need some advice for sheldon please

[ceejay]

ok i wa told by the vet he had already had his first molt and that it didnt seem like that long ago ive noticed in the last 2 days hes been losing feathers like crazy i know hes not plucking for sure as im with him all the time he flaps his wings and they just come off could this be another molt? if so when they molt does their appetite change ? this morning he wouldnt eat at all which is unusual for him does molting make them lose their appetite? all hes doing is sitting in his (new) tree stand sleeps alot. but he is chirpy as usual. im a bit concerened that he wasent eating this morning as usual. any thoughts?

 

[ann]

sorry im not much help, but if called your vet for advice, maybe they could help you, good luck
-ann

 

[roxynoodle]

I'd definitely take him into the vet. A bird that isn't eating could be an emergency. Trust me, they can starve very quickly. I know a breeder who sold a conure to a young woman who was a first time bird owner. She gave the bird a different type of pellet that it wasn't used to, it didn't eat and died 3 days later.

Not eating + sleeping more = a trip to the vet.

 

[MissyMe83]

I have to agree. I bought my first cockatiel from a petstore and within three days he was sleeping a lot and not eating much. Took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. I was prescribed some liquid antibiotics and after about 4 days he responded really well and started being more active.

 

[ceejay]

thanks everyone for the advice this afternoon he did become more active and he did eat i was just wondering if maybe it had anything to do with the new tree stand we got him its rather large in size i felt he needed more freedom to climb and play than just his regular straight stand. he has been fine but all he wants to do is stay in that tree i finally got him down and took him to his food and he ate and seems like he normaly does but for some reason he dosent do his usual playing and such since that tree came in the house im going to take it out tonight and see what happens tomm if hes still acting strange ill get him to the vet. but since about 4pm this afternoon hes acting like he always does ill keep you posted cheers ceejay

 

[Pedro]

ceejay, don't take this the wrong way but i have to wonder if your being a little to overprotective & paranoid regarding Sheldon's behavior. I mean he hasn't really settled into his new environment & your both still trying to work each other out.

With regards to your Vets visit with Sheldon I am wondering if your Vet requested a full blood panel done, or just did a visual check. Seeing that you don't have the full history for Sheldon I would advise it done. There is a risk of him having a stress related bacterial infection. It's well worth having it checked out.

 

[roxynoodle]

It can be easy to be paranoid with a new pet. You don't know it's normal behavior yet, and sometimes a new animal will sleep a lot in a new home. On the other hand, a vet check up for a new pet is always a good idea.

I've learned anything out of the ordinary can mean an illness though. Sometimes the signs were very subtle and the vet questioned me on being paranoid, but every time it turned out something was wrong. Being a person who has been divorced a long time and never had children, I spend almost all my time with my animals and know them very, very well. I guess it's mother's intuition, but for animals rather than human children

 

[ceejay]

hey pedro yes a full check was done on sheldon and the avian vet said everything was fine with him nothing abnormal at all yes i may be over protective but i suppose thats a mothering instinct. i do worry that he has all he needs but i do that with any pet i have id rather be safe than sorry later thinking i should have done something and he ends up worse than if i had of acted on my instinct. i did however find out that the tree (new one) was posion for him not being an australian i relyed on my husbands knowledge being an aussie hisself that the tree was ok but come to find out (on instinct) i looked it up and found out it was not good for him to have as a play tree. so i took it out of course. he still wont eat in the mornings like he was but he is eating a bit in the afternoon why the change i dont really know. he was fine until that tree was brought in here and thats when it started. yes i know what you mean roxy i cant help how i am the mothering in me takes over all my children are grown and 6 days a week im alone just me and sheldon as i am a stay at home wife im here all the time. pedro im not trying to sound harsh its just that the mothering instinct is not something that you can just stop its just that instinct like any other mother rather it be of the animal species or human. i try to not get too worried but when he has been fine all this time and then bam it does a total change it gives me cause for worry that sheldon is ok. if he gets any worse i will take him back to the vet but for now he is active and eating some in the afternoon ill wait a day or 2 as long as he dosent get worse then ill go straight away. thanks for all the advice though i appreciate it cheers ceejay

 

[roxynoodle]

Wow, that's scary! What kind of tree was it?

 

[ceejay]

hi roxy it was a camphor tree i went by what my husband said after all hes aussie and had bred indian ring necks and i asked him to make sure it was safe he said yes now im not sure thats whats happened with sheldon because he dosent act sick at all he just wont eat but a tiny bit during the afternoon but i dont really know i think its time to go to the vet cheers ceejay

 

[roxynoodle]

I would take him. It's always best to be safe than sorry.

That bird I mentioned earlier was nearly half the weight during the necropsy than it was 3 days earlier when the breeder sold it. They can lose that much weight that quickly.

I myself have chronic pancreatitis and lost more than 30lbs the first few months I was ill. I not only was sick from the pancreatitis, but was catching colds and other infections, and my liver enzymes were very low and all kinds of other health issues.

 

[ceejay]

took him yesterday to the vet they ran some test blood work ect everything came back fine he suggested a diet change to go back to the 50/50 pellet seed mix i tried that this morning he ate fine so all is well

 

[Pedro]

If your bird has ingested any of the camphor tree it's an emergency & it should warrant a Vet visit or at least a phone call to find out what symptoms you should look out for.

The reason i asked about a full blood panel, I was wondering if Sheldon has been tested for Beak & Feather Disease. Normally the Avian Vets in NSW are very particular about testing for the disease because of how prevalent it is.

The best trees to use for parrots are Aust Natives, such as bottle brush.

Bird; Birds: Safe, Toxic Trees, Woods. Safe Tree Wood. Parrots. Parrot cages.

Check this link out.

 

[Pedro]

Oh that is good news. We posted almost at the same time.

 

[roxynoodle]

I'm very glad to hear all is ok

 

[ceejay]

thanks everyone for the hep and your concern yeah hes doin fine and all is well with him hes eating good and the vet cleared him of any problems ill keep you up dated btw he has learned to wave shake and turn around his progress is wonderful