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Post by deirdre on Mar 3, 2015 5:25:52 GMT -5
Good afternoon
I am Deirdre, live in Cape Town, South Africa, and acquired a monk parakeet baby 5 days ago, and am seeking some advise please.
For the last two mornings, when I uncover his cage, my baby, +- 9 weeks old is doing that gagging motion parrots make when they have something stuck, or are trying to regurgitate food, and blowing spit bubbles, and then his little mouth fills up with saliva, which he chews and then swallows. Thankfully, this doesn't last long, and he is active, happy and inquisitive the rest of the day, and takes his porridge very well. Is this normal for quakers?
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Post by easttex on Mar 3, 2015 7:32:38 GMT -5
Hi Deidre, and welcome to the board! I just went through an experience with excess saliva with my quaker, Peppy, and I hope this will help. Peppy is older and I've never had a youngster like yours, but as far as I know lots of saliva would be the same concern. Peppy turned out to have a gram negative bacterial infection, and ten days on an antibiotic seems to have cleared it up. I learned that it can also be a sign of a yeast infection, or of air sac mites. In any case, I would get your little one to an avian vet to have everything checked out.  |
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Post by deirdre on Mar 3, 2015 16:01:49 GMT -5
Hello there. Thank you so much for your response. I will make an appointment with my vet first thing tomorrow. I actually just had him there on Friday, the day after I bought him, just to introduce them to each other, if only we had picked up on this problem then already, then he could have been well on his way to recovery. He is such a dear little thing, and has already slotted in so well with my 3 other parrots. I just hope that they don't also get sick. Thanks again.
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Post by easttex on Mar 3, 2015 17:52:59 GMT -5
For what it's worth, my other bird has been fine, and Peppy's saliva problem went on for quite a while before it was diagnosed. Of course, there's no telling if your baby has the same thing. By the way, I saw Peppy's saliva problem only in the mornings, and he also ate and bathed and did all the other normal behaviors. Hopefully this will prove to be nothing at all, but I hope you'll update us when you know more. Always like to learn more about these things. |
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Post by cnyguy on Mar 3, 2015 20:48:16 GMT -5
Welcome to you and your new little Quaker/Monk parrot. Returning to the vet is a good idea and will likely clear up any problems your new baby may have. |
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Post by aaron on Mar 4, 2015 1:01:55 GMT -5
Welcome to you and your new baby  I hope the vet helps you sort things out! |
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Post by biteybird on Mar 4, 2015 2:28:50 GMT -5
Hi Deirdre and baby quaker! Hope the vet visit goes well for you and that you get some answers. |
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Post by deirdre on Mar 5, 2015 12:35:22 GMT -5
Hello again, everyone. Thank you ALL so much for your interest. Early Sunday morning the mountain range that Cape Town is famous for caught fire, and the fire-fighters battled the spreading blaze for the next 3 days and nights.......not aided much by the fact that on Tuesday Cape Town was officially the hottest city on Earth - 43degC (109.4degF)!!!! Fortunately the blaze was contained before it reached the front of our landmark Table Mountain. This did mean, however, that anyone living on the 'back' of the mountain, could not cross over to the city, which meant that my vet could not get to her surgery, but she kindly told me of 2 other avian vets, each an easy 5 minute drive from my home (both, in fact, much closer than her surgery, but I don't usually mind the extra distance because I like her very much and trust her totally with the lives of my 4 parrots and 6 dogs.)Anyway, they drew a sample from baby's crop and tested it, and he has a bacterial infection, fortunately not a fungal one. He will be on antibiotic drops for 5 days, and should be fine. Thank you all again for your help and advice.
P.S. Apparently the first parrot my vet owned was a quaker, and she was TOTALLY smitten by my new acquisition, and assured me that we were going to have fun, fun, fun!
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Post by easttex on Mar 5, 2015 15:00:31 GMT -5
I don't know whether I should just be glad it's winter here or jealous that you have three avian vets nearby. Mostly I think I'm jealous. I'm glad it didn't turn out to be anything more serious for your baby. My quaker has been with me about eight months now, and I can attest that they are very fun birds. Positively brimming with personality. |
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Post by aaron on Mar 5, 2015 15:54:24 GMT -5
Wow. That is some serious heat! Glad you got things sorted out with the little one. Quakers are really special birds. You are in for a treat.
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I hope the vet helps you sort things out!