Diarrhea - how serious?

[DexMom]

I'm a super worry wart. Yesterday, Dexter had diarrhea - his poop was large watery beige/gray puddles with very little semi-solids. He was lively, talkative, playful and climbing around as usual. He ate normally last night for dinner and settled down as he usually does in the evening. I put him to bed with a new clean cage paper, so I could monitor overnight droppings and see if he needed a vet trip this AM.

This morning the few poops from overnight looked closer to normal. He awoke chatty and looking for breakfast. He ate typically and his droppings today have returned to normal. But, since 8am or so, he's been VERY quiet today. He's perched and awake, but not actively climbing around or playing with toys and hardly any chatter at all. When I opened his cage, he made no move to come out. Now, I'm worried. Should I call the vet, or assume he's a bit peaked from yesterday's tummy ache and just keep an eye on him?

 

[RavensGryf]

Occasionally you might see a loose poop here or there, but since this seems to be accompanied by other symptoms, I'd make an appointment to take him in asap. Sooner the better if a bird is exhibiting symptoms. Use your best judgement and gut feeling if he is not acting himself. Most vets will save some spaces for emergencies. Good luck with Dexter. Please keep us posted.

 

[Piasa]

I agree with the above. Take photo of any unusual stools for the vet, and bring poop sample with you in a baggie.

 

[wrench13]

Yup, AV Vet, if your gut feeling is he is off. We've had too many sad notices here lately, and Dexter is a cutie.

 

[DexMom]

I've called the vet and sent him a picture of today's poop. I did not think to take a picture of yesterday's puddles or save them. We discussed the situation and decided to wait and see for a few more hours (he's open until 9PM tonight and I'm 15 minutes away). Soon after posting this, Dexter perked up and started playing call and response vocal games with me and seemed to be coming around to his old self. The plan right now is to watch him and track his active/resting times and call the doctor back at 7:00 to discuss the necessity of an exam and tests. I feel so fortunate to have such a terrific vet close at hand.

Of course if Dexter starts to go down hill, I will run him right in. Vet said a call isn't necessary, just bring him.

 

[wrench13]

Thats a GOOD vet! Hope its not needed, and nice to hear Dex is perking up.

 

[Uglow]

Glad you called the vet. My boy's had the runs a few times since I've gotten him. After talking to my vet and showing him pictures he came to a couple of conclusions and both times told me to wait a bit and see how he does. Both times his poops were back to normal in a few hours.
Uglow thinks that the shower is a giant drinking fountain sometimes. And when he eats too many wet veggies...sometimes he goes on a red bell pepper kick.
Do you weigh him daily? My vet said that that's one of the best indicators of illness. But honestly, you know your bird better than anyone. Hope he's feeling better soon.

 

[DexMom]

I do not weigh him daily. I've never even thought of doing that.

Dexter seems to be back to his old self. He's been out of his cage for about an hour hanging out with my daughter (the love of his life) and chatting with her and preening her hair and trying to eat her homework - so yeah, normal stuff LOL. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I just panicked and read too much into a quiet morning.

 

[Uglow]

I do not weigh him daily. I've never even thought of doing that.

Dexter seems to be back to his old self. He's been out of his cage for about an hour hanging out with my daughter (the love of his life) and chatting with her and preening her hair and trying to eat her homework - so yeah, normal stuff LOL. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I just panicked and read too much into a quiet morning.

That's great. Glad to see he's back to his usual self.
and weighing your guy regularly first thing in the morning is really helpful. I keep a log of it and it's a nice ritual cuz that's when he gets his first treat.

 

[wrench13]

Yeah, we weigh salty every couple days, 265 to 270gr since we got him. When he had his nasal infection it dropped to 250. We got an inexpensive scale and made a perch for it. Easy.

 

[DexMom]

Dexter is back to his regular behavior and no more runny runs. So, it was just a case of my super-charged anxiety getting the better of me. I tend to be overprotective about everything and get myself worked up over nothing. As much as I know this is my tendency, I can't stop the panic. Bear with me .

 

[DexMom]

Daily weighing is something I've never considered. What type of scale set-up do you have?

cue: immediate obsession with daily weighing and anxiety over every gram lost/gained

 

[Christinenc2000]

Dexter is back to his regular behavior and no more runny runs. So, it was just a case of my super-charged anxiety getting the better of me. I tend to be overprotective about everything and get myself worked up over nothing. As much as I know this is my tendency, I can't stop the panic. Bear with me .

Glad Dexter is ok Deep Breaths LOL I get OCD over things once in awhile PITA when I do . NOT OCD just worry at times.

 

[lplummer52]

Screech gets watery poops right after he's eaten a lot fruit. It firms right up later that day.

 

[Piasa]

I use a $20 kitchen scale. My birds sit right on the platform, but you can also set a perch on top and tare it. I weigh in morning before they eat, you will get most consistent weight.

Weight will fluctuate a little and it's not something to be concerned about. My 72ish gram conure will gain a gram just by eating. I accept a 2 gram fluctuation as normal for him right now, however he has ranged from 68-73 grams in a healthy state within his life thus far.

If there is a big decrease in weight, that is bad. Or if your bird is losing weight every day.

 

[wrench13]

We dont sweat until is +/- 5% of his well weight.Saltys office / AV vet visit stressed him and he lost 3 grams, but no worries , hes back up. When he was sick it dropped to 250, he is usually 265-271. Just a common weight scale, it was like 30 bucks on Amazon, and there is a suction cup perch you can buy there too. Little rascal, one of his tricks is to pull the perch off and throw it on the floor.

Actually here is the link -

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/ZIEIS-A42SS-NMTP-Accuracy-Capacity-Stainless/dp/B0040HQ5EO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462470195&sr=8-1&keywords=weight+scale+bird"]Amazon.com: ZIEIS Digital Bird Scale | A42SS-NMTP | Wooden T Perch | Suction Cup | 1.0 Gram or 0.05 Ounce Accuracy | 2000 Gram or 70 Ounce Capacity | Stainless Steel Platform: Pet Supplies[/ame]

 

[DexMom]

Thanks! I have a postal scale which would probably work, if I added a perch.

 

[RavensGryf]

Good. I'm glad it was nothing and Dexter is alright .

I use a digital scale. I think it was made for the kitchen, it has a round stainless platform. Raven knows how to step down on it as long as I hold him in my right hand and his right foot can step down. He's easy. Robin would try to attack and bite the platform hard and clamp on, so I have to distract him by holding up my fingers in his face or a toy or something so he'll keep his head up. Griffin is too wild, but got weighed at the vet the other day thank goodness he was the same. Mink is easy, I just plop her onto the scale. It would definitely be nice if it had a perch though.

 

[Comment]

I weigh my tiel every couple days in this kitchen scale: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Digital-cooking-accuracy-Weighing-KD-320-WH/dp/B002P67LH2/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1462528093&sr=1-3&keywords=tanita+scale"]Amazon.com: TANITADigital cooking scaleAlso useful for making bread0.1g unitHigh accuracyWeighing up to3kgWhiteKD-320-WH: Digital Kitchen Scales: Kitchen & Dining[/ame]
It's very good, very stable. I use it for the kitchen too.
Instead of a perch I use the TV remote. Maya loves to stand on it, so I tare the remote and then put remote with bird on the scale .