Insomniac Senegal with watery poops

Senegal_mom

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Apr 23, 2020
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Hi there! I have three Senegals, all adopted. One of them came to me about 6 months ago and heā€™s always had watery and stinky poops. Iā€™ve taken him to the avian vet and heā€™s checked out fine. They also gave us antibiotics and for about a week of antibiotics his poops did not smell but were still watery.
Heā€™s also just an adorable oddball :) he does not like head scritches, has an anxious demeanor, and unfortunately does not sleep well - when I come downstairs in the middle of the night to grab a snack heā€™ll often wake up and call to me while my two other Senegals are asleep. He also seems to be drinking a lot. So anyways, Iā€™ll take him to the avian vet in a few weeks when things hopefully will be less crazy. But maybe some of you have an idea of what might be wrong here?
Outside of poops and not sleeping well, he seems alright. He loves to swing side to side on his toy ball and chews wood like you would not believe it. Oh, I forgot that he almost always tries to regurgitate for me when I pick him up. Is there anything I can ask the vet about or try with him to make him sleep better?
 

noodles123

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2018
8,145
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Parrots
Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
Was it an avian vet or an exotics vet? An exotics vet will see birds, but they are not certified avian. Stinky poops are NOT considered normal unless it is like a 1x time thing once in a "blue-moon". I would strongly suggest a second opinion (unless senegals are somehow unique in this respect---I have never owned one, so maybe they are unique in that respect, but I doubt it).

sexual maturity is 1-3 years but things could be heading that way....Pet only on the head and neck and don't encourage that regurgitation behavior (are you sure it's actual regurgitation and not vomiting?) If it is regurg, sounds hormonal. No dark spaces or shadowy spaces until the moment you cover his cage for bedtime. Boxes etc are all shadowy spaces, as are huts/tents..get rid of them if you have them.

My thing is, I think your vet is wrong (maybe---I am not a vet) but stinky poop is no good. Has he had blood-work and x-rays? He is drinking a lot (probably to replenish water lost through diarrhea), not sleeping, and his poop smells. These are red flags when combined. Not sleeping by itself could be normal, but with all of the other things, this is concerning (in my opinion).

Furthermore, your other birds could be at risk-- it is possible that he could be sick with something that he could give to them or that they gave to him. Birds can carry asymptomatic illness for a lifetime, and in some, there will be no impacts, while in others, the very same disease will prove deadly. The thing to remember is that a seemingly healthy bird can make other birds very sick...and a sick bird could infect a healthy bird (causing it to become a carrier) whether or not it ever develops symptoms. Bird virology is super weird...a lot like COVID 19 honestly, but with much longer time-frames.
 
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Senegal_mom

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Apr 23, 2020
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Thank you. Yes, avian vets specifically and he had bloodwork and an x-rays done. Iā€™m not new to parrots, so I know not to give him any nesting materials or pet him on the body. Heā€™s regurgitating pretty much right after he steps up for me. Heā€™s pretty young too, about five (?) as his original owner said. Eh. Yeah, Iā€™ll ask for a different vet at that practice to see what they say.
 

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