reeb
New member
Recently, I experienced a tragedy I never thought I would. Berry, my cockatiel, came down with what initially looked like an ordinary bacterial infection in her crop. She had been seemingly active and healthy in the days leading up to the first symptoms. She then deteriorated after a few days in hospital, developing much more severe symptoms. Sadly, she passed away, despite the best efforts of the vet. I was (and still am) heartbroken. I had envisioned spending 2 decades with this bird, and it was cut short without any warning. She had made such a full and miraculous recovery after having metal poisoning just 6 months ago, so this was a real shock.
To my horror, my two budgies, Pearl and Opal, came down with the exact same symptoms just days after her death. I rushed them both to the vet. The vet became fairly certain at this point that it was a case of polyomavirus: a deadly, hyper-contagious and incurable disease. The symptoms and course of the disease all matched up. It can lie dormant in a bird for years, and then suddenly rear its ugly head, causing a savage onset of symptoms and death. We believe that Berry was the index case, having possibly harboured the virus for many years asymptomatically.
The vet immediately got to work providing supportive care for Pearl and Opal, as well as sending away blood tests to confirm her suspicions. Sadly, just two days into being at the vet, Opal also succumbed to his symptoms. We still had not had the results of the blood tests (due to the lockdown situation here in South Africa, the labs are working at a lower capacity). We chose to send Opalās body away for a necropsy too, just to have as much clarity as possible.
At this point, I just had this gut feeling that Pearl would not survive either. She is already in poor health, as she has a lipoma in her abdomen, which is a kind of benign fatty tumour. I didnāt expect her to live for very long, as it can become very obstructive for her organs. And with the illness on top of that, it just wasnāt looking good. āØāØHowever, she began to improve after a few days at the vet, and yesterday, she finally came home after about 10 days of supportive care. I guess it's kind of like coronavirus in humans. Some recover, some don't.
She is doing well, eating normally, preening, flying and chatting. I can tell that she is in mourning though. She doesnāt understand why her flock is suddenly gone. She was never a clingy bird, but since coming home, she has been sitting on my shoulder constantly. And because of the nature of this virus, I wonāt be able to get her a friend or introduce her to the outdoor aviary because it is so contagious. She is now a carrier of it, and thereās nothing that can be done about that.
We are still waiting on the results of the tests. It could be a different disease of course, but all of the symptoms match up with polyomavirus to a tee. For now, Iām just spending all of my time with Pearl as she adjusts to her new life as a single bird. Her cage is now in my room, so even when she isnāt out of the cage, she is around me. Iām all she has left, after all.
Initially, I couldnāt help but blame myself in some way, because I feel so responsible for their well-being. That even though I reacted as quickly as possible with bringing them to the vet, it was no use.
I am so glad that my Pearl made it through, it truly feels like a miracle.
I just hope that she continues to heal, and that I heal too.
Berry:
Opal:
To my horror, my two budgies, Pearl and Opal, came down with the exact same symptoms just days after her death. I rushed them both to the vet. The vet became fairly certain at this point that it was a case of polyomavirus: a deadly, hyper-contagious and incurable disease. The symptoms and course of the disease all matched up. It can lie dormant in a bird for years, and then suddenly rear its ugly head, causing a savage onset of symptoms and death. We believe that Berry was the index case, having possibly harboured the virus for many years asymptomatically.
The vet immediately got to work providing supportive care for Pearl and Opal, as well as sending away blood tests to confirm her suspicions. Sadly, just two days into being at the vet, Opal also succumbed to his symptoms. We still had not had the results of the blood tests (due to the lockdown situation here in South Africa, the labs are working at a lower capacity). We chose to send Opalās body away for a necropsy too, just to have as much clarity as possible.
At this point, I just had this gut feeling that Pearl would not survive either. She is already in poor health, as she has a lipoma in her abdomen, which is a kind of benign fatty tumour. I didnāt expect her to live for very long, as it can become very obstructive for her organs. And with the illness on top of that, it just wasnāt looking good. āØāØHowever, she began to improve after a few days at the vet, and yesterday, she finally came home after about 10 days of supportive care. I guess it's kind of like coronavirus in humans. Some recover, some don't.
She is doing well, eating normally, preening, flying and chatting. I can tell that she is in mourning though. She doesnāt understand why her flock is suddenly gone. She was never a clingy bird, but since coming home, she has been sitting on my shoulder constantly. And because of the nature of this virus, I wonāt be able to get her a friend or introduce her to the outdoor aviary because it is so contagious. She is now a carrier of it, and thereās nothing that can be done about that.
We are still waiting on the results of the tests. It could be a different disease of course, but all of the symptoms match up with polyomavirus to a tee. For now, Iām just spending all of my time with Pearl as she adjusts to her new life as a single bird. Her cage is now in my room, so even when she isnāt out of the cage, she is around me. Iām all she has left, after all.
Initially, I couldnāt help but blame myself in some way, because I feel so responsible for their well-being. That even though I reacted as quickly as possible with bringing them to the vet, it was no use.
I am so glad that my Pearl made it through, it truly feels like a miracle.
I just hope that she continues to heal, and that I heal too.
Berry:
Opal:
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