BoomBoom
Well-known member
- May 2, 2012
- 1,722
- 58
- Parrots
- Boomer (Sun Conure 9 yrs), Pewpew (Budgie 5 yrs), Ulap (Budgie 2 yrs), Eight & Kiki (Beloved Budgies, RIP)
Hello! I am posting this in hopes of documenting my Pewpew's health issues and helping someone else who finds themselves in a similar situation. If I can get helpful advice along the way, even better!
Two weeks ago (5/7/17), I noticed that Pewpew, one of my two parakeets, had an overgrown beak. He is male, 2 years old, got him from Petco (back when I didn't know any better). He is flighted, vocal and active, but quite wary of me still. His diet consists of parakeet seed mix (90%), Broccoli (5%), jalapeno (5%). He ignores all other fruits and veggies. His supplements include Nekton vitamin powder (added to water), probiotic powder (added to water), dried habanero, mineral block, cuttlebone. My biggest mistake was his seet diet, more on that later. His cage implements include rough and normal perches, wood chew toys, shreddy toys, etc. My other parakeet, Kiki, is very active and playful.
The symptoms I noticed were a twice than normal long, curved beak. Never noticed it before because he always has it buried in his feathers. I noticed small dark spots on his nails and one large dark spot on his beak. From my readings, those suggested fatty liver disease which is caused by a fatty diet (i.e. seeds and treats). He flies around and plays, but he's always been the less active and subdued between the two parakeets, even when they were babies.
I took him to the vet a few days ago. Took me a while to build up the courage because I heard horror stories of parakeets dying from the stress of getting examined or beaks cut. I gave the vet all of Pewpew's stats, diet, symptoms and my worries about fatty liver disease. His answer was not what I expected exactly. I always make vet journals so I remember how the visit took place, I'll paste his comments below:
Changes Moving Forward:
I am changing his diet to primarily pellets. Doing it very slowly. So far no luck. I read somewhere that a good tactic is to serve seeds 2 times a day for 15 mins, then take out the seed dish and leave pellets. It's enough to sustain them and will force them to eat seeds. Haven't done it yet, seems quite severe. For now, I'll just slowly increase the ratio. If that doesn't work, I'll try the more severe tactic. I am also increasing the ratio of broccoli and jalapeno, which means giving less seeds. Also introducing veggie/fruit/grain/pasta chopmix with seeds sprinkled on top to entice him.
I am giving them more sunlight. Doctor said 5 mins per week is sufficient and the rest they can get from vitamin d3 in their multivitamins. I was very surprised to hear how little sun is needed. I'm sure a bit more would not hurt. Because I work full time, it's a challenge. As soon as I get home from work, I wheel their cage to the front door to get the later afternoon sun. On weekends, they join my conure for a morning sun bathing on their indoor jungle perch.
I added mineral blocks on every cage perch. Added more rough perches as well so he can keep up on his beak grooming.
On supplements, as long as I finish the 30 day potent calcium drops from the vet, I will add Nekton Mineral Power (high in calcium) to their seed mix. Will alternate with milk thistle powder (they seem to hate this one). Will also add the aloe vera detox drops to their water. Will continue the use of probiotic powder and Nekton multivitamin power. I'll be sure to alternate. Because the supplements are mixed w/ water and food and not a direct administration, I feel like the risk of overdose is small. What do you guys think? Does this seem overkill?
Sorry for the long post. I'll try to update as often as I can. I hope someone finds this helpful. Any tips are deeply appreciated!
(photos below, Pewpew is the blue one)
Two weeks ago (5/7/17), I noticed that Pewpew, one of my two parakeets, had an overgrown beak. He is male, 2 years old, got him from Petco (back when I didn't know any better). He is flighted, vocal and active, but quite wary of me still. His diet consists of parakeet seed mix (90%), Broccoli (5%), jalapeno (5%). He ignores all other fruits and veggies. His supplements include Nekton vitamin powder (added to water), probiotic powder (added to water), dried habanero, mineral block, cuttlebone. My biggest mistake was his seet diet, more on that later. His cage implements include rough and normal perches, wood chew toys, shreddy toys, etc. My other parakeet, Kiki, is very active and playful.
