Anecdote: When my girl was getting her Lupron injections (for chronic egg laying) it was $40 per injection, and I believe it was every two weeks to start then once a month. I'm in Canada but I don't see how it could be that much more expensive elsewhere.
Lupron injections should not cost thousands of dollars, at least not in the United States, where are you located? The tumor will likely never get large enough to feel but it may be able to be seen on an x-ray. In addition to the cere on my bird turning brown he also had a problem with his left leg as the tumor was pressing on the spinal nerves to the leg and would cause his leg to twitch and get stuck in odd positions. He was started on a course of Lupron injections as well as daily doses of Metacam. This helped to reduce the leg issues which eventually cleared up for the most part with just a twitch once in a while. The Lupron may help to shrink the tumor and the Metacam reduces inflammation so any internal swelling is reduced. My bird was treated for 3 years with a good quality of life before he passed away. As with any treatment the sooner it is started the better.
Okay good to know. For now she says I should wait because he is still acting normal right now and the only symptom is the brown cere and later we can use treatments to manage his pain. Do you think that is a good plan? What should I do right now? I can't find any other avian vets near me and she is a good one i have seen her for many years. She said for now I should just wait and if he starts acting different or in pain I should bring him in, otherwise she wants to check him again in 6 months.
@justmoira okay good to know, maybe i was confused with something else
Also you guys know anything about dandelion powder? i see people talk about it on the internet but it all comes back to 1 post here on talkbudgies and i cant find any other reference for it and im wondering if maybe the poster was just BSing cos her pics dont show the budgie ever having a brown cere and it seems too good to be true....
I am not a vet but I don't know why one would wait to begin a treatment until things get worse. Knowing what the issue is I would not wait 6 months for a recheck, I would probably recheck in 3 months, sooner if any new symptoms appear. I tried dandelion root powder, it did not seem to make a difference but there is really no way to be sure as that was not the only treatment he was getting.
I feel like the person who posted about the dandelion powder was lying. The only source I can find online about dandelion powder helping budgie cancer is posts made by her and other people referencing her posts on various forums on the internet. In all the pictures she has posted her budgie's cere is blue, but we are supposed to just believe her when she says the cere was as brown as a female but turned back to blue because of dandelion powder.
I mean heck I hope she was right and dandelion powder will help my budgie, but it seems very fishy to me. From my experience these naturopath/alternative medicine type things are pretty much always BS.
I feel like the person who posted about the dandelion powder was lying. The only source I can find online about dandelion powder helping budgie cancer is posts made by her and other people referencing her posts on various forums on the internet. In all the pictures she has posted her budgie's cere is blue, but we are supposed to just believe her when she says the cere was as brown as a female but turned back to blue because of dandelion powder.
I mean heck I hope she was right and dandelion powder will help my budgie, but it seems very fishy to me. From my experience these naturopath/alternative medicine type things are pretty much always BS.
A controlled study would have to be done in order to really prove if the dandelion has any merit and as far as I know that has never been done.
Hey thank you for sharing the link! How much do you give them? Do you also give them dandelion powder? They dont seem to like the dandelion powder and i feel bad giving it to them, wondering if maybe i should just stop it? I saw that knotgrass on amazon and seems most people use it as a tea and it's been decaffeinated which i assume means its been processed a lot, can it be given to budgies? Do you just sprinkle some of the knotgrass on top of their food?
You do not have to give the knotgrass as a "tea". You can simply give the knotgrass to your budgie in a separate dish.
I've used dandelion powder in the past and simply sprinkled it over their food. I didn't really see that it did much.
I believe that clean dandelion leaves (organic with NO pesticides or fertilizers) would probably be better accepted.
You can buy "herb salads" which are dried herbs and plants that contain dandelion and chickweed.
Take a look at this thread and specifically the link within it on knotgrass if you haven't seen it yet:
Thank you Faery. His Knotgrass will come in the mail today.
Sadly it's getting worse It pains me to see him like this But at least he still seems happy and curious and active. I hope I can face my death with the same strength as you Buddy
State: 
State: 
It pains me to see him like this 
But at least he still seems happy and curious and active. I hope I can face my death with the same strength as you Buddy 
