Buddy is a puzzle

[ladybird]

Buddy is worrying me, he is eating well and his poops are normal and in the mornings he is very chatty and playful. Then he has days when he goes back in his cage he doesn’t seem well at all. His head goes down, he starts tail bobbing and breathing fast . Also puffs up.
  Later he can be absolutely fine again .   Clearly something is wrong , it’s the fact that it’s intermittent that puzzles me.
  I am not well myself so a visit to the Avian vet ( it’s a long journey) isn’t possible, but the local vet has one of the vets who deals with exotic pets and birds is.   So I think I should take him tomorrow as it’s his day to be at this nearby practice.      I have some video clips and I could just have a phone consultation…….I am trying to decide if it’s better to do this rather than stress Buddy ??

[Marianne Marlow]

If you have some video clips of Buddy displaying these behaviours and he gets very stressed by vet visits then I would (as you have said) ask your vet if you can do a phone consult.

[Loz]

I agree with Marianne, some vids might help to diagnose or at least guess at what is going on.

Incidentally, you are describing symptoms that my Squeak suffered for maybe a year. I never got a determination from the exotic vet who used to see her.

Squeak seems like a perfectly normal, healthy budgie now. It might be that supplements and a better diet helped her overcome her condition but I really cannot claim credit as I don't know what was wrong.

[ladybird]

Tried but have forgotten how to make it public…….will try again

[ladybird]

Didn’t work ….will get there in the end 

[Loz]

Jan 10, 2024 11:52:09 GMT ladybird said:

Not working, Ladybird!

[ladybird]

[ladybird]

Ohhhhh give up Will try later…..sorry.         I have it set to public so don’t understand.     Does it have to be done in 

[Loz]

Wish I could help but I have no experience of posting YouTube videos.

[Loz]

Clips of Buddy can be found here.

Fluffed-up with tail-bob:

1drv.ms/v/s!AnyoyWilEZ_Xh9RklcDOaqg9-auG0g?e=0fjLbt

Lively Buddy:

1drv.ms/v/s!AnyoyWilEZ_Xh9RlHnGillCQ9jkj9w?e=m1CQUy

As I've mentioned to Ladybird already, the symptoms look like those that Squeak displayed for many months prior to her seeming to shake off whatever it was.

[ladybird]

Thank you Loz,…….the last one was tonight, hes been very happy all day .

[tweetiepiesmom]

I suggest you watch when he is tail bobbing -did he just finish flying around or doing something that exerted himself? My Buddy is a heavy breather, when he lands from flying, his tail is moving more than usual but stops after he rests. I've gotten used to seeing it, so I don't get excited about it anymore.

[ladybird]

No it isn’t after exertion , it’s just when he is having a quiet day and not wanting to come out of his cage. He seems full of energy again today so I Will cancel the vet appointment and wait and see. Mainly because I feel the vet would prescribe something ,he might feel he had too………I will see how Buddy goes on and won’t hesitate to take him if he goes down for a few days together. ……

[Loz]

I feel for you, Ladybird.

With my Squeak, I felt awful that I wasn't doing enough for her but I couldn't get anything helpful from my exotic pet vet at the time. So I felt awful every time I put Squeak through the trauma of a vet visit when nothing seemed to be achieved.
It makes for difficult dilemmas all the time the little birb seems unwell.

[Marianne Marlow]

It's very tricky isn't it. There are also a distinct lack of avian vets. I have to bring a budgie all the way to the royal veterinary college in an Uber when I need to see someone. Which I did with Sky, Billy and Max.

The man that was good with my budgies at another practice, that was slightly easier to get to, retired a while ago

I wish we all had better local vet care. But the closest ones to me only deal with cats, dogs and rabbits.