Ditto's emergency vet visit.

[Z28Taxman]

Had to take the little guy to the vet today. Yesterday morning he was fine, his usual chirpy, hyper self. Yesterday afternoon he went into his happy hut and went to sleep. He stayed there all day and only came out a couple of times. I didn't see him eat anything. At 8pm he came out and started playint with his toys but didn't eat anything that I could see. At 9pm I opened the cage, and went over to the couch with a nutriberry. He flew over and ate the nutriberry out of my hand, played on his playgym for about 15 minutes then came over and took a nap in my hand. He also hand't made more than a few quiet peeps since early afternoon. When I put him back into his cage, he ate a little millet, played a bit more then went to sleep on his boing. He woke up a bit later, played a bit more and went to sleep in his happy hut. He hasn't slept in the hut for a few years now so I knew something definately wasn't right.

There was no vomiting, wheezing or sneezing. No discharge anywhere just a bit more water in his poop than normal. Hmmmmm....

This morning he was out of the hut and sitting on a branch when I uncovered his cage. He didn't chirp but it was 8:30 and still a bit dim in here. I turned on the lights and went about my morning routine and when I came back into the room he was fluffed up and sleeping again. Ok time to call the vet for an emergency visit.

Once I got him in the car (after he flew around the room to avoid the carrier) he perked up, did his usual cute little dance and was chirping up a storm. He looked all around and enjoyed the car ride like he usually does.

Got to the vet's and he was perky and friendly and wide awake again.

Results of the exam, feathers look great, weight good (same 53 grams he weighed last year), lungs sound clear, heart strong and normal. Gram stain showed 98% positive 2% negative (same as last time) and eyes, ears, throat, cloaca look good. He was chirping at the parrot that lives somewhere in the office and I even heard a bit of beak grinding (doc got a kiss too).

Doc couldn't find anything wrong with him and again commented on how sweet and well behaved he is. :happy:

He enjoyed the car ride home again and as soon as he got back into his cage he devoured his millet, and got a drink (something else I hadn't seen him do since yesterday morning). And now he's chirping and playing.

On a brighter note it only cost me $178 for the visit (on a sunday morning) and the mildy blunted choanal papillae that was present at his last visit are back to normal again!!!!! :happy:

[linda040899]

Dave,
After my scare with Ginger, I would have done exactly the same thing!!! Too quiet isn't necessarily healthy, as I found out! Glad Ditto is OK but it sounds like he gave fidpa quite a scare!! If you see this behavior again, ask for bloodwork to check the liver. Good deal that the choanal papillae are back to normal. My vet is constantly checking those, too.

There is no price tag on peace of mind, not when it comes to the fids! :)

[Eliza]

Oh my goodness... I was afraid to open this post! So nothing's wrong with Sir Ditto then? That is SUCH a relief :)

It's good that you are so in tune to his typical behaviors and patterns. That can make all the difference should a sudden illness pop up.

Give him some extra skrtiches from Jersey today, OK?

[Z28Taxman]

Trust me, if that behavior continues or anything else pops up, he's going right back for bloodwork and/or xrays. Dr. Rubey didn't see a reason to do those right now based on what he saw but will if he doesn't perk up very soon or if any other symptoms develop.

Good news so far though. We've been home for an hour and he's been stuffing his face, with a few breaks to play and chirp ever since. He's already eaten at least one avi-cake square and an entire 3 inch piece of millet (and drank some water).

[linda040899]

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

I know what you mean about back to the vet if you continue to see behavior that just isn't normal. It may be nothing or it could be the beginnings of a problem that is more easily treated if found early enough. I was lucky with Ginger and it's a lesson I've not forgotten!

[Z28Taxman]

2 hours later and he's still eating! :omg: He's on his second millet spray (well the other half of the one I gave him yesterday that he only ate after we got home. I don't normally give him that much millet but after not eating yesterday, I'll give him anything he wants if he'll eat it.

Not one sign of fluffiness or sleeping. Of course he had to preen for 20 minutes too since Dr Rubey messed up his feathers with the towel. :rofl:

But the tests will happen if he keeps acting like yesterday. Dr. Rubey just didn't see a reason to do any more and stress him too much if they aren't necessary. And based on his behavior in the office (and since we got home) they didn't seem to be necessary and the exam didn't show any reason to medicate.

Ok now I'm rambling. Time to go do the dishes. :x I'd rather go to the vet! :rofl:

[michael]

Glad to hear Ditto appears to be back to normal. ....Hopefully he was just having one of those days. .. My only question is....just how fresh are his nutriberries? ........:rolleyes:

[linda040899]

Time to go do the dishes. http://www.lovebirdsplus.com/community/../sick.gif I'd rather go to the vet! http://www.lovebirdsplus.com/community/../rofl.gif
I don't mind doing laundry, cooking, cleaning but I hate doing dishes!! Dishwashers are wonderful things (yes, I live alone!) and I don't even mind unloading the clean ones..........

Seriously, I'm glad that Ditto is acting normally and making up today for what he didn't eat yesterday! :)

[Z28Taxman]

I don't mind doing laundry, cooking, cleaning but I hate doing dishes!! Dishwashers are wonderful things (yes, I live alone!) and I don't even mind unloading the clean ones..........

Seriously, I'm glad that Ditto is acting normally and making up today for what he didn't eat yesterday! :)

Yeah, he seems to be much better. He just went back into the happy hut but I now hear beak grinding which he wasn't doing yesterday. It is time for his usual afternoon nap (although he doesn't normally sleep in the happy hut) and after all the eating and playing he just did it doesn't surprise me.

