Falling?

[Helitorian]

The past couple nights I've been waking up to the sound of Con falling to the bottom of her cage. She's never done this before and I'm starting to get kind of worried. It only happens about once a night (that I know of) and she climbs right back onto her perch then is fine in the morning. What's going on with her? Is her roosting perch too thick, my room too cold, or is this night fright? Thanks!

 

[MikeyTN]

Whats the size of con's perches? Yes they can fall if they don't have good grip!

 

[Helitorian]

About an inch around. It's been her roost perch for a little over 3 weeks now. Guess I'll change it and see what happens.

 

[Tammy]

Before I got Mr. Precious' wings clipped, he would always fly up to sleep on the ceiling fan above my bed. At least once a week he would slide off while sleeping & fall/fly onto my bed. It would scare the heck out of me. I tried wrapping it in vet rap so he could grip but he's terrified of it & would fly to another fan blade.

 

[roxynoodle]

Is she only doing it at night? If she's doing it during the day as well, then she will need to see the vet asap.

If it's just at night, maybe she gets into a really sound sleep and just tips over. Have you tried one of those little sleep tents or Happy Huts? Maybe that would be more secure for her. Or maybe offer a cement perch with more grip. Both Rowdy and Merlin sleep on their cement perches.

 

[Helitorian]

Is she only doing it at night? If she's doing it during the day as well, then she will need to see the vet asap.

If it's just at night, maybe she gets into a really sound sleep and just tips over. Have you tried one of those little sleep tents or Happy Huts? Maybe that would be more secure for her. Or maybe offer a cement perch with more grip. Both Rowdy and Merlin sleep on their cement perches.

Sometimes she falls during the day but its because she's turning too fast on her rope perch and her tail hits something or her feet get tangled. She only recently started falling and the perch is a bit smooth so I'll switch it for her cement perch. She does have a happy hut but she hardly uses it. Maybe I should make it the only place for her high up so she has to use it? If I'm changing her roost perch, I may as well reconfigure her whole cage. It's about time to anyway.

 

[roxynoodle]

I'd definitely keep my eye on her as well. Rowdy started falling several months ago. She either had a bacterial infection or a Vitamin E/Selenium deficiency the vet thought. We treated her for both, so it's hard to say which one it was. Either was kind of weird since she has been here a long time, and I keep her bowls and cage clean. And the vitamins/minerals are in her pellets and Nutriberries and in some of the extra people food she gets. But, she recovered quickly with the treatments so it must have been one or the other. That symptom can also indicate metal poisoning.

The vet did tell me it was good I took her in so fast because birds can become permanently disabled if it's not treated right away. The first time she fell that day I thought it was just her playing and lost her grip. When she fell again an hour later, I took her to the vet.

 

[Helitorian]

I will keep a close eye on her. I don't want to lose her. She's my baby <3

 

[roxynoodle]

He gave her a VitaminE/Selenium shot while we were there. And gave me an anti-biotic and anti-inflammatory to take home and give her twice a day. I broke a Nutriberry in half (the inside of them soaks up medications well) and put one of each medication on a half. I then let them dry about an hour, and put only the 2 halves of the Nutriberry in her dish so she would eat all of it. Then I would give her her pellets back. We went back in 5 days, and she was back to normal by then, and she got a second E/Selenium shot at that time. She made a full recovery.

 

[Pedro]

It's also worth a mention, calcium & VitD deficency. Especially if your Con doesn't have access to natural sunlight. I don't believe the uv lights are as good as nature.

 

[Helitorian]

Roxy, I looked up foods that have Vitamin E and Selenium. There was one food in common with both that made me laugh. Sunflower seeds! We're always told not too many sunflower seeds for birds and yet they have the best of those vitamins. I find it ironic lol I don't think she has a deficiency because she gets those as her training treat and they're always the first thing she goes for in her bowl. That leaves the infection so I'll watch and see if she needs a vet appointment within the next couple days.

 

[MikeyTN]

Perches matter as well!!!! After I changed Gracie's perch, she stop falling. An inch thick is too thick for a Jenday! Need to go down a notch.

 

[roxynoodle]

I can't quite remember everything that was on the list I looked up as far as foods rich in selenium. I don't remember sunflower seeds, which she doesn't actually like, but it was in other foods I give her. And it's in the pellets, so maybe she did have an infection. Who knows, maybe I gave it to her somehow, or the cat did.

Maybe it's not a bad idea though to let them have a few sunflower seeds a day though if it has those vitamins and minerals. There are safflower seeds in the Nutriberries.

Yeah, either way I was supprised whether it was an infection or deficiency. She was 11.5 years old, is the picture of health with beautiful feather and is on a good diet. She is my one bird who will eat anything I give her. But, at least she didn't have some permanent neurological problem.

 

[Bobioden]

Does she have a Sleep Tent/Happy Hut to climb in at night?

 

[Helitorian]

I made her Happy Hut her highest "perch" and she decided to use one a bit lower, the little butthead. I'll leave it like that so she gets use to it and starts using it hopefully.

 

[Remy]

My vet said weakness could happen from high sodium/low potassium.