Was she having some sort of symptoms [What were they?}
This is a good question for all of us, so we know what to watch out for. I feel so sad reading Zilla's condition and I am hoping she gets better.
Without making this the longest post ever, I will explain a little about my adventures with Zilla for those that haven't seen my other posts and don't know her history... For those that want to go back and get her full history there are many posts from me about her, how I got her, the breathing problems, vet visits, diagnosis, and now the latest diagnosis.
She came to be with me on Sept. 24th, so just over a month ago. Her previous owners who had her for 6 years gave her to a guy who had her for about 8 days and decided he didn't want her, she was just too much "work" for him. He called me on Sept. 23rd and said if I wanted her he would bring her (cage and all) on the 24th about 2pm. He showed up at 9:30am and I have been hers ever since.
About 3 days later the guy I got her from came bringing me a bottle of meds and told me she would have to have them if I didn't pay enough attention to her and she started breathing "funny", I googled the medication and found out it was an antibiotic usually prescribed for respiratory infections, then I looked at the date on the bottle and found it was expired! Why would antibiotics be prescribed for emotional issues? They wouldn't!
A few days later she started having breathing problems, I took her to the emergency A-Vet and she was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection, given meds and sent home. She improved, then she started having breathing problems again (this time they seemed to clear up on their own after a few hours), took her in to the A-Vet and we ran several tests, trying to figure out the root of the problem. Tests were coming back "within the normal" range on everything. Some things a little high or low, but "normal" for what she has been through. Nothing was standing out to the vet as "abnormal" And before everyone asks I take her to the only board certified A-Vet in Oregon. While at the vets office she had several mini-seizures so then we were thinking zinc poisoning (her old cage was galvanized steel and super rusty) those tests came back with her levels a bit higher than normal, but not high enough to give the meds with the risks associated with them.
I've been watching what she eats (just to make sure this isn't food related) and she has had several "episodes" of breathing issues that would clear up on their own before I could get her to the vet (we would get to the vet and she would be "fine"). These seem to be happening when she is playing for long periods, or after she is really active for more than her usual few minutes.
I took her to the vet last Monday (our 4th reg A-Vet trip) and there were 3 "lumps" found in her lower abdomen on palpitation, so we had new scans done and found the aspers in her right secondary air sac. Her fecal smear also showed her kidneys are not working right and the scan showed very enlarged kidneys.
This was not diagnosed in the earlier scans due to the amount of scar tissue she has in all her air sacs. It's obvious this has been going on with her for years and being mis-diagnosed as viral infections and not fungal. The vet found this because of the "lumps" and by comparing the older and newer scans. (the older scans where only a week or so old, that's how fast this grew)
The vet can only give her opinion on how this has happened and why it wasn't diagnosed earlier.
1. she was being taken to vets who don't normally see birds and didn't have a clue (one has even admitted she had never seen a bird before and was trying to do her research as she went)
2. Zilla was being given coffee, pepsi, oroes, snack crackers and whatever was on her owners plate daily, her seed was a parakeet diet with tons of sunflower seeds.
The caffeine, carbonation, artificial sweeteners, and dyes have caused the kidney problems.
3. all the trips to the vet with the previous owners resulted in being given antibiotics, but they never finished them, as soon as she started acting better they stopped fighting her to give them to her. She has now had 11 different antibiotics since April of this year. This also had an impact on her kidneys and liver, not to mention her immune system.
4. her cage wasn't being cleaned on a regular basis, rotting food was left in the bottom of it for who knows how long and she was breathing the mold spores. (I saw her cage when it arrived at my place and it was covered in poo and food)
So now she on a strict healthy kidney diet that takes away most of her favorite foods, all protein is gone, all citrus is gone, all dark leafy greens are gone, the only pellets she can have are what is in her nitri-berries, no dies in anything, no preservatives of any kind, no sweeteners of any kind real or artificial.
She is also on a strong anti-fungal medication that, in and of itself, will do damage to her kidneys because of the dosage she has to have.
My hope is that she will make it through this, and I will do everything I can to make that happen, and she will have many more years with me in a loving, safe, fun, happy home.
It's a great way too fool our feathered friends into thinking they're getting junk food
