Mountianbluebird
01-14-2009, 11:46 AM
Ratbird, my GCC is about 15 years old (I'll have had her 15 years this February).
Sunday evening while I was cuddling her she started sneezing. One or two sneezes while she stretches her wings out or after a bath does not concern me, but this sneeze was 5 to 6 bursts in succession, and dry. She was not eating anything, she was cuddling in my hand and preening my sweater. That night it happened about 10 times, over a period of probably half an hour. Her later bouts of sneezing sounded more like squeeks than sneezes. They are full body sneezes (looks like she is using a lot of effort) and there is no discharge at all. Her nares are not blocked. I brought her back to her cage and brought her fresh water in case she was dry. Her behavior, other than the sneeze, was totally normal. No puffing, not biting, she stepped up willingly, and generally wanted to be back to cuddling in the armchair instead of being on her cage.
This morning she was out on her cage as I was getting ready for work I heard her do the 5-6 sneeze burst 3 times. It sounded like squeeks, but I could tell by the effort they were sneezes and not vocalizations.
A few years ago (maybe 3 or 4 now) she had a similar repeating dry sneeze, and I immediately scheduled an appointment with an avian vet. Of course she was completely fine a few days later when we were at the office, he thought it could have been a piece of seed shell that was stuck. (That sneezing episode I noticed she was itching her nares with her foot, this sneezing episode she is not). He suggested getting her off seeds completely, and she has for several years now.
Her behavior, again, is very normal. She has no signs of sleeping any more than normal, perches well, is eating well, and no changes in stool. There is no signs of her breathing being labored.
I plan on doing a complete cage disinfection when I get home today.
She's also kept in relatively cool conditions for birds. The house is 58 degrees at night and between 60 and 64 during the day. She's been kept in cool conditions her whole life though, so she's used to it. (please don't flame me, I can't afford to heat my house more!) I've read that sick birds do better in warm conditions. Do you recommend trying a heat lamp? (I've never used one before, so if you recommend it please include detailed instructions for duration, temperature, wattage, ect.)
She's never been sick, every time I bring her to the vet he's impressed with her condition for her age. She does have signs of a vitamin A deficiency because when I first got her as a child, I would feed her what my Dad bought at the store... generally the cheapest bird food seed blend he could find. Currently she's on a great and varied veggie, grain, fruit, and pellet rich diet now, but my vet told me she'd have those lingering vitamin A deficiency signs her whole life (something down her thoat, I don't recal now).
Suggestions? My boyfriend thinks she's fine, and I tend to overreact. I just want whats best!
Thanks!
Sunday evening while I was cuddling her she started sneezing. One or two sneezes while she stretches her wings out or after a bath does not concern me, but this sneeze was 5 to 6 bursts in succession, and dry. She was not eating anything, she was cuddling in my hand and preening my sweater. That night it happened about 10 times, over a period of probably half an hour. Her later bouts of sneezing sounded more like squeeks than sneezes. They are full body sneezes (looks like she is using a lot of effort) and there is no discharge at all. Her nares are not blocked. I brought her back to her cage and brought her fresh water in case she was dry. Her behavior, other than the sneeze, was totally normal. No puffing, not biting, she stepped up willingly, and generally wanted to be back to cuddling in the armchair instead of being on her cage.
This morning she was out on her cage as I was getting ready for work I heard her do the 5-6 sneeze burst 3 times. It sounded like squeeks, but I could tell by the effort they were sneezes and not vocalizations.
A few years ago (maybe 3 or 4 now) she had a similar repeating dry sneeze, and I immediately scheduled an appointment with an avian vet. Of course she was completely fine a few days later when we were at the office, he thought it could have been a piece of seed shell that was stuck. (That sneezing episode I noticed she was itching her nares with her foot, this sneezing episode she is not). He suggested getting her off seeds completely, and she has for several years now.
Her behavior, again, is very normal. She has no signs of sleeping any more than normal, perches well, is eating well, and no changes in stool. There is no signs of her breathing being labored.
I plan on doing a complete cage disinfection when I get home today.
She's also kept in relatively cool conditions for birds. The house is 58 degrees at night and between 60 and 64 during the day. She's been kept in cool conditions her whole life though, so she's used to it. (please don't flame me, I can't afford to heat my house more!) I've read that sick birds do better in warm conditions. Do you recommend trying a heat lamp? (I've never used one before, so if you recommend it please include detailed instructions for duration, temperature, wattage, ect.)
She's never been sick, every time I bring her to the vet he's impressed with her condition for her age. She does have signs of a vitamin A deficiency because when I first got her as a child, I would feed her what my Dad bought at the store... generally the cheapest bird food seed blend he could find. Currently she's on a great and varied veggie, grain, fruit, and pellet rich diet now, but my vet told me she'd have those lingering vitamin A deficiency signs her whole life (something down her thoat, I don't recal now).
Suggestions? My boyfriend thinks she's fine, and I tend to overreact. I just want whats best!
Thanks!