Pssitacosis - am very worried..

[Robyn]

Hello,
I have 2 male ekkies, both are roughly 2 1/2 yrs old. One we have had since a baby at 14 weeks, the 2nd we were given about 5 or 6 months ago.
The one we have had since a baby, Jack had a lot of black on his wings and seemed to have a cold a few months back. He was found to have psittacosis.
He was being treated for this, 6 treatments and pssitavet in both their drinking water.
They are being fed the proper foods, lots of vitamin A , Veges and fruit and seeds.
Vet was happy with his progress, he was putting on weight and eating everything in sight, cleaning out his bowl. He used to sneeze a lot, this subsided.
He was about to have his 6th treatment on Xmas eve, but they were making me wait well over an hour, seemed to overbook their customers and I had to be elsewhere and still had to get Jack home first, so I left very upset that they did this.
I have now noticed he has started the sneezing a lot again and has a runny nose.
I have rebooked his appointment with vet for this coming tuesday.
But I'm really not believing that even if he had that 6th treatment he would have been all fine.
Is there a stronger dose that can be given or something to be done ?
He had stopped the sneezing and ate like a pig but I don't think having the 6th treatment would have made him 100 %.
I'm just confused as to why he has gone backwards, he has a runny nose today and this has made me cry.
He is all chirpy , chatty and happy but I have also noticed our other ekky has now done the odd sneeze. They don't share anything. But I know living in the same house the other can get it.
I'm just scared that he is never going to be fixed :-( I was told he could have been sick since we got him as a baby, he had the black wings for a long time but not the sneezing.
Any advice, tips or stories of your own would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Robyn

 

[Robyn]

Hello,
I have 2 male ekkies, both are roughly 2 1/2 yrs old. One we have had since a baby at 14 weeks, the 2nd we were given about 5 or 6 months ago.
The one we have had since a baby, Jack had a lot of black on his wings and seemed to have a cold a few months back. He was found to have psittacosis.
He was being treated for this, 6 treatments and pssitavet in both their drinking water.
They are being fed the proper foods, lots of vitamin A , Veges and fruit and seeds.
Vet was happy with his progress, he was putting on weight and eating everything in sight, cleaning out his bowl. He used to sneeze a lot, this subsided.
He was about to have his 6th treatment on Xmas eve, but they were making me wait well over an hour, seemed to overbook their customers and I had to be elsewhere and still had to get Jack home first, so I left very upset that they did this.
I have now noticed he has started the sneezing a lot again and has a runny nose.
I have rebooked his appointment with vet for this coming tuesday.
But I'm really not believing that even if he had that 6th treatment he would have been all fine.
Is there a stronger dose that can be given or something to be done ?
He had stopped the sneezing and ate like a pig but I don't think having the 6th treatment would have made him 100 %.
I'm just confused as to why he has gone backwards, he has a runny nose today and this has made me cry.
He is all chirpy , chatty and happy but I have also noticed our other ekky has now done the odd sneeze. They don't share anything. But I know living in the same house the other can get it.
I'm just scared that he is never going to be fixed :-( I was told he could have been sick since we got him as a baby, he had the black wings for a long time but not the sneezing.
Any advice, tips or stories of your own would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Robyn

Ps... We have been wondering though if a tree branch my hubby put in his cage as a perch might be causing some sort of allergic reaction as well ?
He ade him a really big play gym months ago and it seemed to bother him, possibly the wood.
I don't know if my hubby used tb same wood to do this perch but it doesn't seem that it was too long after he put it in that the sneezing etc started.
I have just asked him to remove it now and he is replacing it with just some doweling. It was a fairly thick branch and jack loved sitting on it.
Trying to find any reason that has caused this sneezing to start up again.

 

[IcyWolf]

I am by far not qualified to answer this question, but is there anyway you can get a second opinion from another vet? I know that is doubtful as it seems to be hard enough to find one good avian vet in a town, let alone two, but if there is another one, perhaps you could at least give them a call and get another opinion?
Probably a good idea to remove the foreign wood perch as you said you are, at least until you know what kind of wood it is and if it's safe for him. I try to be very wary about anything the birds will be standing on and try to be pretty meticulous about keeping their perches clean as well. I know if I had to eat with my feet I would at least want the ground I walk on to be clean and safe

 

[mygirl]

Mylah had a sinus infection when she was young, any little dust makes her sneeze now she's really sensitive, if we put branches in the only stay in for half a day other wise they make her sneeze the dust of them really upsets her nose

 

[Robyn]

Hi there,
Thanks all for your input.
We have taken both cages outside and my hubby used a gurney to really scrub down the cages, I have washed the overnight cover of Jacks cage.
Tonight we heard just 1 sneeze from Jack.
My hubby is reading on another forum that another eclectus is sensitive to dust and they too did what we did today and they have improved.
So wondering if dust has been aggravating him as well.
Fingers crossed thatball this scrubbing and washing has helped, both are off to vets on Tuesday. Our other parrot Marlie is getting his nails clipped.
Thanks,
Robyn

 

[mygirl]

we have even found one type of newspaper makes her sneeze if we use it, you have to remember they are a tropical bird and there noses arn't used to the dust. we have a little hand held vaccuum cleaner that we use to clean her cage out every day that seems to help as well, hope he's ok

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

Call avianbiotech and ask for the kits to test for chlamydiosis (pstticosis) AND giardia. Test for both. Psitticosis treatment is doxycyclene ate 25 to 30 mg per kg of weight for at least 14 days.

If your vet tuly believed it was chlamydiosis (it's only called psitticosis when humans catch it), he would have reported it and sent you to see your doctor as well because it is a zootonic disease.

Giardia is treated with metronidazole at 10mg 2 times daily for 14 days.

 

[Pedro]

Robyn your Vet should have done tests to confirm the diagnosis & treatment should be for 45 days. This is a very common infectious disease. A large number of birds carry the Chlamydia organism in their system but will only show signs when stressed. Some birds are carriers & will shed the disease to infect other birds but not show signs themselves. Birds that survive infection are often still fully susceptible to the disease.

However eclectus sneeze from time to time, just as we do & sometimes have a discharge that will dry up after about an hour. I notice my birds sneeze when the weather has been crappy with rain for weeks or in winter when the air is to dry.

I give my parrots a few really hot chilies everyday, especially my Zons, my male has been plagued with some sort of sinus problem ever since i bought him 5 years ago. He would regularly have a clear thick discharge, no infection or reason could be found. I would give the hot chilie & within seconds of him biting it the discharge would clear away so they get chilie everyday. His attacks are becoming less & less. Once they were weekly now only about once or twice a year.

 

[Robyn]

I have taken them to vet , Jack has been checked over again and given his 6th and final treatment that he missed and the sneezing has subsided. But I really wouldnt call that he has any discharge really coming from his nose.
Vet has checked him over and reckons his chest is clear , colour in his beak is much brighter than it used to be and he reckons he is actually a pretty healthy bird.
My other parrot I also took in to get his nails trimmed, they were so sharp, very different from Jacks. Marlie was sooo well behaved that he didnt even get taken out of the cage, the vet was very impressed. He had clung to the side of the cage and the vet said " lets attempt to do them whilst he is hanging on, he did and Marlie just held on watching wjilst the vet trimmed the nails, another vet saw it and was gobsmacked lol .
But it seems healthwise Jack is pretty ok.
The only thing I can put it down to really is that he gets to places where there is dust, on tops of the cupboards, some of my window sills are dusty, and he plays along there.
We caught him sneezing yesterday and then he was scratching his nose as if something went into it , probably dust.
So Im going to give these areas a clean, not so sure about the top of my cabinets, will try and keep him off there.

 

[roxynoodle]

How is the humidity level in your house? I am thinking of adding a humidifier to the room where my birds are. This house is old and very dry, especially in winter.

 

[Robyn]

My house is not damp at all, its quite fine here.

 

[MikeyTN]

Have you called the place where you've got Jack from and ask about how Jackto come into contact with Chlamydia? Psittacosis kills a few humans every year as it is a infectious disease. Have you guys gotten yourself checked out?

 

[Robyn]

Hi there,
Jack went back today for 1 more check up and the vet us very happy with him. Just the odd sneeze, not much. The other day when he did sneeze, hecwas also scratching his nostril as if something went up there, like dust.
Other than , not really much sneezing.
Jack does get up on top of the kitchen cupboards which are not cleaned and it's possible that he gets dust from there.
The vet doesn't seem to think it's a problem anymore, he is very healthy in everything else and eats and eats and eats, his beak is a bright colour now where as early last year wasn't. I added more variety of veggies and vitamin A.
None of us are sick , no sore throats , colds or anything like that.
I will just have to knuckle diwn with the dust and clean these areas more, a couple of window sills too.
I'm feeling positive that this might now be it.
Thanks.
Robyn