Freaking. Out. Terrible night, terrible week.
Chirp is getting worse.
Yesterday morning, the day after taking him to the first vet, I spied Chirp behaving weird. He was fluffed up, his wings not tucked to his sides and kinda limp, and bobbing his head up and down slowly while being fairly unresponsive to my panicked shrieks. He was on his perch and not unbalanced in any way. So I basically rushed off the phone with my mom, and immediately started dialing local vet numbers. I picked him up, and he nuzzled into my neck like he does when he's sleepy, but it was like 1pm and definitely NOT nap time. After getting number after number disconnected I finally find out that not only does my town NOT have an e-vet clinic anymore, but the nearest one that can handle birds is two hours away.
Guess who went on a road trip?
The vet, who is NOT an avian vet but has more experience with birds than the first vet, said that the vitamins should be okay, his poop looks normal, and she can hear something going on in his lungs. Definitely has some sort of infection going on. I wanted testing done and after like an hour of waiting around while they checked to see if they had the supplies on hand, they showed up with a cost estimate (about $400-600) and told me that Chirp needed to be sedated. I agreed. Money isn't the issue, I'll gladly eat ramen for a year if it means he gets proper medical care.
Then they showed up in the room talking about DNR orders and how since Chirp is so stressed he might die on the table and if I wanted "heroic measures" to resuscitate him... This was way more than I could handle at the moment and while I know the testing needed to be done, I couldn't risk that. I was so scared, and he seemed so stressed out, and I couldn't face that car ride back if he died on the table for a test that wouldn't tell me anything right away anyways. So the vet and I decided to go the broad spectrum antibiotic route. So Chirp is on .1mL Baytril twice a day and .1mL of Doxycycline once a day.
Also, it's possible he may have gotten chilled (my thermometer kept reading 70 degrees but after increased in the temperature in my apt over the past day my *new* thermometers are reading 76 degrees while the old one is still reading 70, so idk wtf the temp was at) so I have a bird safe space heater in my apartment to heat it up.
Oh, and he's back in his old cage so he doesn't exert too much energy scurrying around.
Today, he's much more sneezey, more coughing, but he does seem more alert than yesterday. He's quieter though. And the little brat didn't call out to me like he normally does when he hears my keychain rattle in the apartment complex hallway (pretty sure my heart about stopped). I think he's getting worse. Both vets seemed like it's not as bad as I'm making it out to be, almost like "silly little college kid thinks the sky is falling", but I know my bird. I know how he acts and I'm beyond freaked out by how fast and frequently he's showing symptoms.
I'm really considering taking off work tomorrow or Wednesday to take Chirp to an avian vet at University of Illinois Veterinary Hospital in Champaign-Urbana. It's almost four hours away but I think I need a third opinion.
I need to know that you guys have had sicker birds that have pulled through. I've had a really terrible year with losses. I can't help but feel like any illness and he's circling the drain. I can't lose this little bird, he's my little rainbow shadow. Not when he finally got his Big Boy Cage and learned how to say "Hello" when my cellphone goes off.
Sorry that this is such a long rambling mess, and I need to tell the whole situation to people who "get it" because no one out here owns/likes birds and therefore lacks the experience or insight I need.
Things I need to know:
Do I need to humidify my air? It is dry. What kind of humidifier/any special care that I need to take in that regards?
Heat-What temp should I be keeping my apartment at? It's at 80 degrees in my bedroom where he is. I can/will raise or lower the temp if need be.
What tests I should have run on him and is sedation always necessary?
While he seems fine with car rides, is it safe to transport him so much in so little time? He's travelled about a thousand miles in a week and a half (800 last week visiting my family and 300 last night).
ANY insight/questions/experience/stories with a happy ending desperately needed. I will be online 24/7 until he's better.
Yesterday morning, the day after taking him to the first vet, I spied Chirp behaving weird. He was fluffed up, his wings not tucked to his sides and kinda limp, and bobbing his head up and down slowly while being fairly unresponsive to my panicked shrieks. He was on his perch and not unbalanced in any way. So I basically rushed off the phone with my mom, and immediately started dialing local vet numbers. I picked him up, and he nuzzled into my neck like he does when he's sleepy, but it was like 1pm and definitely NOT nap time. After getting number after number disconnected I finally find out that not only does my town NOT have an e-vet clinic anymore, but the nearest one that can handle birds is two hours away.
Guess who went on a road trip?
The vet, who is NOT an avian vet but has more experience with birds than the first vet, said that the vitamins should be okay, his poop looks normal, and she can hear something going on in his lungs. Definitely has some sort of infection going on. I wanted testing done and after like an hour of waiting around while they checked to see if they had the supplies on hand, they showed up with a cost estimate (about $400-600) and told me that Chirp needed to be sedated. I agreed. Money isn't the issue, I'll gladly eat ramen for a year if it means he gets proper medical care.
Then they showed up in the room talking about DNR orders and how since Chirp is so stressed he might die on the table and if I wanted "heroic measures" to resuscitate him... This was way more than I could handle at the moment and while I know the testing needed to be done, I couldn't risk that. I was so scared, and he seemed so stressed out, and I couldn't face that car ride back if he died on the table for a test that wouldn't tell me anything right away anyways. So the vet and I decided to go the broad spectrum antibiotic route. So Chirp is on .1mL Baytril twice a day and .1mL of Doxycycline once a day.
Also, it's possible he may have gotten chilled (my thermometer kept reading 70 degrees but after increased in the temperature in my apt over the past day my *new* thermometers are reading 76 degrees while the old one is still reading 70, so idk wtf the temp was at) so I have a bird safe space heater in my apartment to heat it up.
Oh, and he's back in his old cage so he doesn't exert too much energy scurrying around.
Today, he's much more sneezey, more coughing, but he does seem more alert than yesterday. He's quieter though. And the little brat didn't call out to me like he normally does when he hears my keychain rattle in the apartment complex hallway (pretty sure my heart about stopped). I think he's getting worse. Both vets seemed like it's not as bad as I'm making it out to be, almost like "silly little college kid thinks the sky is falling", but I know my bird. I know how he acts and I'm beyond freaked out by how fast and frequently he's showing symptoms.
I'm really considering taking off work tomorrow or Wednesday to take Chirp to an avian vet at University of Illinois Veterinary Hospital in Champaign-Urbana. It's almost four hours away but I think I need a third opinion.
I need to know that you guys have had sicker birds that have pulled through. I've had a really terrible year with losses. I can't help but feel like any illness and he's circling the drain. I can't lose this little bird, he's my little rainbow shadow. Not when he finally got his Big Boy Cage and learned how to say "Hello" when my cellphone goes off.
Sorry that this is such a long rambling mess, and I need to tell the whole situation to people who "get it" because no one out here owns/likes birds and therefore lacks the experience or insight I need.
Things I need to know:
Do I need to humidify my air? It is dry. What kind of humidifier/any special care that I need to take in that regards?
Heat-What temp should I be keeping my apartment at? It's at 80 degrees in my bedroom where he is. I can/will raise or lower the temp if need be.
What tests I should have run on him and is sedation always necessary?
While he seems fine with car rides, is it safe to transport him so much in so little time? He's travelled about a thousand miles in a week and a half (800 last week visiting my family and 300 last night).
ANY insight/questions/experience/stories with a happy ending desperately needed. I will be online 24/7 until he's better.