Hi everyone. Mojito (18mo GCC) had quite a health scare this morning and I wanted to share my story but also reach out to the community to see if anyone has had a similar experience. I’ll start by saying I have already spoken to his regular avian vet as well as consulted with an emergency exotic veterinarian and determined that since Mojito quickly stabilized after his scary health episode this morning we could wait to bring him in until tomorrow for exam and blood work. He is now acting normally aside from some slight cautiousness to random loud noises.
Ok, so here is what happened:
He woke up as he normally does and was his talkative self, did his morning poopy and spent some time with me as I got ready for work. He likes to hang out on top of the fridge while I grab my coffee and refill my water. I stepped away to get my water bottle and he flew after me but flew back to the fridge as I was returning to the kitchen. I started to fill my water bottle with ice and as I look up at him I noticed he was suddenly acting strange. He had a scared/alert expression and then spread one of his wings straight up in the air before becoming very disoriented. I reached for him and he was panting very hard and had trouble balancing almost as if he was going to pass out. He started to calm down as I held him and he rested his body against me to keep balance. He continued to be rather disoriented for another minute or two before stabilizing. Within 10 minutes he seemed to be back to his energetic self, was eating, drinking, and pee/poops appeared to be normal. Needless to say I took the day off from woke to monitor him closely. He has been extra attached to me and has seemed to get overly spooked a few times by things. (loud noise, random object). So far in my research I’ve concluded he had a sudden episode of ataxia. We have an appointment with his vet tomorrow for exam and bloodwork to rule out injury/illness. I have an emergency plan set in place should something come up before then. I will post an update tomorrow after vet appointment too.
A few tidbits: his diet is very well balanced, he eats mostly roudybush pellets, some Sunburst Conure Seed, Nutriberries, and daily chop.
Assuming his blood work comes back clean….I was getting ice and wonder if that spooked him really bad…or maybe he had a bad landing?
Ok, so here is what happened:
He woke up as he normally does and was his talkative self, did his morning poopy and spent some time with me as I got ready for work. He likes to hang out on top of the fridge while I grab my coffee and refill my water. I stepped away to get my water bottle and he flew after me but flew back to the fridge as I was returning to the kitchen. I started to fill my water bottle with ice and as I look up at him I noticed he was suddenly acting strange. He had a scared/alert expression and then spread one of his wings straight up in the air before becoming very disoriented. I reached for him and he was panting very hard and had trouble balancing almost as if he was going to pass out. He started to calm down as I held him and he rested his body against me to keep balance. He continued to be rather disoriented for another minute or two before stabilizing. Within 10 minutes he seemed to be back to his energetic self, was eating, drinking, and pee/poops appeared to be normal. Needless to say I took the day off from woke to monitor him closely. He has been extra attached to me and has seemed to get overly spooked a few times by things. (loud noise, random object). So far in my research I’ve concluded he had a sudden episode of ataxia. We have an appointment with his vet tomorrow for exam and bloodwork to rule out injury/illness. I have an emergency plan set in place should something come up before then. I will post an update tomorrow after vet appointment too.
A few tidbits: his diet is very well balanced, he eats mostly roudybush pellets, some Sunburst Conure Seed, Nutriberries, and daily chop.
Assuming his blood work comes back clean….I was getting ice and wonder if that spooked him really bad…or maybe he had a bad landing?
Last edited:
