Gilbert's One Year Exam

[ruffledfeathers]

We went this morning for his annual exam! I won't have the results until Wednesday and I am hoping (and assuming) everything will be good. Everything looked good and I had his nails filed down while there. He finally does (very reluctantly) let me trim his nails but I love how smooth they are when the vet files them!

Strangely enough, he said Gilbert is actually on the lean side of normal. He has good muscle but is somewhat lean. I always worry that he will gain weight or I thought I was going to hear he was too fat!! Wow. The vet just said "it's all that time he spends on the beach, getting exercise!"

We left with 3 great new toys and some Harrison's Pepper Coarse. All that, plus the gram stain, blood profile and nail trim and it was under $200! That wasn't bad!

One of the 3 toys that I particularly like:

And this is how sleepy Gilly is after the blood draw and all that fussin'!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

awww he's so cute! I like that toy.

I don't think lean is a bad thing, especially for a bird who flies a lot

 

[MissTaz]

I'm glad it was a good day at the vet's he sure is a cutie!

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Yup, after that nap he took, he went crazy on his new toys! I rearranged all the old ones too, so it was like a trip to the amusement park for him. He is very comical.....

 

[faeryphoebe1]

He is so beautiful. Those blue and green hues are gorgeous!

 

[Kalidasa]

That's very reasonable for a vet visit, and Gilbert's close up is so cute

 

[JamesC]

When you said in the photo caption "all that fussin" are you referring to that super high pitched squeal that a blue crown can make when they ain't happy at the vet? Rosco only has done it once but Tootsie will squeal every time she goes and several times while being handled. Breaks my heart to hear her distressed like that but it also breaks my ears!

 

[ruffledfeathers]

When you said in the photo caption "all that fussin" are you referring to that super high pitched squeal that a blue crown can make when they ain't happy at the vet? Rosco only has done it once but Tootsie will squeal every time she goes and several times while being handled. Breaks my heart to hear her distressed like that but it also breaks my ears!

Aw that's sad. No, Gilbert didn't get too bent out of shape or squawk, but being toweled by the vet, weighed, held under the light, nails, blood.....he immediately took a nap! After a few hours he proceeded to go into a playing frenzy with the new toys.

 

[Marcy]

Oh my goodness Gilbert is beautiful!!! I love that toy!

~Marcy
Posted from my BlackBerry Q10 via Tapatalk.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

He seems to be a big fan of the piñata type of toys. They become his primary focus until they are destroyed. That smiley-ring has those piñata/foraging boxes that he loves but gives it a different twist. So far he really likes it! One of the other toys was a cute pear (cut wood) and it had a few holes drilled in it with beads and blocks hanging off the pear. It is already annihilated. LOL He is rolling around with broken beads and blocks right now. He carries them to his water bowl like a knucklehead though.....the water gets nasty!

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Hm, so i talked to the vet regarding Gilbert's lab work. It's not as 'perfect' as i hoped but for now nothing to be alarmed about. He said just watch him and possibly do another gram stain in a few weeks (which i plan to do).

He said the gram stain showed a tiny amount of anaerobic bacteria but not much and since his droppings appear perfect, we will just watch him and maybe do the second gram stain.

Most everything in the blood showed in the normal range, but his ratio of lymphocytes to heterophil was out of range. He said 'sometimes' that can be caused by chronic inflammation or infection but it is also caused by the bird just being stressed sometimes. His white cell count was ever so slightly on the high side, but again, not pointing to anything 'bad'. He says he does often see blood like this in healthy birds but to play it safe we should do another gram stain and keep an eye on it for signs of infection.

I told him how my dog has licked him probably 6 times over the past year. I try not to allow it but they have 'kissed' a number of times. Anyhow, he told me if there is bacteria in his system it could be from ANYTHING and since he clearly is not sick, don't worry, just keep check.

I'm actually glad he doesn't want to rush into antibiotics without NEEDING them. (i think he feels that blindly giving them to a bird who isn't sick can do more harm than good!) Hopefully in his next gram stain it will appear more normal. Maybe i'll bring more poop samples next time too.