My partner visited Cairo today (the clinic is actually closed on Tuesdays, but they let him in), and he Skyped me in. The vet wasn't in (off-day and all), but the assistant was there. She updated us that Cairo vomited in the morning, and they had just finished crop-feeding him when my partner arrived. My partner noticed his beak was quite warm - the assistant said it's likely due to being crop-fed recently.
Cairo was quite anti-social at first. He didn't like people touching the carrier he was in - I think because he associated that with being towelled and crop-fed. My partner tried to coax him out, but Cairo was quite grumpy. He did wave and shake when prompted. When my partner took out his star-circle box toy, Cairo picked up one of the shapes to beak. Then we managed to convince him to step out. He was in the mood to play the shapes game, but he was a bit slower than usual (understandable). He was still snappy when hands got near him, even my partner's hands (poor dude got bit twice). Then Cairo wanted onto my partner's shoulder, where he promptly fell asleep. I figured my partner's shoulder is warmer than the bottom of his carrier, plus Cairo normally naps on the back of my partner's chair at home anyway, so it might be a comfort thing as well.
I think Cairo was a bit confused this time about me Skyping him. But it was good to see and hear him. He made his alarm sounds when the assistant came near him, and he laughed a little. He started talking (using the vocab he's comfortable with) a little when he recognised that my partner was going to leave him. Then he got too distracted by being angry at the hands and towel near/on his carrier.
We brought up that he might have gotten heavy-metal poisoning / metal intoxication when he broke a spoon and that he might have inhaled poison or mold from the shipment. The assistant took the spoon in question and bagged it for the vet - we told them they could break it again to look inside if they needed.
The assistant explained that they'll try to arrange an x-ray tomorrow if he's stabilised enough. She didn't know if he would need to be anaesthetised for the process, but it is a factor for them when considering if he's well enough. She took notes on our concerns/requests to convey to the vet.
So tomorrow/Wednesday evening, my partner will go back to the clinic and Skype me in again (hoping to wrap up my work before then since we're in different time zones now). They assured me that they will be with him, ferrying him back and forth and x-raying him, which is good because I don't trust anyone else anaesthetising him. They've alerted me that the cost will be quite high for the x-ray procedure, especially since they have to rent the space/machine. So yeah, my wallet's hurting, but he isn't showing clear signs of improvement in my uneducated opinion - just that he's been hydrated and fed enough to keep some of it down. But he's still vomiting, which has been going on for too long.
My parents, who have embraced that he's their grandfid (my dad jokes that Cairo's likely to be their only grandkid), have offered to send money via PayPal (easiest way for them to convert currency and send internationally). Which is nice - haven't yet taken the offer, but the bills are already equal to our monthly rent (almost 1/3 of my monthly salary).... I suspect after the x-ray, this whole thing will be at least half of my salary.
But overall, I think we're doing ok-ish. He's hydrated and active enough to express his opinion. That being said, he's still vomiting and lethargic. At least, it's better than before. We just need to nail down the cause.
I know, this is making me nauseous...I understand not being able to get an IV in him; birds are difficult to do that with anyway unless you go into the jugular, and he's so dehydrated it's probably impossible. But there are many other options to get fluids into him, such as a sub-Q injection, or even an IV catheter put into a bone (anything you can give them through a regular IV in a vein you can give to them through an IV catheter into the bone)...I'm just hoping that his body gets rid of whatever is causing this and he stops vomiting and starts keeping things down.
