Arthur's Occasional Regurgitation

[rosebunting]

Hey all, it's been a while since I've posted here, but I've come back for more of your help.

I'm not sure if I'm overreacting or just being proactive, so I would appreciate your take on this. (Also, just a side note, I am planning on taking him to the vet next week because he needs to go in for a follow-up checkup and the vet is closed this week, I'm just looking to get more information regarding what to ask at the vet/what to look out for. His uric acid levels were technically normal but the vet wanted to double check them and he had a fly around the office which messed up another level in the blood. They also just wanted to check his feces to see if the worm medication he was on worked).

Arthur has been acting very normal during the morning and early afternoon. Super happy, singing loud, playing constantly, eating well, etc. We have worked on diet conversion, and he is eating some pellets, but still eats a fair amount of seed, probably about 25% pellets if we're being honest and the rest being seed. We're working on increasing the amount of pellets and introducing veggies. He is very stubborn and afraid of veggies. He is good about chewing on his cuttlebone though.

However, some evenings, he has been getting lethargic and making head bobbing motions like he would be to regurgitate, except nothing is coming out (that I can see). At this time, he might go over to his favorite toy (Bill) and act like he's giving him some (nothing is falling to the floor though, so it's either a very little bit or he's doing what he often does in the morning which is "feed" Bill a seed or two and then pick it up off of Bill and eat it himself).

In the morning when he "feeds" Bill, he's singing and happy, a stark contrast to his head-bobbing behavior at night.

Also, a side note: when he's preening, if he comes across a down feather, he'll often chew on it. If he is swallowing those, could that be causing his discomfort/regurgitation?

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I'm just curious if anyone has any thoughts on this or things in particular I should be watching out for. Sorry this post is so long, thank you if you read it all!!

[ffiscool]

Hi, he sounds like a very happy little guy.

Are you able to get a video of him with the head bobbing? Is he just adjusting his crop I wonder. If it’s head bobbing up and down, that’s fine but you say he’s lethargic?

Budgies do regurgitate at times to a favourite toy/mirror.

[Hezz]

Usually when a male is about to regurgitate, the head movement is very controlled and gentle, there is nothing violent about the action at all. When a bird is about to, or trying to vomit, the action is much more out of control and it is obvious that they aren’t having a good time.

Are there any signs that he may have a fatty liver, what exactly have the vets said about what might be issues they were looking for? Has he been on any medication, do you know what parasites he was being treated for and what he was treated with? With a vet visit already scheduled, I’m not sure we can help too much anyway. Is there a reason why the vet wanted him transitioned to pellets (if to give a broader diet base, have you tried sprouting seeds for him?) If they thought that fatty liver disease may be an issue, milk thistle extract is very good for this and may help with the vomiting, if this is what you are seeing. I say that only because I had a boy with FLD from an early age but with the milk thistle I was able to control it quite well. Occasionally I would need to add an extra drop of MT to his water because he would start vomiting at almost a precise time in the afternoon. The extra drop gave the liver the support it needed and he would be back to being normal again almost straight away. This is just my own experience.

[rosebunting]

Apologies for the lack of response. We had to reschedule the vet visit and I was honestly just too worried to speculate any further

Arthur's AST levels were high, and so was his weight. He was 42 g when he had been only 35 g in March. I was very surprised because Regarding the AST levels, it's a little hard to know how much that is from his liver and how much might be from him hating being caught and the ride over (according to the vet). It's definitely a combination of both though.

We're on a strict diet per the vet, and he seems to be doing well with it. The vet also prescribed Calorad to help with the weight loss and support his liver

He's behaving normally and there's no other signs of FLD, so hopefully we caught it in time and the diet and weight loss will help with everything. He's in a bigger cage now as well, so he is getting more exercise which will be good for him as well

He's my sweet little boy, and I will definitely talk to the vet about milk thistle when we go back in a few months (thank you Hezz, you nailed it on the head)

[Marianne Marlow]

I'm glad he's doing well. I wouldn't regard 42g as overweight though, the weights they quote on the internet for budgies are usually that of the wild ones and they are much lighter and smaller than our pet types.

[Hezz]

Hi there, nice to hear back with an update on how Arthur is doing and glad that the vet has given you something to work with. Calorad is not something I am familiar with so had to google that one. I hope it all goes well for you both when you go back for a follow up, if necessary.

[rosebunting]

@marianne Marlow that is just what the vet said, but it's good to know that 42 g is not outrageous, haha

Thank you for your support! We are working on the diet (very very slowly, haha). He seems to have a preferred threshold for pellets and then doesn't want to eat if the threshold is above that. But hopefully he can be convinced!