Side Effects of Scatt?

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sarehptar
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Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by sarehptar » Tue Jul 16, 2013 8:54 pm

So since they were showing signs of ASM (squeaky voices, labored breathing, nasal discharge, no more singing from the male, etc.), I bought and treated my shaft-tails with Scatt today.

Of course, it was a nerve-wracking experience for everyone involved, since the birds despise being caught and, this being my first time, I have NO IDEA if I successfully dosed them (I used the pipette that comes free in the package from Lady Gouldian), if I actually got enough on their skin, or if I overdosed them. Panic!

It's been a while now (dosed them around 1pm PST), and I'm worried about the way they are acting. Although they can still eat, drink, and fly (when spooked by my nervous peering in), they are largely sitting on their perches looking extremely lethargic, breathing somewhat heavily, with feathers puffed out, and closing their eyes for long stretches. None of them are down on the floor any more than normal, but they don't look particularly well either.

Did I possibly overdose them, or is lethargy a side effect of Scatt? If these are signs of overdose, is there anything I can do? Help!

(I swear, I panic more of these little birds than taking care of people!)
4 Shaft-Tails: Fat Chicken, Starbuck, Blotch, & The Devil.

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Angela&Shalamar
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Re: Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by Angela&Shalamar » Tue Jul 16, 2013 9:02 pm

generally if you OD such a small animal it will die quickly, so it doesn't sound like it's that. Can you offer them some extra warmth. Give the med a chance to work. You've done all you can right now. It's good they are still eating and drinking which also suggest you didn't OD them.
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Re: Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by Sally » Tue Jul 16, 2013 9:05 pm

I would think they are reacting more to being caught than to the Scatt. Catching them always stresses them. I like that pipette for administering the dose, makes it much easier. Unless you just doused them with it, I wouldn't worry about an overdose. I think, like with many medications, there is quite a comfortable margin of error. I'd just let them be for now, let them recover from the shock of being caught. Some of my birds are so frightened when caught that it looks like their little heart is going to burst right out of their breast.
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sarehptar
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Re: Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by sarehptar » Tue Jul 16, 2013 9:15 pm

Yes, I was thinking it would be the shock of being caught, but given that it has been a minimum of five hours now, I was thinking that seems a bit long for recovery time... normally they're back to flitting around wildly within half an hour...

Definitely didn't douse them, thank goodness. XD

I also did put the lamp on them when I noticed they were looking a bit down, so heat is covered!

I will keep a close eye on them (from a distance!)
4 Shaft-Tails: Fat Chicken, Starbuck, Blotch, & The Devil.

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Re: Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by sarehptar » Wed Jul 17, 2013 1:14 pm

Well, after a really frightening night of sitting up with one of my hens (Blotch), everyone is doing okay!

About 10pm last night, even with the heat lamp on (just one part of the cage, so she could have moved away from the heat but didn't), Blotch puffed up to about the size of a baseball and started rocking back and forth on her perch a bit in a truly terrifying way. It was like she was falling asleep so quickly that she couldn't keep her balance on the branch.

I didn't want to stress her even more by trying to catch her, so I poked a long qtip in and gave her some electrolytes. Other than that, I just kept my distance and watched.

Around 2am this morning her feathers started to go back down and she went back to eating 3am-ish. I have no idea what caused all that, but she is active this morning.

She's always been the weakest of the four, health-wise, so the whole process may just have been too much for her... I think if I ever need to treat again I will use S76 instead...



Belatedly, does anyone know how quickly results from Scatt can be expected? I feel like my finches are more active today than yesterday, but their voices are still squeaky. If I dosed them correctly, when can I expect to hear my boy's silly little song again?
4 Shaft-Tails: Fat Chicken, Starbuck, Blotch, & The Devil.

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Re: Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by debbie276 » Wed Jul 17, 2013 2:08 pm

You should see an improvement within 24 hours if it is air sac mites. There is always the chance that it's a upper respiratory infection from those symptoms too. I didn't think shaft tails were prone to ASM :?
Hope you see an improvement soon [-o<
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Re: Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by sarehptar » Wed Jul 17, 2013 3:38 pm

debbie276 wrote: You should see an improvement within 24 hours if it is air sac mites. There is always the chance that it's a upper respiratory infection from those symptoms too. I didn't think shaft tails were prone to ASM :?
Hope you see an improvement soon [-o<
I really hope it's not upper respiratory infection! I was assuming ASM mostly because the store my parents got them from was really not clean, and when I went back to check it out myself, their shaft-tails were housed directly between canaries and gouldians. D;

Now I gotta do more research!
4 Shaft-Tails: Fat Chicken, Starbuck, Blotch, & The Devil.