Laundry happens later. :lol:

[Pips mom]

Ohhhh, these birdies! They like to give us gray hairs, don't they?? Boy, I would have been way scared if that was ever Pip or Rudy...to even be able to catch Pip napping....it's very rare....I remember when I first got him and thought....my other birds always take a nap during the day, but not Pip! Even Ivy takes an afternoon nap sometimes, but rarely Pip! I see Rudy get all cozy sometimes in the back of his cage like he wants to take a nap, but never really does either.....AND....the noise thing and lack thereof....yeah, that would have me a bit worried! I swear, Rudy is the noisiest lovebird ever! what a racket he makes! and Pip is fairly quiet, but he always makes his little quiet sounds all the time.
So glad that Ditto is doing ok now! NO MORE scaring your dad now Ditto!!!

[Z28Taxman]

Well Ditto isn't normally very noisy, but I can usually get a screamfest going. Not yesterday, I couldn't get a peep out of him.

I still hear beak grinding in the happy hut and I see him moving around in there. He's not sleeping just relaxing.

[bbslovie]

Hi Dave, glad to hear Ditto's doing ok! Maybe just a change in the seasons kind of thing with the less daylight/longer nights, cooler temps kind of thing? As long as he's ok that's the main thing!


Barb :)

[Z28Taxman]

Yep, he's back to normal now. I think he just wanted to visit the doc. He seems to like him.

[wilkiecoco]

i'm so glad to hear that he is feeling better. i would have done the same thing as you - there is no one who knows our lovies like us, so if you felt something was off, off to the vet he goes!!! No more scaring Daddy like that Ditto!!!! :)

[Z28Taxman]

He's definately feeling better. We've had 3 screamfests already! :happy::happy:

[Z28Taxman]

Glad to hear Ditto appears to be back to normal. ....Hopefully he was just having one of those days. .. My only question is....just how fresh are his nutriberries? ........:rolleyes:

Nutriberries don't stay around long enough to go bad around here. :rofl:

He's making up for all the noise he didn't make yesterday too! :rofl:

[Bill's Birds]

Glad to hear everything seems okay. Always better to be safe than sorry!:omg: These guys are worse than kids! Or is it us? LOL:blush:

[Z28Taxman]

Glad to hear everything seems okay. Always better to be safe than sorry!:omg: These guys are worse than kids! Or is it us? LOL:blush:

Yeah, he definately seems back to normal now. He was swinging on his swing and when I ate dinner he did his usual and ate his own. :happy:

[lemonypickett]

Soooo glad Ditto bird is ok. Boy they can give us a fright, eh? Glad this scare turned out ok!!

[maya_exquisite]

Glad your baby is okay!! Humans have their "off" days, so why can't birds? Hehe. I definitely hear you on the "better safe than sorry" though!! :)

[Z28Taxman]

Well he did sleep in his happy hut last night (first time he's done that in years, that I know of). But he squeaked at me as soon as I came downstairs at 5:30am and came out before I left for work. That's a good sign.

[linda040899]

Sounds like Ditto is doing OK to me but I would still watch him. Birds lose a lot of body heat through their feet and sleeping in his happy hut would minimize that. If I'm laying down, watching TV, Harley likes to come over and sit on my knee so his feet will warm up. Perhaps Ditto would like one of those Thermo Perches. :)

[Z28Taxman]

Trust me I'm still watching him. When we watched tv last night I took his food bowl to the couch, he ate 2 el-paso nutriberries right away. More like devoured them in a shark like feeding frenzy. Then he played on his playgym for 20 minutes, flew back to me for half an hour of snuggling and scritches. Didn't snooze once.

When he went back to his cage he ate some peas and pellets and even carried a nutriberry to the boing to eat it. I didn't see him go into the hut but I suspect it was when his light went off because I fell asleep just a few minutes before that and he was relaxing on his boing. When I came downstairs this morning he squeaked his little squeaky toy noise at me so I uncovered him. He was in the hut but I could see his little black eye staring at me. After I came out of the shower I saw his head poking out the back and he came out shortly after that. It was still dark so he wasn't chirping (he usually isn't first thing inthe morning) but when I told him I had to go to work he did us usually wing/tail shake and made beak cliking grinding noises while he sat on the top perch.

Hopefully he's not in the hut when I get home and has just remembered how cozy it was to sleep in there like he used to.

Yesterday was a major improvement over saturday. I was really afraid of what I'd find when I uncovered him sunday morning and was relieved to see him standing on the branch.

I'll feel a lot better if I get home today and find a nearly empty food bowl.

[Z28Taxman]

Well after worrying about him all day at work, I got home wondering how he was doing. I didn't have to wonder very long... As soon as I opened the car door I was greeted by the distictive (and very loud) contact calls of a very wound up lovebird coming from the house.

As soon as I opened the door he immediately began running around his cage, ringing all his bells and generally beating the living daylights out of his toys. Once I came in the room he did his little dance on his boing, shaking it so hard the whole cage was rocking! :happy:

I looked in his amazon sized food bowl that was full of nutriberries and avicakes when I left and was almost empty! :happy::happy::happy:

And he's still eating like a school of sharks in a feeding frenzy. I think I'm going to have to fill that food bowl again tonight.

I guess he's ok after all.

Still keeping an eagle eye on him though... I don't want to see a repeat of Saturday ever again.

[Janie]

Dave, so glad to read that he's OK. :)

[Z28Taxman]

Dave, so glad to read that he's OK. :)

Yeah, i'm quite relieved. His appetite is definately back in force. I want to know where he's putting it all. I did have to fill the food bowl again. :omg: He should be the size of a macaw by now.:rofl: