but they aren't diarrhea either.

****the smelly stools apply only to his morning bomb. The rest he makes over the course of the day are normal*****

I don't know what's causing this. His cage is cleaned twice a day to ensure his toys don't drag through his accumulated stools. We disinfect his cage, wash his toys with soap daily.

His daily diet consists of zupreme pellets, cherry tomatoes, and green string beans, and 1 to 2 raw unsalted almonds. Unfortunately due to our ignorance, he ate seeds instead of pellets for 6.5 years.

Occasionally, we feed him apples pieces (no seeds) and corn in a cob and whatever other vegetables may be around. He is very very picky and doesn't like most things. He drinks tap water that is filtered (nyc tap water is clean), and we microwave it to warm it to the temperature he likes it.

Lastly, he is terrestrial and walks around the living room, kitchen, snd the adjacent bathroom floor where he oddly seems to love playing. These places are washed and disinfected weekly, though the kitchen floor is linoleum and old. He is observed during this entire time and does not eat anything random.


Any ideas where he is contracting this from and why its been reoccurring regularly during just this last year? I forget the exact antibiotic he was prescribed - I'll verify after work. It was something ordinarily prescribed to avians. Giardia is associated with unsanitary conditions, but this is simply nit the case in our home.

Thank you to all who read this. Any suggestions are appreciated

Where do you live, do you possibly live on a farm or around farm country or do you use well water ? ? ?

With that many frequent re-nonoccurrence, you might want to have your water checked.....if your vet didn't advise you, giardia doesn't appear in every droppings test.....it may not appear for a long time and some birds may never be totally cleared of the organism.....

Does your bird play with or eat its feces? That's known to cause re-infections.....is there a suitable grate at the bottom of the cage? Does your bird poop in its water dish.....you may want to consider a water bottle.....

I would learn more about the disease & what might be causing the re-infections.....

Good luck.....

Giardia is a parasite, and its absolutely amazing at surviving. I dont want to offend you, and I have no doubt you are doing your best, but I suspect you just arent cleaning well enough. These guys are notoriously hard to get rid of, they are VERY adaptable, they can survive almost anything, and it just takes one little parasite to reinfect your bird. The reason he only has diarrhea in the beginning is because he has had multiple infections and he is probably mounting an (ineffective) immune response. The only way to keep giardia out of human grade water is to filter the water before we consume it because they are large compared to other infectious pathogens. These guys often infect animals (and people) who drink unfiltered water. If you had giardia, you would know, you would be in the hospital. They strip the gut, cause severe diarrhea and with long term exposure they can cause anemia.

To be honest, if I had a giardia infection I would get rid of everything. Washing doesnt help, if I remember correctly (I have a masters degree in biomedical science. I took a graduate course in parasitology, and I will double check my notes for you if I can find them) these things can even survive low concentrations of bleach. My suggestion would be to throw EVERYTHING away including all toys, dishes, and perches. If it were me I would get a new cage and play stand and start over completely once the bird is medicated for the infection and no longer shedding the parasite. I would take the old cage outside, bleach the crap out of it and leave it outside for a few weeks, then bleach it again if you really want to use it. I would also consider getting the water checked, and try to think back to where your bird could have caught this infection. It could have been exposure to any other animal's feces, or exposure to water that was not properly filtered. You may want to consider having your own water tested just in case, although I highly doubt you could have an infection and not know it.

I hate to be a downer, but I honestly think it might be the only way to truly prevent reinfection. Its possible someone else with more experience dealing with giardia might have some suggestions. I would encourage you to put giardia in the subject of your post so people who know about it see your post.

if the giardia thingy is present in soil/ground outside, you could be walking it onto your floors, and as you said your senne is liking being on the floor, that could be where simon is picking it back up from?? as they do lick there feet when grooming themselves.

this is just an idea, and i do hope simon gets better soon

Here's one possibility: Since giardia isn't always shedding and able to be detected, I have to wonder at the re-tests if you are getting a false negative. There would seem to be a chance that it is persistant and the treatment has never really gotton rid of it.

Thank you for the responses so far guys. What treatment do you think we can do on top of cleaning everything with the equivalent of a bleach bomb? Simon has been on metronidazole, and then doxycyclene the last 2 subsequent times.

He doesn't eat his stools but the bottom of his cage is filled with newspaper. Its changed twice or whenever its dirty enough. There's no denying that there's stool on the ground and his toys may fall. Cheers for the none stick spray on the bars. Also we don't live next any farms. Very urban area unfortunately.

Although I'm not a veterinarian, vets that don't deal with giardia on a routine basis may possibly not be current on treatments...the first two links mention different treatments than your vet used.....



Here are several links you may want to read:

Overview of Giardiasis: Giardiasis: Merck Veterinary Manual

Feather Picking

In 2009, Health Canada published their publication Giardia And Cryptosporidium In Drinking Water and noted that (at least in Canada) bottled water is not routinely monitored for Giardia and Cryptosporidium bottled water is not regularly tested…

Giardia and Cryptosporidium in Drinking Water

There was a member on another forum who had the same problem. It ended up that the interior water lines were causing the problem. Good luck!