Blu is sick

[MrJackpotz]

Hey all

Its been a stressful couple of weeks. Blu started getting diarrhea about 2 weeks ago. The urates were yellow, and he was very lethargic. when I took him into the emergency vet they prescribed him 6 units of antibiotic for 7 days. unfortunately they weighed him wrong and miscalculated the dose. I took him into my other vet and he was found to be obese. We put him on a diet and finished the antibiotics.

His condition slightly improved over the course of the antibiotics, but a few days ago I noticed his energy levels significantly drop and his tail began to bob. We went back to my avian vet who confirmed some respiratory distress, and we are now back on a regiment of antibiotics for 14 days at the correct dose, along with sucralfate.

Currently he spends most of the day fluffed up and asleep. He will have some bursts of energy and is still very much eating and drinking. Right now he is molting so its hard to tell what part of his lethargy is related to that vs the illness. He has been hard to give meds to and sometimes I feel a lot of the dose gets spilled on his beak sometimes.

im hoping for the best but its sad to see him so unwell, I miss seeing him all happy and playful. He was so healthy until this and now his health just took a turn and I cant figure out why. His weight is stabilizing so once he is healthy again I can get him a blood draw if this doesnt resolve after the antibiotics. Send him some love please

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

Sending positive vibes! Poor Blu

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Make sure Blu gets all his antibiotic doses. It's hard to medicate birds bit it's the only way they have a chance if recovering from infection. The fact that he's eating and drinking is a good sign.

 

[LaManuka]

Much love and all positive for Blu, and for you too @MrJackpotz. It's SO hard when our little ones are unwell, I hope he recovers soon!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Blu is such a pretty budgie but I see he's having problems breathing.

 

[MrJackpotz]

Make sure Blu gets all his antibiotic doses. It's hard to medicate birds bit it's the only way they have a chance if recovering from infection. The fact that he's eating and drinking is a good sign.

Thanks for your advice. im definitely going to do my best to give him the proper dose tonight, he is just very tricky and will push the syringe out of his beak last minute.

Im very worried but I appreciate the good vibes everyone. just gonna focus on the positive

 

[MrJackpotz]

Blu has been on his antibiotic regimine and not really improving. He has his moments where he perks up, particuarly regarding food, but otherwise sleeps puffed up throughout the day.

Last night I had the vet call me and say she's concerned about him having something untreatable. So far this morning he hasnt touched his food and is still sleeping. I'm supposed to see the vet tomorrow but I'm afraid he wont make it until then.

I'm not ready to lose Blu, he's so young and such a sweet bird. I wish I could see him be his lively self one last time, I wish I had more recordings of him singing, talking and playing. I'm doing my best to stay hopeful but he isnt looking well right now.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I'm so sorry. You're doing everything you can. I'll be thinking of you and poor Blu.

 

[LaManuka]

Blu has been on his antibiotic regimine and not really improving. He has his moments where he perks up, particuarly regarding food, but otherwise sleeps puffed up throughout the day.

Last night I had the vet call me and say she's concerned about him having something untreatable. So far this morning he hasnt touched his food and is still sleeping. I'm supposed to see the vet tomorrow but I'm afraid he wont make it until then.

I'm not ready to lose Blu, he's so young and such a sweet bird. I wish I could see him be his lively self one last time, I wish I had more recordings of him singing, talking and playing. I'm doing my best to stay hopeful but he isnt looking well right now.

I'm so sorry Blu is not improving, @MrJackpotz. Budgies are such energetic little characters, so full of life and love and it's so hard to see them when they're not feeling their chirpy little selves. Continued prayers for Blu, I hope he can recover

 

[rheashard2]

You both have my .

 

[MrJackpotz]

thank you, I'm just enjoying being here with him and I'm trying to stay positive. Hopefully we can get some tangible answers at the vet tomorrow, and if we can identify something treatable then that's even better. I'm not ready for him to leave, but if he does I know I did a lot for him, from rescuing him to now when he's ill.

Even if now isn't when he goes, I'm gonna miss this little bird the day he does pass. I have a really special relationship with him, we've had our ups and downs in all honesty. But because of that I feel a strong and sincere bond with him, and a degree of mutual respect. He's also just the most gorgeous budgie I've ever laid eyes on, I Cant get enough of his electric blue. I'm just trying to soak up each moment but it hurts hearing he might not make it.

 

[linnielove]

What makes the vet so sure that the problem is an infectious desease? Is it an Avian vet? Yellow urates can also be caused by liver issues.

