Good and Bad News from the Vet

Well, I took Noah, Alice, and Ria to the vet today. I wanted Noah to have his beak and nails filed since they're razor sharp (he was a good boy and only put his beak on me a little during the filing), Alice needed to have her tummy checked because she's been having issues again, and Ria needed to have her eye checked because it's become more swollen as a result of sinusitis. Anyways, Dr. Morris said Ria looks a lot better, is chubbier than last time, and to keep giving her medicine (he said to try mixing her medicine with syrup since she's getting tired of the ice cream).

However, Alice is a different story. It turns out she has something wrong with her heart. He said her heartbeat was in hummingbird range, and that he'd never heard a budgie with such a fast heartbeat. He also said she's really skinny (I noticed that when I had to catch her). He examined her lower abdomen by her vent for several minutes, and said she definitely has a mass there, and that it felt like a shell-less egg. He wanted to x-ray her, but was worried about how stressed she was. Luckily(?) Alice goes into a sort of catatonic or dissociative state when stressed, so he was able to x-ray her. He thought she was really sick because she was just laying limp on her little back after he handled her, but I told him that it was normal for her to do that, so he went ahead with the x-ray.

The x-ray didn't really show anything because she didn't have enough fat to separate the organs or whatever. He took some fluid from the mass using a syringe, and a bunch of blood came out as if he'd hit an artery. He said not only did she have the avian equivalent of hypertonic cardiomyopathy, but she appeared to have sarcoma in her abdomen. He said she's dying, and that I could either have her euthanized right then, or I could bring her home and monitor her.

He said her heart problem is likely a result of being malnourished when she lived with the animal hoarder when she was just little, and that nothing can be done. The only thing that could've helped is if she'd been fed properly when she was a baby. He said that she seemed anemic due to the tumour, which would only make her heart rate worse.

I decided to bring her home and give her everything she enjoys. I'm also going to feed her a bunch of spinach to help with her iron and help her hang on a bit longer. If she becomes pale, he said to bring her in to be euthanized. He also told me not to be surprised if she suddenly dies. He said he'd perform an autopsy for me when she passes. She probably won't make it to her third birthday in October.

In all, the appointment only cost $50.

Ohhhhh, so sorry....thoughts and hearts with you.

Oh sweet Alice. Please give her skritches or whatever she likes best from Bumble and me. May her last days be her best days. [emoji26]


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You're another one of my dear heroes here.
Yep, love that little darling and please take comfort from the fact that she will pass away LOVED and TREASURED, which is, I think, the greatest blessing our companion animals can have.
Thank you for sharing.

Oh, I'm saddened to read this. You are a good soul to give Alice the best life she can have in the time she has left. Did the vet offer any pain medication?

Warm feather hugs and prays for both of you!

Thanks everyone. Everyone was happy to be back home, and Alice perked right up when I brought her back in the aviary. She's been sleeping a lot and it seems like she is experiencing some pain, but she's at least a bit happy still. By the time the vet went to extract some fluid from the mass, she started coming out of her stupor and was rolling around and nipping my dad and him . That's what I like to see from my birds .

As for pain meds, he didn't prescribe any. With her in as delicate of a state as she is, I wouldn't want to stress her little heart. Also, Metacam seems to be the standard painkiller for birds, and that would really mess up her heart. Thanks for asking, though. I don't want to sound like I'm dismissing you or anything. Here's my Instagram account I just set up with pictures and videos of my birds:

https://www.instagram.com/teddscau/

She isn't exactly trusting of humans so she probably wouldn't like it if I tried to give her a hug or anything , but I will definitely give her as much millet, mash, birdie bread, veggies, and things to shred as she wants. I'm going to keep her alive for as long as I can, but once she's too weak or is just in too much pain to enjoy life, I'll take her in to be euthanized.

Even if she doesn't get to live as long or as healthy of a life as she deserves, at least I was able to save her from that terrible life she had and gave her a home where she could feel safe, make friends, and behave like a real budgie. I mean, how many budgies in captivity can say they're part of a flock and live in an aviary? It's just so upsetting, especially since she's so young. She's the youngest individual in our house, even younger than Noah by a few months.

I'm very sorry you're going through this, it's amazing how attached we get to them, and it's even more amazing how anyone could ever treat them badly or not provide for them. I'm glad you're keeping her comfortable and happy, just spoil her rotten!

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

EllenD said:

I'm very sorry you're going through this, it's amazing how attached we get to them, and it's even more amazing how anyone could ever treat them badly or not provide for them. I'm glad you're keeping her comfortable and happy, just spoil her rotten!

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

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Yeah, that monster was actually going to release her into the wild in the middle of the winter, luckily the person who rescued her convinced the hoarder to hand Alice over. Man, humans are idiots.

Anyways, she's definitely going to be getting as many carbs as she can eat, since budgies are carb junkies. I hope she'll live long enough for the grass to grow seeds so I can give them to her. They definitely enjoy their fresh grass seed. Hmm, someone should start a bird seed brand that offers fresh grass seed from over 10 species of grass. I mean, you can buy grass seed for your lawn, but that stuff definitely isn't safe for eating (pesicides and whatnot). I mean, stores sell raspberries, and those things are almost impossible to harvest without damaging them! Not to mention the thorns. And the hornets. Anyways, if you can sell raspberries, you sure as heck can sell fresh, organic grass seed for granivores. Got kind of off topic there...

