Hello,
A couple of weeks ago, Celestin, my 6 year old whiteface lutino cockatiel suddenly developed polyuria overnight. He and my other pet cockatiel, Gilbert (heavy pied mutation, 12 yrs old), have been on a diet of dry food (nutriberries + Intune pellets + Caitec Ovenfresh + TOPS pellets) and fresh veggies (spinach, kale, peas, carrot, corn) all their life. Several days per week, I also sprinkle a small amount of organic spices/health supplement (turmeric power, ginger powder, cayenne powder, dandelion powder, milk thistle powder, dried herb salad mix, and brewer's yeast) on their dry food. They are flighted and live in a 7' x 5' aviary. Playtime outside the aviary is carefully monitored and they have access to only bird-safe toys without any lead-based paint.
I took him to an avian vet once the polyuria started. I am concerned he has renal failure but the vet believes it is a bacterial infection and prescribed an antibiotic (0.06 ml baytril twice a day) for 10 days. I am almost done with the treatment now, but there has been marginal to no improvement in his polyuria. The 1st picture is fresh poop that he drops first thing in the morning (The whited-out part is poop from my other pet, so I erased it to avoid confusion). The urine is hard to see in the picture, but the wet stain on the paper towel is abnormally huge compared to his previous 6 years of pooping. The 2nd picture shows 1-day old dried poop that he dropped midday. This has been a repeating pattern the past 2 weeks; the feces part of his very first morning poop seems marginally okay (but still lots of urine), while all other droppings for the rest of the day have very thin and fragmented feces with little urate and lots of urine (after a few hours, they dry into almost nothing, like in the 2nd pic).
He is still active and eats well and has no weight loss. My other cockatiel is hale and healthy, which is another reason I think this isn't a bacterial infection that can spread. But I very concerned that Celestin has kidney issues, and the polyuria was exactly how the renal failure started for my previous pet, Celina, whom I lost 7 years ago. I didn't know better back then, and by the time I took her to the vet, it was too late. An autopsy revealed her kidneys were half the size of what they should have been. I don't want to experience that painful memory again with my current pet.
There are very, very few avian vets in my area and the one I took him to has 30+ years of experience with birds. There is one other highly reputed avian vet in my area but she is booked solid for 2 more weeks, so I'll have to wait a while to get a second opinion. Is there any other treatment for kidney issues? Herbal supplements? Or could this be some other ailment? White face lutinos are known to be more vulnerable with weakened immune systems, but my guy is from a 20+ yr reputed breeder who has been carefully breeding the lighter mutations without diluting the genetic diversity in his flock. So I don't think Celestin has any of the common hereditary issues known to plague white face lutinos. Please help, what else can I do to help my pet?
Thank you,
TKP
A couple of weeks ago, Celestin, my 6 year old whiteface lutino cockatiel suddenly developed polyuria overnight. He and my other pet cockatiel, Gilbert (heavy pied mutation, 12 yrs old), have been on a diet of dry food (nutriberries + Intune pellets + Caitec Ovenfresh + TOPS pellets) and fresh veggies (spinach, kale, peas, carrot, corn) all their life. Several days per week, I also sprinkle a small amount of organic spices/health supplement (turmeric power, ginger powder, cayenne powder, dandelion powder, milk thistle powder, dried herb salad mix, and brewer's yeast) on their dry food. They are flighted and live in a 7' x 5' aviary. Playtime outside the aviary is carefully monitored and they have access to only bird-safe toys without any lead-based paint.
I took him to an avian vet once the polyuria started. I am concerned he has renal failure but the vet believes it is a bacterial infection and prescribed an antibiotic (0.06 ml baytril twice a day) for 10 days. I am almost done with the treatment now, but there has been marginal to no improvement in his polyuria. The 1st picture is fresh poop that he drops first thing in the morning (The whited-out part is poop from my other pet, so I erased it to avoid confusion). The urine is hard to see in the picture, but the wet stain on the paper towel is abnormally huge compared to his previous 6 years of pooping. The 2nd picture shows 1-day old dried poop that he dropped midday. This has been a repeating pattern the past 2 weeks; the feces part of his very first morning poop seems marginally okay (but still lots of urine), while all other droppings for the rest of the day have very thin and fragmented feces with little urate and lots of urine (after a few hours, they dry into almost nothing, like in the 2nd pic).
He is still active and eats well and has no weight loss. My other cockatiel is hale and healthy, which is another reason I think this isn't a bacterial infection that can spread. But I very concerned that Celestin has kidney issues, and the polyuria was exactly how the renal failure started for my previous pet, Celina, whom I lost 7 years ago. I didn't know better back then, and by the time I took her to the vet, it was too late. An autopsy revealed her kidneys were half the size of what they should have been. I don't want to experience that painful memory again with my current pet.
There are very, very few avian vets in my area and the one I took him to has 30+ years of experience with birds. There is one other highly reputed avian vet in my area but she is booked solid for 2 more weeks, so I'll have to wait a while to get a second opinion. Is there any other treatment for kidney issues? Herbal supplements? Or could this be some other ailment? White face lutinos are known to be more vulnerable with weakened immune systems, but my guy is from a 20+ yr reputed breeder who has been carefully breeding the lighter mutations without diluting the genetic diversity in his flock. So I don't think Celestin has any of the common hereditary issues known to plague white face lutinos. Please help, what else can I do to help my pet?
Thank you,
TKP
