Paralyzed Cockatiel

[Sani]

My bird is paralyzed, no other symptom. She even eats, drinks and plays normally! I took her to the vet, they say she's fine, but she keeps getting worse!

 

[JerseyWendy]

We need a WHOLE lot more information here.

What kind of bird?
How old?
How is she/he kept?

And FWIW, if she's eating, drinking AND playing, she certainly does NOT sound paralyzed in the least. :54:

 

[Sani]

We need a WHOLE lot more information here.

What kind of bird?
How old?
How is she/he kept?

And FWIW, if she's eating, drinking AND playing, she certainly does NOT sound paralyzed in the least. :54:

She's a cockatiel almost 4. I've had her since she was a month old. She's free in the apartment. She limps, and now I think she can't fly as good as before.

 

[JerseyWendy]

If she has free range in your apartment, is there a chance she's ingested something that was no good for her?

Did the vet check her blood panels? Metal toxicity comes to mind...but ONLY a certified Avian vet can determine the actual cause.

 

[Sani]

No he told me he's not a bird specialist. He just checked for possible injuries. He said she's too good to have a serious problem and she'll be fine. Unfortunately we don't have any bird specialist around here.

 

[Sani]

It's more than a month since I noticed the symptoms, if she was poisoned or something she'd be dead by now, right?

 

[Tangie]

I believe that if it was poisoning, then your Cockatiel would be dead.
Perhaps she has a tumor that is pressing on the nerves.
Or she could have sprained it in some way.
Or she might have Athritis-like diseases.
You should find a certified Avian Vet for your bird.
Even if a normal vet looked her over physically, it doesn't mean that he didn't miss something. He is, after all, a vet that doesn't treat birds.

 

[MikeyTN]

Where are you located at??? Is she being observed at all times while out or do you just allow her to roam wherever she wants???

 

[BoomBoom]

This could be anything. Maybe ingested something she should not have, consider blockages causing pain, etcetera. Is she pooping normally?

I recommend looking for an Avian Vet immediately for your poor bird. Hoping for recovery.

 

[GW.Joe]

Also, is there anything "new" in your apartment ? New carpet? New Paint? anything?

 

[Sani]

I keep the cage in a room with no dangerous object (it's almost empty) and I leave the door of the cage open. When I'm home their room's door is open otherwise I keep it closed. There is nothing new in the apartment. I live in a small city in Sweden, and there is no bird specialist around here, the closest one is a hospital two hours driving. Today I bought an infrared lamp for her, in case it's a strain it can help. I'll try to get one of the Vets in the city to take a blood sample and send it to a lab. Otherwise I have to drive them (they're a pair) to the hospital, although I know they hate it when I put them in the car.

 

[Dinosrawr]

There's very little anyone on the forums here can do for you, even if any of us were certified avian veterinarians. I'm really sorry that they're experiencing these problems But we can only offer so much before you have to resort to the avian vets. Sending off a blood sample is a good idea. If you feel that not going to the hospital will leave you with no regrets should something go wrong, then I wouldn't worry about it. But if it is weighing on your mind, I would recommend going just so that you can be assured either way.

I hope that your baby recovers soon and that you find out what's wrong!

 

[MikeyTN]

Why don't you contact the vet school at Uppsala??? They would be able to direct you in the right direction then we can here.

 

[Sani]

After I took her to the Vet and the doctor said she's fine, I was released but then I talked to one of my friends whose family had a farm and he told me this is probably a virus that paralyzes the bird and he's seen it few times. I couldn't find anything on internet but I thought if it's as common as he says someone in bird forums should have had a similar experience.
Meanwhile I'm asking around to find the easiest and fastest way to get her to a specialist.

 

[Dinosrawr]

I've definitely heard of random paralysis in birds, but normally it's related to metal toxicity. I haven't quite heard of a virus that causes paralysis, but if that's the case then there's very little you can do for the bird medication wise. The blood sample would be able to reveal either of those. Hopefully you hear from a specialist soon!

 

[Sani]

Thank you all for your kind responses to my question. The day after my last message I bought her an infrared lamp and also added multivitamin drops to her water, these were suggested by a few people I talked to. Soon (within a day) she started showing signs of improvement, and now she's all fine. Since yesterday she started stretching both legs, something she didn't do for a long while. I looked for an egg in the cage, but didn't find any. I still don't know what was wrong with her, maybe a strain that heat helped healing, but it's a relief to see her healthy again.