The symptoms I noticed were a twice than normal long, curved beak. Never noticed it before because he always has it buried in his feathers. I noticed small dark spots on his nails and one large dark spot on his beak. From my readings, those suggested fatty liver disease which is caused by a fatty diet (i.e. seeds and treats). He flies around and plays, but he's always been the less active and subdued between the two parakeets, even when they were babies.
I took him to the vet a few days ago. Took me a while to build up the courage because I heard horror stories of parakeets dying from the stress of getting examined or beaks cut. I gave the vet all of Pewpew's stats, diet, symptoms and my worries about fatty liver disease. His answer was not what I expected exactly. I always make vet journals so I remember how the visit took place, I'll paste his comments below:
- Long beak is very soft. He cut though it like butter he said. Highly likely to be calcium deficient. He may not have been chewing enough on cuttlebone and mineral blocks. Prescribed calcium drops (Neocal / Calcionate Syrup 2 CCs per 4 ounces water daily for 30 days. Cost: $30). Beak may grow back in 2 weeks at which point I must see him again. He said also that it may not grow back. He said that the overgrown beak may have been a reaction from the calcium deficiency. Strange I know. He described the bird's body as going defensive to prevent beak breakage so it pads it with more beak, so it gets longer.
- Has benign fatty tumors on chest. This is a combo of bad genetics and diet.
- Fatty liver disease is not as likely but it's not being ruled out. He said the black spots on the beak and nails are likely just his natural coloration, that blue parakeets tend to have these markings. Personally, I'm not quite 100% on this diagnosis. I hope it's the case.
- Did not see the need for blood work at this time. If beak continues to grow, must see doctor again after 1 month for blood work.
- He approved the use of the following supplements: Regular Calcium Drops (new), Aloe Detox Herbal Formula (also new, for liver detox), Milk Thistle Powder (also new, also for liver detox), Probiotic Powder (current), Nekton Multivitamin Powder (current).
Changes Moving Forward:
I am changing his diet to primarily pellets. Doing it very slowly. So far no luck. I read somewhere that a good tactic is to serve seeds 2 times a day for 15 mins, then take out the seed dish and leave pellets. It's enough to sustain them and will force them to eat seeds. Haven't done it yet, seems quite severe. For now, I'll just slowly increase the ratio. If that doesn't work, I'll try the more severe tactic. I am also increasing the ratio of broccoli and jalapeno, which means giving less seeds. Also introducing veggie/fruit/grain/pasta chopmix with seeds sprinkled on top to entice him.
I am giving them more sunlight. Doctor said 5 mins per week is sufficient and the rest they can get from vitamin d3 in their multivitamins. I was very surprised to hear how little sun is needed. I'm sure a bit more would not hurt. Because I work full time, it's a challenge. As soon as I get home from work, I wheel their cage to the front door to get the later afternoon sun. On weekends, they join my conure for a morning sun bathing on their indoor jungle perch.
I added mineral blocks on every cage perch. Added more rough perches as well so he can keep up on his beak grooming.
On supplements, as long as I finish the 30 day potent calcium drops from the vet, I will add Nekton Mineral Power (high in calcium) to their seed mix. Will alternate with milk thistle powder (they seem to hate this one). Will also add the aloe vera detox drops to their water. Will continue the use of probiotic powder and Nekton multivitamin power. I'll be sure to alternate. Because the supplements are mixed w/ water and food and not a direct administration, I feel like the risk of overdose is small. What do you guys think? Does this seem overkill?
Sorry for the long post. I'll try to update as often as I can. I hope someone finds this helpful. Any tips are deeply appreciated!
(photos below, Pewpew is the blue one)
Attachments
Last edited:
