Close call!

[mandy]

:cry: My Saturday started as usual... cage was washed... seed contaners filled... then some friends came to see Biscuit. I obliged and then promptly put biscuit back into the cage and had a meal outside with my friends. When i got back... Biscuit wasnt anywhere to be found... He was in the toilet! :eek: fortunately he found a reasonable foothold and his head was kept dry throughout the ordeal! Are there any warning signs i should watch out for now?:(

[Janie]

Mandy, amazing! Was biscuit wet? Personal question to ask but was he sitting in a bowl that had been flushed? I am such a nervous nelly about the health of my birds that I would most likely take him to a vet and at the least have a Gram stain done. I have no idea if that's necessary and hopefully someone who knows better than I will advise you about that.

What I do recommend is that you find out how Biscuit got out of that cage. They are escape artist so every opening needs to be secured with something like a "quick" lock. My Oliver is a very laid back lovie, not very curious about anything, but I did find him out of his cage, sitting on top, several times before I realized he was pushing up the door for his food dish and going out. There are four food/water doors on his night cage and I added locks to all of them. The main door is secure w/o an added lock but you might check yours to be sure that it is.

That was a very close call, too close for comfort.

[linda040899]

Mandy,
You are, indeed, very lucky! I would watch for signs of either a bacterial infection, a fungal infection, or both. Listlessness, fluffed feathering, change in appetite should all be flags to a problem.

Bathroom rule #1 in my house is that the seats and lids of all toilets remain closed!!! This is not a female thing. It's a bird (and young child) safety thing. When I was growing up, we had several parakeets end up in the same position and we were always checking the toilets for birds that thought they could take baths there. Once I moved out on my own and had birds, all seats have been (and still are) down. I even keep the door to the bathroom in my bedroom closed.

I also have a kitchen rule. No water ever left in the sink with dishes soaking in it.

[butterfly1061]

Linda,

I agree with you totally! I learned to keep everything closed when I had my first persian cat Honey. I was still living at home and one morning someone had gone to the laundry room to put something in the dryer. The dryer door had been left open prior to this. When they went back to get the clothes out, they found Honey had crawled into the dryer and died from the fumes (gas dryer). Before I got home, my family had buried Honey and stored everything that belong to him away. Since that incident, I keep EVERYTHING closed. Washer & dryer doors, toilet lids, cabinet doors, trash can lids, fireplace openings covers, etc... I never want to go through something that horrible again.

Mandy, I'm glad to hear Bicuit is ok. You are indeed very lucky to still have Biscuit alive. Please heed our warnings to keep things closed at all times. Birds are like dealing with two yr olds. Check your home surrounding and see if you can imagine something a toddler can get into that is unsafe. Just observing your home could save you & Biscuit from a horrible accident. As Linda said, keep a close eye on Biscuit for any signs of sickness. I'm a worrywart and personally, I'd see about getting a grams stain. It's probably the most inexpensive test that can be done. Keep us posted. :2cents:

[Tittersmom]

I try to keep the toilets closed because my sisters cat drinks out of it ugh :x and ofcourse bird safety reasons but the rest of the fam doesnt seem to bother>: maybe i should urge them more

[Janie]

I agree that keeping everything closed is a good idea, although fairly unrealistic unless you live alone or stay on top of other family members every second. I live with three males so keeping commode lids closed would be a full time job and mean that I could never leave the house if my hubby and kids are there. I think finding out how Biscuit escaped in the first place is very important. There are many dangerous situations he could get into if he's getting out and the commode bowl is just one of them.

[mandy]

Mandy, amazing! Was biscuit wet? Personal question to ask but was he sitting in a bowl that had been flushed?
What I do recommend is that you find out how Biscuit got out of that cage. They are escape artist so every opening needs to be secured with something like a "quick" lock.
That was a very close call, too close for comfort.

I agree... so far biscuit is ok... i think what happened was i became complacent and didnt check if i put on the snap hook properly. Also, biscuit just recently discovered the joys of bathing himself. I think he thought the toilet was a giant bird bath.

The toilet was washed and flushed just that morning. Also, he managed to somehow keep his head dry throughout the ordeal... I'll try my best to be more careful now... Thanks to all for your concern and sympathy.>o