Remi went to the vet today

[RemiBird]

So we finally made a move and visited a vet today. Not sure about certified avian vet as there is no one nearby us, but this is a place that takes in exotics and birds as well, so it's the best we could do for now.
Some of you may know my issue with Remi's tail chewing. Turns out, he is pretty healthy, they did a thorough physical exam, checked the skin, preening gland, beak and mouth etc. They took a stool sample and it looks excellent. No lesions on the skin or fungus, no missing feathers. Normal preening. The preening gland was a little dry so she suggested red palm oil for vitamin A and E, and a humidifier. I asked about a blood test, but she said at this point he looks very healthy that she would like to see him back in a few months and do a blood test then. Didn't want to do too much today.
The tail chewing seems completely behavioral and she thinks to try and keep him busy with toys etc. This is what I was thinking also, considering Remi's past. (he came from a rather weird situation and stressful circumstances).
Anyway, she says he looks very confident and has pretty good look overall.
I was really proud of him, they weighed him, she examined him, handled him etc. and not a single bite! He stepped up great for us and was even talkative to the vet assistant!
Anyway, where do I get red palm oil?

 

[noodles123]

I would always insist on blood-work if in doubt. Glad everything else checks out.

 

[RemiBird]

Like I said, we will be going back in a few months to do bloodwork. For now, she said to try and give him red palm oil, humidifier for dryness, and keep him occupied.

 

[RemiBird]

Oh, and he weighs about 68 grams. Is that an average weight for a GCC? It seems a little low. She showed me his keel bone, she thinks it's just fine.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

68 grams is within normal range for a gcc. The important thing is body condition rather than weight so it's a good thing that the vet checked Remi's keel and showed you also. I have a gcc now that is around 65 grams and she is in good condition and I used to have a gcc monster that was close to 90 grams, also in good condition, so their ideal weight can fluctuate greatly.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[RemiBird]

Thank you for the info! Yeah, I just worry about him, but he looked healthy to the vet.

 

[ChristaNL]

Palmoil...most online birdy-shops have it for you.
You sometimes find it in the 'healthnut-department' as well if you are lucky.
Depends what part of the world you live in - try to get the red stuf

(I had to order mine online from one of the parrotshops)

 

[RemiBird]

Went to the store today and got a warm mist humidifier. Then, I remembered I had a UVA/UVB bulb from a long time ago that was sitting in my pantry. so, I picked up a tall lamp. I am thinking a little bit of light may help with vitamin D levels too. Still looking for the red palm oil, but I think one of the stores nearby has it.

 

[fiddlejen]

Some grocery stores have it now. I've seen it near the fancy unfiltered coconut oil.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Harrisons sells red palm fruit oil. They also have food that includes it. https://store.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/OTHER-PRODUCTS/products/84/


I know that GCC are smaller than sunnies, but I didn't realize the weight difference! Skittles weighs about 120g and he is NOT overweight at all. I wonder why GCCs weight is so much different. I think Skittles is also probably one bigger side of sunnies. He was easily twice as big as my tiel Peaches, but she was also small for a tiel.

 

[Jen5200]

Weight sounds normal for a GCC - my Stanley is 68g and Tango is 90g so it can vary quite a bit between birds and still be a healthy weight. Both of my suns range between 116-120g and have good body condition. I got my red palm oil online from a parrot store. Glad Remi checked out well....and didn’t bite anyone

 

[EllenD]

I'm glad that Remi check-out well, but do make sure that you get the routine Blood-Work done ASAP, not only because you never know and you need to know, especially because he's not had it done before, but most-importantly so you have all of his normal, "Baseline" levels for everything when he's completely well, so that if he does become sick or something appears wrong, they'll have his Baseline-levels for comparison, as sometimes just a small-deviation in certain levels may be slightly "abnormal", but normal for Remi...

I'm a fan of Red-Palm Oil, just as long as you see clear, definite improvement within a few months of starting it, and just as long as your bird can tolerate it and doesn't show any signs of negative-reactions or illness from it. If you don't see any improvements in feathering, etc. within a few months of using it, then discontinue it, as the less stuff you give them the better...

***I'm not going to go into the reason why pet birds should not have an artificial UVB light over them, or why it does absoutley NOTHING for your bird in-regards to Vitamin D (UVB light does not GIVE THEM Vitamin D, that's a common mistake and is falsely-spread in reptile forums all over the internet), but I will definitely tell you that you that the brand, type, strength, AGE of the BULB, and UVB-output of the particular UVB light you have MUST be looked-at, as these are all factors as to whether or not they will provide much UVB light in the first place, even if it was beneficial to birds (which it's not), but much more importantly because over 50% of the UVB bulbs that are commercially-sold for birds, reptiles, etc. are extremely harmful and cause temporary and permanent Eye damage, Blindness, Skin Damage, Skin Cancer (Basal Cell, Squamous Cell, and Melanoma), Photoconjunctivitis in both eyes that requires high-doses and long-courses of Antibiotics to remedy, and most-severely are the Neurological issues such as Tremor and Seizure activity, loss of spacial-awareness, etc.

For example, did you know that ALL COIL/SPIRAL UVB BULBS, unless they are the newer, self-ballasted type (rare), regardless of the brand, the UVB output, the UVB strength, the wattage, etc., all emit extremely harmful light-rays that are a by-product of the manufacturing-process used to make them? The other issue is that even for Reptiles/Amphibians who actually REQUIRE a UVB light in order to be able to digest, absorb, and process the Vitamin D that they eat in their food, which in-turn allows them to absorb and use the Calcium they eat in their food, unless a Coil/Spiral UVB bulb is one of the newer, self-ballasted bulbs, none of them emit enough UVB light to do anythign at all for a Reptile/Amphibian unless #1) It's a 10.0 UVB-output and a T5-strength bulb, and only if it's totally unobstructed by anything, such as a mesh/screen lid, etc., (or glass/clear plastic, which blocks 100% of ALL UVB LIGHt, EVEN FROM THE SUN, and #2) The Coil/Spiral UVB bulb is withthin at least 12"-18" of the Reptile/Amphibian, which in-turn causes the serious health issue above...The same goes for all "Compact" UVB bulbs as far as being at all beneficial, they don't cause the health-issues that the Coil/Spiral UVB bulbs do, but are just way too weak to do anything (meaning UVB bulbs that are shaped/look like a regular lightbulb), unless they are the newer, self-ballasted Compact UVB-bulbs, OR they are a Mercury-Vapor Compact UVB-bulb (which emit strong UVB-light PLUS HEAT)

(UVB light actually only ACTIVATES the Vitamin D3 that is ingested in the food in most Reptiles, and Vitamin D3 is needed in all living creatures (basically) in order to be able to properly absorb Calcium that is ingested, that's the relationship between Vitamin D3 and UVB light, it doesn't produce Vitamin D of any kind, the creature must first always eat/ingest enough Vitamin D in their food first for UVB light to do anything at all for them, otherwise it does NOTHING)...

The bottom-line is that when it comes to birds/parrots, there is absoutely NO REASON to put any type of UVB-bulb over your pet bird, because if your pet-bird is deficient in either Vitamin D/D3 or Calcium, they won't get any from a UVB light or even from natural Sunlight, as UVB light DOES NOT PROVIDE VITAMIN D/D3 OR CALCIUM TO ANY LIVING CREATURE!!! Your bird must EAT/INGEST ALL of the Vitamin D/D3 and Calcium that they need/use!!! And birds are not at all like Reptiles/Amphibians who's bodies can ONLY use ANY of the Vitamin D/D3 or Calcium that they eat/ingest if they absorb enough UVB light each and every day, either 1-2 hours of natural Sunlight each day, or at least 10-12 hours of light from an artificial UVB-light if they are kept indoors (preferably they are under either a Mercury-Vapor Bulb or a UVB Tube-Light that is a 10.0 T5 UVB Tube-Light that is at least 18" long, and that is replaced at least once a year if a T5; if a much weaker 10.0 T8 UVB Tube-Light (or a T8 strength Coil/Spiral or Compact UVB light as well), then it must be replaced once every 6-months, as ALL T8 strength UVB lights stop emitting ANY UVB light AT ALL after 6 months of being on for at least 8-hour each day, even though the UVB lights will still turn-on and light-up.

Birds must get ALL of their Vitamin D/D3 from their food each day, and they must ingest enough Vitamin D/D3 in their food each day to be able to absorb the Calcium that they eat each day. However, unlike most Reptiles and Amphibians, birds DO NOT need UVB light in-order to be able to absorb or use the Vitamin D/D3 they eat in their food!!! That's where the disconnect is with most people, they either think/believe that #1) UVB light provides Vitamin D/D3 to living creatures, which is does not at all, and that #2) Birds require UVB light in order to use any of the Vitamin D/D3 and/or Calcium that they eat in their food, just like most Reptiles do...THEY DO NOT!!! And the risk that most-all artificial UVB lights presents to birds is enough to not even think about putting on over your bird!!! It's bad enough that around 90% of all UVB bulbs that are manufactured specifically FOR REPTILES/AMPHIBIANS WHO NEED THEM TO SURVIVE are either so weak that they provide little to no usable UVB light to Reptiles or they provide absolutley ZERO UVB light to Reptiles because even the screen-lid to their tank blocks 100% of the already too-weak UVB light, OR they are seriously dangerous to the Reptiles they are made for and commonly cause Blindness, Skin/Scale Damage, Skin Cancers, etc....That's bad enough...But our pet birds don't even need or benefit AT ALL from being under an artifical UVB light in the first place!!!

If you are worried about making sure that Remi is getting enough Vitamin D/D3, Calcium, Phosphorous, protein, amino-acids, or any other nutritional requirement to keep him healthy and happy, then you need to make sure that his regular, daily-diet is adequate and all-inclusive, and if he doesn't have an Avian Mineral-Block then absoutely get him one, because it will not only provide him with additional Vitamin D/D3 and tons of other essential nutrients, but it will also keep his beak nice a trim...But don't put him under any UVB light, it's not going to help him in any way, and could very likely hurt him, either pretty-directly or in the long-run...And the other thing that we ALL forget about most of the time, myself included, is that getting our pet birds OUTSIDE for NATURAL FRESH-AIR AND SUNSHINE is probably the second most-important thing that we can provide them to keep them healthy and happy, second only to a healthy daily-diet.

 

[RemiBird]

EllenD, thank you so much for all this information! I understand that the light does not provide them with vitamin D but only helps absorption. That's what I was thinking. The bulb I have is FeatherBrite, advertised for birds specifically.
However, after reading your explanation, I will certainly not use it any more.
I had no idea.
The bloodwork will be done in the next couple of months, that's what the vet and I agreed on. I will try and push pellets more (he is kind of picky), and natural sunlight, now that it's spring and it's beautiful outside.
The thing that worries me about him is that he hasn't really touched his cuttlebone in so long. So, how is he supposed to get calcium? I will try mineral block. Still waiting for red palm oil (ordered online), kind of excited about that.

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Ellen, could you share fruits or veggies that have Vitamin D naturally in them? Cairo does get daily sunlight - both through the window his cage sits in front of and when we go outside - I'm just concerned I might be missing something from his chop. I couldn't find anything online, except for fish, eggs, and the like.