reeb
New member
...after a full recovery from a lung infection she has relapsed.
Hi everyone,
One of my aviary budgies, Buttercup, came down with a really bad lung infection about 2 months ago. She deteriorated insanely on the day I noticed, and I took her to the vet as soon as they could see me that same day. She was admitted, stabilised with oxygen, and started on medication. She was discharged after 5 days, and prescribed an anti-fungal for 21 days. After this 21 days, she had seemingly fully recovered. She was breathing normally, she was active, and talkative, just like she was before her illness. With that I let her return to the aviary in a big cage so she could build up her fitness again. The vet did say that her lungs would most likely be damaged, but she would be able to return to the aviary. She did warn me that it would be likely that she would relapse as budgies have very fragile lungs.
Everything was going well, until Friday last week when she suddenly deteriorated again. I caught her and set her up in a hospital cage. I called the vet, and they advised that I come and pick up some medication for her and start treatment at home. The vet believes that she has permanent lung damage, which is just so sad.
She is now on a new course of medication, but I can tell she is seriously suffering. She is still eating and drinking, and she isn’t completely puffed up all the time. She is being kept warm and cosy.
I know that admitting her again will be super expensive, and since her lungs are permanently damaged the chance of another relapse is super high, even if she gets better again. I am so torn. I don’t know what the right move is. I don’t even know if she will survive this latest illness. All my other aviary budgies have been okay recently thankfully.
Should I consider euthanasia? Does that make me a terrible person? I just don’t want her to live a miserable life, and the past few months have been totally miserable for her. I wish I could do more for her.
Hi everyone,
One of my aviary budgies, Buttercup, came down with a really bad lung infection about 2 months ago. She deteriorated insanely on the day I noticed, and I took her to the vet as soon as they could see me that same day. She was admitted, stabilised with oxygen, and started on medication. She was discharged after 5 days, and prescribed an anti-fungal for 21 days. After this 21 days, she had seemingly fully recovered. She was breathing normally, she was active, and talkative, just like she was before her illness. With that I let her return to the aviary in a big cage so she could build up her fitness again. The vet did say that her lungs would most likely be damaged, but she would be able to return to the aviary. She did warn me that it would be likely that she would relapse as budgies have very fragile lungs.
Everything was going well, until Friday last week when she suddenly deteriorated again. I caught her and set her up in a hospital cage. I called the vet, and they advised that I come and pick up some medication for her and start treatment at home. The vet believes that she has permanent lung damage, which is just so sad.
She is now on a new course of medication, but I can tell she is seriously suffering. She is still eating and drinking, and she isn’t completely puffed up all the time. She is being kept warm and cosy.
I know that admitting her again will be super expensive, and since her lungs are permanently damaged the chance of another relapse is super high, even if she gets better again. I am so torn. I don’t know what the right move is. I don’t even know if she will survive this latest illness. All my other aviary budgies have been okay recently thankfully.
Should I consider euthanasia? Does that make me a terrible person? I just don’t want her to live a miserable life, and the past few months have been totally miserable for her. I wish I could do more for her.
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