I have a very friendly parakeet. She is 2 and a half years old. She is puffy. I was holding her and she moved her beak up and down and then seeds come out. This happened about 3 times. We had a moth infestation, that might have been the reason that she got sick. We just cleaned the cage today. I would hate to lose her. What should I do? Is it curable? Please help!


PLEASE RESPOND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!

There's really no way for us to diagnose the problem over the internet. Even if there was you'd need your vet in order to prescribe medication, or offer treatment.

Please take her to the vet asap. Only he/she can offer you any legitimate treatment.

Good luck.

my parents won't pay the money to go to the vet. :( What should I do?
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f80b81194a&view=att&th=12e82cb08ae5e42d&attid=0.1&disp=thd&zw
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f80b81194a&view=att&th=12e82ca29b5a067a&attid=0.1&disp=thd&zw
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f80b81194a&view=att&th=12e82cbc606fab26&attid=0.1&disp=thd&zw
here are pictures of her.

my parents won't pay the money to go to the vet. :( What should I do?

https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f80b81194a&view=att&th=12e82cb08ae5e42d&attid=0.1&disp=thd&zw
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f80b81194a&view=att&th=12e82ca29b5a067a&attid=0.1&disp=thd&zw
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f80b81194a&view=att&th=12e82cbc606fab26&attid=0.1&disp=thd&zw
here are pictures of her.

https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=f80b81194a&view=att&th=12e82cb08ae5e42d&attid=0.1&disp=thd&zw

Here is a pic.

The only thing you can do, if your parents won't pay for a vet, is keep her comfortable. There's really nothing that anyone can do over the internet, even with pictures.

A vet needs to see her in order to diagnose and treat whatever's wrong. Without a vet you can do your best to make sure she's eating and drinking, but if it is serious, she won't make it. Only a vet can help.

Remind your parents that this is a living being, an animal that does feel pain, and can get sick. When they agreed to get the bird they agreed to make sure that she gets the care she needs. Part of that is taking her to the vet if she gets sick. It's the responsible thing to do, and part of having pets in your care.

How much would a vet charge you for a parakeet?

It all depends on the area you live in, the vet, the illness, the medication required, the treatment required.

There's really no way for me to give you an estimate. There are too many factors involved.

Why not call your vet, tell him/her the problem. The vet might even recommend something over the phone. At the very least they can give you an estimate of cost.

But, I have never been to a vet before where I live. Should I just call any vet near me? Does it matter if I am a member or not?

Call a vet near you. Ask if that vet treats birds.

There is no membership.

Thanks! Do you have any pets?

Thanks! Do you have any pets?

Yes, I have many pets;

3 dogs
4 rabbits
1 cockatiel
2 fish.

My grandfather used to breed budgies (parakeets) and cockatiels, which is where I acquired the knowledge I have about these birds.

I've had chameleons, hamsters, mice, a hermit crab, and cats. Right now I have five cats, all of them rescues.

That's so cool! What kind of dogs do you have?

That's cool! How many hamsters?

Thats so cool! What kind of dogs do you have?

I have a Black lab/border collie cross. He's almost 16 years old.
I also have a border collie/God knows what cross (he's a rescue), and he's 9 years old.
Our youngest is a beagle, he's 2 1/2 years old.

In my lifetime I've had pretty much everything.

Rabbits
Guinea pigs
Hamsters
Mice
Finches
Budgies
Cockatiels
Dogs
Cats
Fish

And the list goes on. :)

Your so lucky! I REALLY want a puppy! :) but I cant! I have a fish, and 5 birds!

If you only feed her seeds, she may have thyroid dysplasia, and that needs a vet.
If she has respiratory problems (ruffled feathers is one sign), she may need antibiotics, and that needs a vet.

Ok... I usually feed her seed... sometimes I give her these brown long things (a treat)

Ok... I usually feed her seed... sometimes I give her these brown long things (a treat)

The only thing you can do right now is call around and find a vet.

If you have 5 birds I'd separate her from the others, just in case this is contagious.

Why isn't anyone asking me about my cats?:confused:

I'm just afraid that she won't like being separated. We just had a bird and she was puffy and I separated her from the other birds and then the next day she died... I have to go. Maybe we can talk another time tomorrow! Bye. And thanks for all the help! :)

I'm just afraid that she won't like being separated. We just had a bird and she was puffy and I separated her from the other birds and then the next day she died... I have to go. Maybe we can talk another time tomorrow! Bye. And thanks for all the help! :)

I understand that, and it is a concern, but until you know what's going on she could potentially spread this to your other birds, and then you'll lose more then just her.

The best option, and really the only option, is to get her to a vet asap. Today if possible. Have you started calling around?

Wondergirl, tell us about your CATS!
I got my first kitten in over 50 years recently as someone for my Jack Russell to mother. Instead the dog barely tolerates being pounced on by a young'un. At least she acts that way.

You can't have a healthy parakeet on just seeds. Talk to the pet store!

Joy, we always fed ours just seeds and we never had any issues. It is good to add fruits and other things, but most parakeets do just fine on seed alone.

Also, I really wouldn't be looking for information at the pet store. The people that work at pet stores don't have the knowledge to give accurate advice on food, or behavior, health or anything. Most of them don't even know the basics.

None of my parakeets died because of health issues, it was always old age or accidental death.

OK, I defer to your expertise. I've only had one parakeet.
And my local pet store is owned and run by one person who is very knowledgeable, but I forgot about big chain pet stores (where some know a lot and some don't). I thought it would still be an alternative as OP doesn't seem to be able to pay a vet at the moment.

YAY!! SHE IS NOT PUFFY ANYMORE!! I'm so happy! She is active now! :) I think the cage was so dirty that it was making her sick. Now that we cleaned the cage, she is active!! ( at least I think that's why!)

Wow... What were some of the accidental deaths?

YAY!!! SHE IS NOT PUFFY ANYMORE!!! im soo happy! she is active now! :) I think the cage was so dirty that it was making her sick. now that we cleaned the cage, she is active!!! ( at least i think thats why!)

I'm glad.

A dirty cage can make birds very ill. You have to make sure you clean the cage often. If all 5 birds are in one cage then you should be cleaning the cage 2 times a week at the very least.

wow... What were some of the accidental deaths?

One of my budgies got his leg caught in the wire behind his cuddle bone. We were gone for the day. When we got back home we found him on the bottom of his cage. He had chewed off his own leg to get free from the wire.

We took him to the vet, and the vet closed the wound.

Our bird wouldn't leave the leg alone. Every morning we'd wake up to a puddle of blood the bottom of the cage because he'd been eating at his leg again.

We ended up putting him to sleep because he was in pain.

One of our birds flew into a window and died instantly.

One wasn't so much an accident, but my grandpa. My grandpa was a budgie and cockatiel breeder. We were going on vacation and asked my grandparents to watch our budgie. We had bought her from a store because we really loved her coloring.

Well grandpa loved her coloring too. We came back and my blue budgie was suddenly green. I was confused, asked grandpa what happened. He told me that budgies sometimes change color. I believed him. I was only 7 at the time.

Turns out that he kept my budgie for breeding, and gave me one of his old budgie. That budgie only lived for 5 more years, but she was already around 10 when we got her.

There are others. Some are pretty tragic.