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Re: Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by debbie276 » Wed Jul 17, 2013 4:13 pm

ASM are transferred via water dishes or body fluids like when a bird feeds another bird. They can live for a short period of time in the environment but not usually the most common way to get them. I personally don't think they would have gotten the ASM just because they are housed next to the cage of a canary or gouldian. The life cycle of a ASM is 21 days so the Scatt should take care of it because Scatt stays active for 21 days in the birds system. If you don't see any improvement in a day or two you may want to consider that something else may be wrong.
Hope the Scatt does it for you :)
Debbie
long time breeder of lady gouldians:
Green
SF Pastel (SF Yellow)
Pastel (Yellow)
Blue
SF Pastel Blue (SF Yellow Blue)
Pastel Blue (Yellow Blue)

GREAT articles on avian lighting:
https://mickaboo.org/confluence/downloa ... ummary.pdf
http://www.naturallighting.com/cart/sto ... sc_page=56

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Re: Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by sarehptar » Wed Jul 17, 2013 5:59 pm

Yeah, that was the problem with the store--the cages were literally touching each other with perches very close, so the birds could definitely have been in contact, along with water and food crossing over. (Although today I went to another bird store in our area that supposedly has a good reputation, and it was a thousand times worse, so I'm actually starting to think the store my parents got my finches from might be among the better "pet stores"!)

I have noticed improved energy today, but their voices are still high. I will watch like a hawk over the next few days; since these are my first finches, I really, really want to do the best by them that I can!

If they don't improve over time with heat and some electrolytes, should I start to worry about getting a medicine for upper respiratory? I wanted to take them to an avian vet when I first noticed this stuff happening, but the vet wanted $150 just to see the bird, not counting any tests or medicines that might be needed. It was just a bit too much for me. T_T

I definitely don't want to OVER treat them either... I think a lot of this would have been avoided if the finch book I got had explained medicines better or listed some suggested preventative treatments to give after getting finches from any source other than a reputable breeder... It's really amazing how complicated owning such tiny little creatures is!

Thanks so much for all of your input guys; I don't think I could make it as a finch owner without this forum!
4 Shaft-Tails: Fat Chicken, Starbuck, Blotch, & The Devil.

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Re: Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by sarehptar » Thu Jul 18, 2013 3:46 pm

Last update (hopefully) on the issue--either my birds have remarkable recovery time from infections, or it really was Air Sac Mites, because everyone is back in full force today, with no squeaky voices, no nasal discharge, and no one sitting around looking unwell. Still haven't heard the male sing yet, but there's no nest, no competition, and his lady is glued to his side, so he probably just hasn't felt the need yet. XD

In either case, everything is well once more! :D
4 Shaft-Tails: Fat Chicken, Starbuck, Blotch, & The Devil.

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Re: Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by debbie276 » Thu Jul 18, 2013 5:58 pm

Now that is wonderful news!! =D>
best of luck
Debbie
long time breeder of lady gouldians:
Green
SF Pastel (SF Yellow)
Pastel (Yellow)
Blue
SF Pastel Blue (SF Yellow Blue)
Pastel Blue (Yellow Blue)

GREAT articles on avian lighting:
https://mickaboo.org/confluence/downloa ... ummary.pdf
http://www.naturallighting.com/cart/sto ... sc_page=56

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Re: Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by Teresa'sTreeHouse » Sun Aug 04, 2013 10:14 pm

Just to add about Scatt. I contacted the makers and asked about overdosing. They told me that it is hard to overdose. That literally they had soaked a finch in scatt once on accident and the finch was perfectly fine. Always follow the directions but was told not to worry too much about overdosing unless they are dunked in the stuff.

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Re: Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by sarehptar » Sun Aug 04, 2013 11:47 pm

Teresa'sTreeHouse wrote: Just to add about Scatt. I contacted the makers and asked about overdosing. They told me that it is hard to overdose. That literally they had soaked a finch in scatt once on accident and the finch was perfectly fine. Always follow the directions but was told not to worry too much about overdosing unless they are dunked in the stuff.
Wow, thanks! Good to hear; now I can be less nervous if I have to use it again in the future! :)
4 Shaft-Tails: Fat Chicken, Starbuck, Blotch, & The Devil.

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Re: Side Effects of Scatt?

Post by debbie276 » Mon Aug 05, 2013 6:21 am

They told me that it is hard to overdose. That literally they had soaked a finch in scatt once on accident and the finch was perfectly fine. Always follow the directions but was told not to worry too much about overdosing unless they are dunked in the stuff.
I have to agree with that, once while dosing a hen my husband squeezed a massive amount on her by accident. It looked like she took a bath in it, I wiped off as much as I could with a napkin, and she was fine.
Debbie
long time breeder of lady gouldians:
Green
SF Pastel (SF Yellow)
Pastel (Yellow)
Blue
SF Pastel Blue (SF Yellow Blue)
Pastel Blue (Yellow Blue)

GREAT articles on avian lighting:
https://mickaboo.org/confluence/downloa ... ummary.pdf
http://www.naturallighting.com/cart/sto ... sc_page=56

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