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Joined: Nov 2004
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Cavel Offline OP
Amoeba
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Amoeba
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Hi all! I have a few questions about an online friend of mines african grey who is a 7 yr old male...she said he has been acting strange for several months now...looking around the room like he is frightened of something, flying into walls, and falling off his perch to the bottom of his cage! (I would be horrified!!!) She has taken him to an avian vet who has had him on medication for a respiratory problem (not sure)and has had his eyes checked and they are okay too. She is wondering if she should get a second opinion...I told her yes and said I would also try to get some info for her! I was wondering if it could be some sort of an inner-ear thing (that will throw off the balance)...but mainly just wanted to post and see if anyone has any ideas or advice! Thanks!

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My first question is "did she change the cage around or put something new in the cage just before this started?" My CAGs hate it when I change the cage & sometimes they will be very frightened - looking up where the new "dangerous toy" is hanging and flying randomly trying to get away from it. Granted - several months sounds like it might be something more serious, but actually what he is doing sounds very much like what both my CAGs did when I put a swing up in their cage. It took me a few days to figure out what was wrong & when I removed the swing, they were both just fine.

If your friend has an avian vet that she is happy with, how about she just mention your thought of inner ear problem to see what she says. Let me check with some other people too & see what they say.


Mavis
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Here is one reply I received:

"I have no idea but I would wonder if a calcium problem could cause the bird to appear to be off balance.
I would certainly seek a second opinion, and I would like to know if the treatment for the respiratory problem began before the balance problem."


Mavis
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Here's another reply - you didn't say what kinds of tests her veterinarian did so this is worth considering too:

i would recommend the bird should be tested for zinc and lead levels. did the person mention if the bird had a seizure?


Mavis
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Cavel Offline OP
Amoeba
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Amoeba
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Mavis, sorry it took so long for me to reply and thank you for the info! I have given my friend the directions to get to this site so she can post here too! Hopefully she can find out what is wrong with her birdy and get him to feeling well soon! Again, thanks for the info! LYDIA*

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I am the aforementioned online friend on Lydia.
To answer some of the questions that have been asked: a full blood panel was done as well as a fungal and yeast culture. All the tests came back normal with the exception of proof of a bacteria which was explained to us to be similar to e-coli. We treated Matt Bird for 10 days with 2x daily injections of an antibiotic - can't remember the exact name but it begins with a B. His wheezing pretty much dissapeared but his behavior problems, if you can call them that, remain. He doesn't talk as much as he used to, and he doesn't appear to be able to fly properly. When he "up ups" onto our hand, his feet feel very weak he hardly grips at all and falls tothe side very easily. He appears confused about his surroundings, turning his head and studying the ceiling and walls of the home over and over again. He makes his noise that indicates he is frightened much more frequently than in the past. He flys into things and falls off from his perch. When he falls he rolls over and over on the floor of his cage as if he doesn't know up from down. We are very concerned. He is on daily vitamin suppliments given to him in his water which include calcium, although his calcium test came back fine. We have still been written a prescription within the last few days for a calcium syrup and were waiting on payday (today) to get it so we will see if that makes a difference. The vet we took him to said that even though his calcium test came back it only reflects one type of reading so it may help. We have not added anything new to his cage. That is why it took us a while to notice that this was a problem we had moved to a new house and had boxes around for a few weeks, and then were moving furniture around while we decided on a permenent arrangements. It has been months since anything was changed in the house now and this behavior persists. Our vet is thinking of diong an EKG and x rays on him - we are willing to do this but are on a budget and need to plan as payment is due on the same day of service. I will post about any changes or lack of due to the calcium syrup.
Thanks all for your input and to Lydia for asking for me.

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Amoeba
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Amoeba
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Hi Margarita! So glad to see your post on the board! I figured you could explain best what was going on with Matt bird! I sure hope things get better for him soon...I know it is hard to watch so you take care too! <sending lots of good luck and health your way!> Lydia*

PS...I can't sleep tonight so decided to do something productive! 4:30am...ugggg!

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Hi & Welcome Margarita. You said that you moved and it has been a while since you moved, but could it be something in the house that could be effecting him? Maybe you have new carpet there? Maybe a gas leak? I am probably just grasping at straws here. I sure hope you birdie get to feeling better soon.

Connie

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Hi Margarita

Thanks for dropping by to explain a little more about Matt Bird's problems.

Because this all seems to have started right after your move, Connie might have a point about there being something in the new house that has caused this. I sure hope you and your vet can get to the bottom of this so he's back to his normal self again soon.


Mavis
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I appreciate everyone's comments. It is very hard to watch and we feel quite helpless. Not to say that vets should accept payments but we have gotten spoiled with our other animals as both of the vets we use for our a)horses and b) cats and dog accept payments. Because of this these animals recieve really good medical care, with very little thought given to expense. I wish we could do that with Matt Bird as well but since she wants payment on day of service we have to plan. If money was no object I would have been calling her tonight and asking if we could bring him up and just leave him there until she figured out what was wrong with him from observation, etc. When we came home he was not on the floor of his cage, but clinging to the bottom wall near the floor sort of in the corner and had his wings which are not clipped semi spread. He seemed confused as to how to get out of this position, so I opened his cage, leaned in and gently cupped my hands over his back and wings to try to help him get himself organized. He still acted as if he didn't know what to do. We then took him to the couch where he just stood and stared off in space, acting as if he couldn't see all that well. My husband could practically touch his eyeball without any change in the pupil, but then he tracked my husband's finger as if he were going to bite it. He then proceeded to tuck his head in and close his eyes as if he were going to take a nap on the couch. He stayed there in that drowsy position for some time - about an hour before my husband placed him back in his cage. He is now in his cage making little distressed sounds every once in a while and I just don't know what to do for him. He is eating and drinking normally. He is perching on one foot. His droppings are mostly solid. I am thining of moving his perch down near the bottom of the cage as he has been falling so often that I don't want him to injure himslef but I don't want to further distress him with a change either. What do you all think? His head has a few light scraped on it around his beak and cheeks and his wings are starting to look pretty beat up. The vet didn't think he was blind but I wonder if his vision is impaired from the infection he had. We have a family reunion to go to this weekend and my MIL is putting us up in a condo as is family tradition - we usually take Matt with us in his small cage. I don't want to leave him here alone for 2 days with only my mom coming over for short visits and to feed, but I also don't want to cause him any stress by taking him. I am feeling pretty stressed out and like a terrible friend to our parot right now.

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