FINCHforum

My finch is about a year old, two days ago in the morning I noticed that he started to slip a little while on the his sticks in the cage. By the night he was on the bottom of the cage and not moving his legs at all as if they were paralyzed.

Today he is the same, except he opens and closes his beak. He eats normally but still seems like he has no control of his legs whatsoever, he uses his wings to support himself and move. He also sleeps most of the time. I have put his food and water on the bottom and bought a vitamin supplement called Vita-sol but I have not seen him drink water.

Someone PLEASE please please help me! My whole family loves him so much. I don't want him to pass away..

P.s- I do not want to take him to a vet because I have heard the vets around my area do not really know what to do with Finches. I want to save his little heart the extra nervousness and worrying about who is trying to catch him.

This could be a number of things from physical injury to infection. Run your fingers down his back do you feel any swelling, bumps or anything that seems abnormal. Is he pooping and does it look normal? If he is opening and closing his beak it sounds like he is having trouble breathing. This really sounds like you need a vet and possible antibiotics. What area are you in, maybe one of the local vets would be willing to consult with someone who does know about finches.

I'm nervous to take him out to check, he always runs away. But yes he is pooping fine. I guess I'm going to ask them or look around then because a vet is the only option I have, I really hope it helps. Thank you!

You say he is 1 year old. Did you have him for just a year; if so, could he be older than you think?
A heat lamp for him might give him a boost.