Hi guys! I'm hoping you can share some advice or ideas.
Several months ago my 13 year old Cockatiel got very sick. She had a large distended crop. The first vet thought it was simply a yeast or bacterial infection but after months of stressful medication dosages we saw no relief and she was going down hill. She was skin and bones so I took her to an avian specialist. X-RAYS, blood and everything didn't give us any clues and we finally settled on heavy metal toxicity. We treated with EDTA and a medication to help empty her crop quicker and she improved. I was still convinced it's probably a tumor and the crop medication is what is helping. After weeks of tube feeding she has improved and put on a little weight.
Meanwhile I was in the middle of moving so she has been in a small travel cage for the last 3 months. I finally found a place to live and scrubbed down her old large cage today and sure enough. I found several small areas where the coating on the bars has flaked off revealing rust underneath. And it's right next to where she perches.
Now these large coated cages are quite spendy so I'might stuck with a dilemma. Scrap the cage all together and see if I can find an affordable used one? Or try to see if I can do something with the old cage.
My initial thought was to just cover up those bars with something. Rope that she can chew on? A plastic shield over that spot?
I don'the think I am handy enough to try to professionally refinish the cage.
Other thoughts? Anyone else had this problem?
Several months ago my 13 year old Cockatiel got very sick. She had a large distended crop. The first vet thought it was simply a yeast or bacterial infection but after months of stressful medication dosages we saw no relief and she was going down hill. She was skin and bones so I took her to an avian specialist. X-RAYS, blood and everything didn't give us any clues and we finally settled on heavy metal toxicity. We treated with EDTA and a medication to help empty her crop quicker and she improved. I was still convinced it's probably a tumor and the crop medication is what is helping. After weeks of tube feeding she has improved and put on a little weight.
Meanwhile I was in the middle of moving so she has been in a small travel cage for the last 3 months. I finally found a place to live and scrubbed down her old large cage today and sure enough. I found several small areas where the coating on the bars has flaked off revealing rust underneath. And it's right next to where she perches.
Now these large coated cages are quite spendy so I'might stuck with a dilemma. Scrap the cage all together and see if I can find an affordable used one? Or try to see if I can do something with the old cage.
My initial thought was to just cover up those bars with something. Rope that she can chew on? A plastic shield over that spot?
I don'the think I am handy enough to try to professionally refinish the cage.
Other thoughts? Anyone else had this problem?
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