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Muffin's been snuffling a bit the last few days, so we took him to the vet yesterday for some blood work. He was a good little monkey, though he was pretty traumatized and lethargic due to them taking blood (he has very tiny veins and they used a very tiny needle but a whole lotta alcohol). They called back at noon with some pretty bad news -- his white blood count is abnormally low, and his monocyte count is oddly high. This points to a possible chronic infection, which could be psittacosis, which is not at all good.
If it is, it's possibly transmittable both to humans and other birds, though birds can be carriers and not necessarily "shed" the disease for long periods of time. The doc's recommended course of action: 45-day antibiotic treatment. It's either administered orally daily or via injection weekly. I think seven (or even fourteen) times the trauma of sticking meds in his beak is a better course of action than six injections, honestly.
We've moved him back into the isolation room, set up the heating pad and the light again. He's a little confused, but he's still cuddly and friendly. He's such a good little feathered monster -- he really doesn't deserve all this. But he will get the best care.
Of course, now we need to monitor everyone -- feathered or otherwise -- for symptoms. Fret.
If it is, it's possibly transmittable both to humans and other birds, though birds can be carriers and not necessarily "shed" the disease for long periods of time. The doc's recommended course of action: 45-day antibiotic treatment. It's either administered orally daily or via injection weekly. I think seven (or even fourteen) times the trauma of sticking meds in his beak is a better course of action than six injections, honestly.
We've moved him back into the isolation room, set up the heating pad and the light again. He's a little confused, but he's still cuddly and friendly. He's such a good little feathered monster -- he really doesn't deserve all this. But he will get the best care.
Of course, now we need to monitor everyone -- feathered or otherwise -- for symptoms. Fret.
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Hee. Muffin's getting cranky. The only time he's ever hard to deal with is when it's late at night and he thinks you're trying to put him back for the night, and he starts squeaking and biting your hand anytime it comes near him, even if you're just petting him. It's actually kinda cute. Take the hand away and he makes his contented-chewing sound and gets all poofy and relaxed. He's a great little monkey.