Hi, I was recommended this forum by a friend.
Earlier this year, I lost my Conure to a sudden death. At the time, I attributed it to a toy he'd destroyed in a way he wasn't supposed to.
As my life has become busy, I decided I needed a less intensive bird that could be kept with companions during the day when I was gone, so I went back to the ever charming Budgie. I bought three "rare" cuties - an albino, a lutino, and a mottled violet. I had cleaned and sanitized the old cage, as it's a nice big flight cage. I've been slowly getting to know their personalities,so hadn't named any but the Lutino - Cara. She was the most receptive to my fingers and rather shy for a female. She's always been subdued and not as active as the other two, and they tended to pick on her a bit, so I added a third food dish and second water dish, figuring it was pecking order stuff.
last night, I triumphed and got the albino to step up onto my finger. But my victory was short lived because about 3 hours later, Cara fluttered down to the bottom of the cage and stayed there. I went to check on her, and she let me lift her -she's too new to me to accept that normally, so all the alarm bells went off! She was very lethargic, and her waste was too watery for comfort. Sometimes getting pooped on is a good thing, I guess.
So into the sick cage with a heating pad as the warming light is out. I gave her electrolyte, then placed some food in a dish, which she immediately tucked into. A bout 20 minutes later, She gave me a chirp, sat on the low perch, and went to sleep with her beak tucked.
Very early this morning, as I was getting ready to take her in to the vet, she fell off her perch, dead.
Now I'm not sure what to do. The others are active, eating, drinking, and being noisy (I leave budgie noises on for them when I'm puttering around the house, and they love it.) I'm feeling a little paranoid after losing the Conure and now little Cara. Do I need to take them to a vet? Money is tight right now, because of the holiday season and the heating bill. Should I just watch them super carefully?
Earlier this year, I lost my Conure to a sudden death. At the time, I attributed it to a toy he'd destroyed in a way he wasn't supposed to.
As my life has become busy, I decided I needed a less intensive bird that could be kept with companions during the day when I was gone, so I went back to the ever charming Budgie. I bought three "rare" cuties - an albino, a lutino, and a mottled violet. I had cleaned and sanitized the old cage, as it's a nice big flight cage. I've been slowly getting to know their personalities,so hadn't named any but the Lutino - Cara. She was the most receptive to my fingers and rather shy for a female. She's always been subdued and not as active as the other two, and they tended to pick on her a bit, so I added a third food dish and second water dish, figuring it was pecking order stuff.
last night, I triumphed and got the albino to step up onto my finger. But my victory was short lived because about 3 hours later, Cara fluttered down to the bottom of the cage and stayed there. I went to check on her, and she let me lift her -she's too new to me to accept that normally, so all the alarm bells went off! She was very lethargic, and her waste was too watery for comfort. Sometimes getting pooped on is a good thing, I guess.
So into the sick cage with a heating pad as the warming light is out. I gave her electrolyte, then placed some food in a dish, which she immediately tucked into. A bout 20 minutes later, She gave me a chirp, sat on the low perch, and went to sleep with her beak tucked.
Very early this morning, as I was getting ready to take her in to the vet, she fell off her perch, dead.
Now I'm not sure what to do. The others are active, eating, drinking, and being noisy (I leave budgie noises on for them when I'm puttering around the house, and they love it.) I'm feeling a little paranoid after losing the Conure and now little Cara. Do I need to take them to a vet? Money is tight right now, because of the holiday season and the heating bill. Should I just watch them super carefully?