 

[MrJackpotz]

Yes it's an avian vet. She actually suspects it may be a tumor or some other type of orgn failure because the antibiotics are not helping. His first fecal swab showed rod bacteria in his stool, but it seems to be a coinfection.

 

[linnielove]

I'm very sorry to read this. All fingers and claws are crossed for Blue.

 

[MrJackpotz]

Hi everyone. Blu has been very up and down the past week, typically sleeping all day and then a period of energy from night through the morning. Yesterday was a slow day for him, but I didnt see him sleeping throughout it, so I'm hoping that's a good sign.

We stopped at the vet Wednesday, and after doing a fecal swab it was determined he had an overgrowth of budding yeast in his gut (non AGY thankfully). I assume this was brought on by the heavy antibiotic use he just went through. He has been prescribed Nyastatin for the next 2 weeks.

One thing that concerns me is his weight. It seems to heavily fluctuate at times beyond what seems reasonable, but I may be wrong. His first vet visit he was 44 grams, then went up to 49, and eventually down to 40. On Wednesday at the vet he weighed 42 grams, and then was up to 47 just last night. Even though she is having me feed him some extra seed that still seems excessive. He has been on a diet and should be losing weight. I'm surprised he hasn't dropped weight being sick and all. This is what makes me nervous that he may be having some more serious issues.

Please keep us in your thoughts, I'm hoping Blu will make a strong recovery from this and we can learn and move forward. I just can't stand seeing him unwell.

 

[LaManuka]

Hi everyone. Blu has been very up and down the past week, typically sleeping all day and then a period of energy from night through the morning. Yesterday was a slow day for him, but I didnt see him sleeping throughout it, so I'm hoping that's a good sign.

We stopped at the vet Wednesday, and after doing a fecal swab it was determined he had an overgrowth of budding yeast in his gut (non AGY thankfully). I assume this was brought on by the heavy antibiotic use he just went through. He has been prescribed Nyastatin for the next 2 weeks.

One thing that concerns me is his weight. It seems to heavily fluctuate at times beyond what seems reasonable, but I may be wrong. His first vet visit he was 44 grams, then went up to 49, and eventually down to 40. On Wednesday at the vet he weighed 42 grams, and then was up to 47 just last night. Even though she is having me feed him some extra seed that still seems excessive. He has been on a diet and should be losing weight. I'm surprised he hasn't dropped weight being sick and all. This is what makes me nervous that he may be having some more serious issues.

Please keep us in your thoughts, I'm hoping Blu will make a strong recovery from this and we can learn and move forward. I just can't stand seeing him unwell.

If there's one thing I know about budgies it's that they're tough, "tough as ten bears" as my hubby always said about ours. Blu will fight this thing with everything he's got, and both of you are most definitely in my prayers

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

C'mon Blu! You can fight this thing!

 

[MrJackpotz]

Blu's hanging in there. He is still lower energy than I'd like to be seeing, but he's has a good couple of days. A lot less sleeping during the day, more vocalizations, less puffy. All good signs, I'm curious to see how he does once he's done with his round of antifungals, as that's going to tell a lot about the root cause of his symptoms. I'm hoping it doesnt go past these couple of infections he had

 

[MrJackpotz]

We have a vet appointment tomorrow. I'm supposed to leave the country for 7 days in a week, so crossing my fingers he is okay and I won't have to worry about leaving him.. He's still lethargic but has more energy than before, and is chattering much more.

 

[MrJackpotz]

Blu was cleared for his fungal infection, and I was able to leave the country. We did one last test for a protozoal infection, but he passed that as well.

Blu is generally better, but he is still low energy overall. He typically does not leave his cage except for maybe one a day to go visit his brother. He can fly but his ability to do so has extremely deteriorated. The usual energy and agility I know he is capable of isn't there anymore. I haven't weighed him recently but I can tell he is still overweight despite being on a pellet/veggie diet since I've owned him. I added more seed per the doctor's request as well.

I started taking him out of the cage to try to do some flying and target training in hopes of getting his strength back. My hopes are this is temporary and is a side effect from being sick. But it still begs so many questions. Why did his normal flora infect him in the first place? Why did he see such a significant gain in weight and a loss of energy, even after being cleared of any infections? Is he deteriorating, is he hurting, is there something I can do for him? I can't find any similar reports from people online, and the vet can't determine much else either.

I wont lie I'm still very concerned, but for now I'm just happy that he pulled through what could have been a fatal illness. So we're just enjoying the days with each other and being grateful for his health.