[-r0byn]

Hello!
I'm new to this forum and while I'm here i wanted to introduce myself. My name is Robyn and I'm 15. I've had my feathered friend Theo since I was 10 and he is now 6 years old, he's usually a very happy, loud Pied cockatiel. Unfortunately recently he has been sick, he's been vomiting on and off for a few months now. Yesterday, was one of the scariest days of my life. Theo had been being sick and i had rung the vets and was going to go and pick up a stronger dose of antibiotics. But later on in the day he fell and looked like he had broken his wing, minutes later he was happily flying again then his foot looked funny and he seemed to be walking on his back toes and they were bent underneath his feet. In panic I took him to the vets where he was checked over and i was told he was fine, although my vet said where he fell he might have trapped a nerve so she gave him an anti-inflammatory injection to make the pain go away. Although today i woke up to find him with very different coloured feet almost a pale purple colour and he seems to be sitting on the bottom of his cage a lot half asleep. The vet said to me that he would be spaced out for the next 24 hours and might rest a lot but i did find him walking on his feet funny again but now he seems to be fine and he is also sat with his head to the left a lot more often but i'm not sure if he's just resting or not ;( if anyone has had a similar problem it would really help if you could tell me what to do! Thanks! xx

 

[lperry82]

Hello and welcome to the forum

Sadly i cant help but others with more experience will... all i can suggest is keep him warm

 

[kat3033]

I'm not experienced in birds either. But I always go with my gut feelings along with a little common sense. If you feel that there's something not right, then that's probably correct, especially after having your bird for 6 years.

Is the vet you are taking Theo to, a certified AVIAN vet? If not, prehaps you can locate one that's near you. Any vet who works on birds can call themselves an avian vet, but if you are certified, that's ALL you work on. No other animals, no cats, dogs or anything else.

And just like what you would do, if you were sick and not satisfied with the care you were getting, you would go for a 2nd opinion. Maybe you can get a 2nd opinion on Theo's condition with another vet.

Keep us updated.

 

[tielfan]

Any vet who works on birds can call themselves an avian vet, but if you are certified, that's ALL you work on. No other animals, no cats, dogs or anything else.

Not necessarily. In the US at least, a certified avian veterinarian has met certain extra requirements and received a certificate from the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners. These vets have the same basic education as veterinarians without any kind of ABVP certificate, and are qualified to work on other animals. There's more about the certification process at http://www.avianeducationandresourcecenter.org/findvet.php and if you go to http://www.abvp.com/finddiplomate.aspx and clicka "avian" and search your town you'll find a list of anyone there who is certified. It's a much shorter list than what you find at the AAV's "find an avian vet" section at http://www.aav.org/search/

 

[-r0byn]

The vet I take him too does work on other animals but she says shes training to become an avian vet. she's given me antibiotics for him which are a stronger dose than his last, so im thinking maybe this is what is making him drowsy, my dad who kept an aviary of cockatiels for years thinks he has lameness but he recons that should go with anti-biotics and supplements. at the moment he's just very sleepy and is sleeping on the bottom of his cage, i have looked around my area and the closest other vet is in the next towns over and i cant get there D; but i am taking him back to the vets on monday to get him a blood test and to have a swab of his gut so they can see what's wrong with him. i feel like an awful pet owner as there is nothing i can really do other than keep him warm, comfortable and make sure he's eating and drinking ;l

 

[lperry82]

Aww don't say that your doing your best to make him better