Oh, and some jerk bit Alice's foot before I took her to the vet. Her poor little foot has blood stains on it from some dork chomping down on it. Now, one might be inclined to blame Noah, but 9/10 budgies find feet clinging to the bars of a cage irresistible. If it is Noah, this'll be his second foot biting incident this month, and I'll have to quarantine him for a while if he misbehaves again. It's not his fault, though, since it is breeding season and his beak has been extremely sharp lately. He just had his beak filed and I've set the lights to turn off sooner, so things should be fine now. Everybody's been pretty rowdy the past month or so because they're hormonal, but things are settling down a little. He's lived in the aviary with everyone for almost a year now, so it's probably just a fluke that he's biting toes.

I don't want to discourage anyone from getting a rescue, as these animals are truly deserving of a loving home. Nobody adopts a rescue because they are well socialized, have great genetics, or are fully trained. You get a rescue to help end the cycle of abuse and neglect in the pet industry, and to give them a loving home to live out the rest of their days. For the majority of animals in captivity, the wild can never be their home again, so we have to give them the best lives possible in captivity.

Your vet is amazing, and you just caused another angel to earn his wings!

I'm terribly pained to learn of Alice's condition. So sorry she was abused, but you are giving her the best time of her life. Hope she has some quality life remaining.

Thanks you two . She's been unwell since I adopted her when she was only 2 or 3 months old. She's definitely a silly little bird. Sometimes she starts screaming in what appears to be a panic, only to do some goofy vocalizations that are akin to laughter, in my opinion. She has a bit of a mischievous side, too, as she'll sometimes go after Ziggy and try to bite his toes.

What's nice is that since I've "released" the kākāriki into the aviary, Alice has been spending quite a bit of time with them, just standing on the perch with them with her eyes closed. She and the kākāriki seem quite calm around each other, so I'm sure she takes at least some comfort in their presence.

I'm going to put a small water dish with dandelion root extract in the cage with her, as she's currently been drinking from an "unmedicated" dish. The dandelion root extract seems to help with cancer, as Ju's had testicular cancer for almost three years now and is still really healthy, and Lara had what the vet believed was a large tumour in her lower abdomen and cancer in her hip. Lara was given a couple months if not weeks to live, but this was last summer, and she's really healthy now. I can't see her tumour anymore, and tumours don't just tend to disappear.

Dr. Morris is a great vet who's only interested in the wellbeing of his patients, and doesn't care about the money (I think we can all agree that $50 for a beak and nail trimming, Ria's examination, and Alice's examination, x-ray, and fluid extraction is amazing). Every time we go there, he lets me get hands on experience, listening to my kiddie's heart, showing me how to hold them to prevent flailing and biting, etc.

Really, I appreciate everyone's kind words. I'm going to do what I can to have her hang on for as long and as happily as possible. Extra grains for the magnesium to help her heart, spinach for the iron to combat the anemia, making sure she drinks water with dandelion root extract to combat the cancer, and turning up the heat to make it easier on her sick little body.

I don't think anybody could do better for little Alice! So glad you didn't submit her for euthanasia as offered.

Well, Alice had a really good day on Saturday. She was very alert and active. She was actively foraging for food and spent way more time out of the cage than she normally does. She seemed really happy and was curious about what the others were doing. Honestly, I haven't seen her this happy and active in a long time.

Yesterday, Alice did spend some time on the heated perch, hunkered over in pain (not unbearable pain, but it definitely didn't feel too good). However, she spent a fair bit of time out of the cage, watching the others and looking for food. When I was cleaning their aviary, Alice actually flew down onto the floor to look for food! She's been quite withdrawn lately, but the fact that she put herself in such a vulnerable position while I was in there was amazing! She was actually behaving like a normal budgie!

I guess cranking out the heat in there is really helping, eh? Before, she was spending most of her time with her eyes closed, not moving and in discomfort. Now she has a lot more energy! Oh, and her poor little tummy and bum isn't black anymore! They turned black after the vet appointment due to bruising, but now they're pink again! Hopefully she'll continue to improve, and maybe live longer? Like I've said, my sick birds are living longer than the vet or I would've thought possible.

Teddscau said:

Well, Alice had a really good day on Saturday. She was very alert and active. She was actively foraging for food and spent way more time out of the cage than she normally does. She seemed really happy and was curious about what the others were doing. Honestly, I haven't seen her this happy and active in a long time.

Yesterday, Alice did spend some time on the heated perch, hunkered over in pain (not unbearable pain, but it definitely didn't feel too good). However, she spent a fair bit of time out of the cage, watching the others and looking for food. When I was cleaning their aviary, Alice actually flew down onto the floor to look for food! She's been quite withdrawn lately, but the fact that she put herself in such a vulnerable position while I was in there was amazing! She was actually behaving like a normal budgie!

I guess cranking out the heat in there is really helping, eh? Before, she was spending most of her time with her eyes closed, not moving and in discomfort. Now she has a lot more energy! Oh, and her poor little tummy and bum isn't black anymore! They turned black after the vet appointment due to bruising, but now they're pink again! Hopefully she'll continue to improve, and maybe live longer? Like I've said, my sick birds are living longer than the vet or I would've thought possible.

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You are giving Alice (and others) the gift of compassion, normalcy, and the ability to act out as close to natural behaviors as possible! I'm pretty sure you are sufficiently perceptive to know when a more intimate housing of Alice will be necessary.

Nothing to contribute, just that I'm watching and rejoicing in every good day.

Sorry I haven't posted an update in a while. Everyone's still alive, so that's good. I've been doing some research on heart disease and water belly, and cranking out the heat like I've been doing (it's at least 80°F in the aviary) apparently helps to lower the body's oxygen requirement, thus helping to relieve some of the stress on her heart (not to mention less energy being spent on trying to maintain a body temperature of 114°). I also read that increasing the pH of her blood will help her hemoglobin transport oxygen. Improving the oxygen absorption will further help her heart, since, in theory, it won't have to beat as fast. Her poor heart seems like it might be even worse than Charlie's was when he was dying. You wouldn't believe how fast it's been beating. Her colour's still good, so at least her body's getting enough oxygen, but at this rate her heart's going to wear itself out.

Right now, I need to focus on helping her heart maintain strength and elasticity, encourage more effective oxygen transportation, reduce her body's oxygen requirements, and just try to get her heart to slow down. The annoying thing about trying to feed them an alkaline diet is that everything you'd think would be acidic is actually alkaline, and everything you'd think would be alkaline is actually acidic. For example, lemons, tomatoes, and apple cider vinegar are good for raising alkalinity. And for some reason, grains are slightly acidic! How the heck does pH work!? I used to keep fish (they were happy, had quality food, enrichment, live plants, a weekly gravel-vacuuming and water change, kept with compatible tankmates...but then the piscine tuberculosis struck...TB is like psittacosis, PBFD, and AGY mixed all into one terrible fish disease.), so I thought I understood pH. It seems like digestive pH is completely different from "acidic" food that destroys your teeth. So...acidic in the mouth, alkaline in the blood?

I'm also wondering if she doesn't have cancer, but instead has "water belly" like Charlie had. Dr. Morris said that blood came out of her mass, but I'm wondering if it was actually blood proteins being forced out of her liver due to high blood pressure resulting from her heart problems. I'm going to take her in again when Dr. Morris comes back from vacation. If her breathing gets worse, her pain increases, or if her tummy gets more swollen before he returns, I'll take her elsewhere.

I've also decided to quit giving Ria her antibiotics (I'm taking her to see Morris again once he's back). She's been taking antibiotics since March 20, so either we're dealing with an apocalyptic disease, or the stuff just isn't draining from her face. A few days ago I noticed she had dark debris in her left nostril (the same nostril that was infected), so I think she might have rhinoliths or something that need to be removed. In addition, I think she might even need to have the swollen area lanced so the pus can drain. There's no way the sinusitis bacteria survived all that medication. She sneezes/coughs constantly for ten minutes after taking her medicine, so I question whether we're doing more harm than good at this point.

Thanks for the update, seems you are doing the very best possible!

Has your vet considered giving Alice heart-specific meds to slow and strengthen the beat? This link details the saga of Angel, my Eclectus with heart issues. The use of Pimobendan likely bought her many months, though I didn't see the need for a necropsy when she passed. Similar initial symptoms; fast and irregular heartbeat and fluid retention.
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/63907-heart-disease-cautionary-tale.html

Oh, I didn't know Angel had passed. I remember you posting about her heart problems, as Charlie had died from heart failure not long before you took Angel to the vet. I'm glad to hear the medicine helped her enjoy her last months. I'll definitely have to talk to the vet about Pimobendan.

Either the avian vets here in Ontario don't have a lot of knowledge or experience, or they have some sort of bias against small birds. I know birds can die of fright, but it seems like every time I bring a budgie to an avian vet (I've seen at least four avian vets), they bring up the fact that they could die from fright, and are really reluctant to do testing (for example, x-rays). I have to convince them to do any "invasive" tests, like crop swabs, cloacal swabs, or x-rays. When Charlie was sick, one of the avian vets I took him to said he was "old" and his body was probably shutting down. She said there was a good chance of him dying of fright if they did an x-ray, and she told me that analyzing the fluid in his abdomen would be a waste of money because he was small, old, and probably just dying.

I don't know, I just feel things would be different if I had big macaws or cockatoos, because then the vets wouldn't just see a small, "fragile", $15 bird. I'd argue that budgies can be even tougher than large, predatory animals like dogs. Dogs are afraid of vacuums, scared of vets, and terrified of thunder. Budgies love vacuums; are nervous about vets, but are more angry with the vet than anything; and sleep through thunderstorms. And when you clip a dog's nails, they flail and yelp. A budgie just swears at you and bites. Afterwards, the budgie will just give you a look as if to say, "What the heck was that about!? Ooh! Spray millet!"