HELP, PLEASE, my lavender is not acting right

[lovezebs]

KarenB
Behaahaaha.....
Brandy, is it now? So maybe it's not the birdie who's off, maybe the owner is a little..... shall we say, pickled???

~Elana~

[MiaCarter]

How long has he been on Amoxitex?

I'd expect him to start showing noticeable improvement within 48-72 hours if it's an ear infection.

If you don't see any improvement on that, I strongly recommend trying the trimethoprim sulfa and nystatin mix (plus, you'll be happy to have both on-hand, as trimethoprim sulfa offers coverage for ailments that amoxitex doesn't treat well and nystatin is a must-have if you have chickies, as anyone who's handraised is going to be prone to yeast infections.)

[KarenB]

KarenB
Behaahaaha.....
Brandy, is it now? So maybe it's not the birdie who's off, maybe the owner is a little..... shall we say, pickled???

~Elana~

I have my moments, yo

[KarenB]

How long has he been on Amoxitex?

I'd expect him to start showing noticeable improvement within 48-72 hours if it's an ear infection.

If you don't see any improvement on that, I strongly recommend trying the trimethoprim sulfa and nystatin mix (plus, you'll be happy to have both on-hand, as trimethoprim sulfa offers coverage for ailments that amoxitex doesn't treat well and nystatin is a must-have if you have chickies, as anyone who's handraised is going to be prone to yeast infections.)

Well, this is the second day of the treatment. I suppose I need to order the other. Where do I get it?

[KarenB]

So today he looks about the same, but no worse. He hangs out in front of the heat lamp, and occasionally jumps over to the other side of the cage to eat and drink. He hasn't touched his soft food, really, maybe a couple bites of egg, and he did nip at an egg shell I tossed in there. I sprinkled the Thrive on the soft food, so he's really not getting much of it. I have seen him drink a few times, and I have the antibiotics in that water, the only water he's getting at the moment.

I ordered the other items and may use those if this doesn't help, but I'm not convinced he needs an anti-fungal or yeast medication.

[KarenB]

MiaCarter Colt finchmix22 Sally. Help.

So I don't think the Ronex is helping, so I started the trimethoprim sulfa and medistatin cocktail. I mixed the trimethoprim sulfa according to the directions and then did the same with the medistatin and put both together in a bowl.

Is that how you're supposed to "serve" it? If I sprinkle it on the soft food, he hasn't been eating that, so I'm not sure he'd get any. As it is, I don't know if he would even drink this stuff. It makes the water all cloudy. I wouldn't drink it.

[Sally]

I've never actually used those medications, so no help there. I wonder if he is just older than you realized. I recently lost my Black-cheeked waxbill, he just faded away, slowly got thinner and thinner. I have had him for several years and he was wild-caught, so no idea how old he was when I got him.

[finchmix22]

KarenB
I would maybe give him a break from medications and add probiotic to re-establish the gut flora. Maybe, he just has too much in his system.

[MiaCarter]

So I don't think the Ronex is helping, so I started the trimethoprim sulfa and medistatin cocktail. I mixed the trimethoprim sulfa according to the directions and then did the same with the medistatin and put both together in a bowl.

Is that how you're supposed to "serve" it? If I sprinkle it on the soft food, he hasn't been eating that, so I'm not sure he'd get any. As it is, I don't know if he would even drink this stuff. It makes the water all cloudy. I wouldn't drink it.

I put the trimethoprim sulfa in the water and the medstatin/nystatin on food. But you may have a different brand than I do.

If he's not eating/drinking, you could mix them with a small amount of honey and see if he'll eat that. (I've offered honey to my birds when they're well so they're more apt to eat it when they're sick. I put a few drops into a bottle cap and sink it halfway into a seed cup. Or drizzle it onto veggies. Once they know what it is, I'll offer droplets on a plate, which is how I offer it if it's spiked with medications.)

Or you can just mix with a tiny bit of water and crop tube him.

You can even put a bit of honey in the water. I tasted it and it's quite bitter. They honey helped. But you need to change the water a bit more often, as the added sugar = faster bacteria growth.

A note for future reference: Be careful giving trimethoprim sulfa alone. The two times I tried this, they ended up with yeast infections. So I always administer with Nystatin. (Plus, Nystatin is good to have on-hand with babies if you handfeed.)

[monotwine]

I administer most meds in water, but medistatin on their seed. Use a touch of olive oil to coat the seed and give it a little shine then the powder will adhere and they take it in when dehusking seed.

[monotwine]

However usually I'd not mix treatments. Do the trimethropim first.

[MiaCarter]

However usually I'd not mix treatments. Do the trimethropim first.

I usually do the same, but this is one where I'd definitely do them together as the two times I tried to do only Trimethoprim sulfa, I ended up with a bird with a raging yeast infection. (And quickly too -- after just a day or two. In one case, I'd discarded my old bottle of Nystatin and had to order a new one. I did 2-day shipping, but even so, it was a nightmarish situation by the time it arrived. She'd nipped herself to the point where she was bleeding. It was awful.)

Also, if I recall properly, I believe the objective was to administer simultaneously.

[KarenB]

I have been giving them together. But I will switch to putting the statin on the seeds and giving the other in the water.

Regardless, I don't think even these meds are helping, and I have the probiotics ready to give. I'm not sure this little guy will get any better. I've now thrown just about everything at him, so I want to give him a break. I was just trying to give the meds enough time to work as this last treatment has only been given for four days now.

[KarenB]

So I tried the medistatin on the seeds with a bit of oil to make it stick, but he's not eating them. He won't eat his veggies, either. I'm not sure how he is still alive. The only thing he will eat are meal worms, so I put the meds on that for a few days. I got no improvement at all, so I put him on probiotics today.

He is still just as unsteady, but he also displays severe jerkiness in all his movements. He still flies around the cage and doesn't spend all his time under the heat lamp, but still a good bit of it. It is very odd. His poops still look normal. I just don't know. It's almost like a neurological problem. He is the only bird I have that is acting this way, so I am inclined to discount some type of infection as the cause. *shrug*

[lovezebs]

KarenB
You know, as I was reading your post, I was thinking that it sounds like something neurological, and then you said the exact same thing (I guess great minds do think alike).

Is it at all possible, that he sustained some sort of a head/neck injury?

I am no pharmaceuticals expert, know nothing about avian meds, however.... I do know that too many/too much meds, can cause more harm than good at times (with people). I mean, if you've treated for every bacterial and non bacterial possibility with no improvement....

I can't tell anyone what to do, I can just say what I would do in such circumstances.

I would take him off these meds, offer some probiotics to get his poor guts working normally again, give him heat, sunlight, fresh clean water, good food with spray millet and any other favourites near by, and give the poor guy a break.

I know, that we hate feeling helpless, we always want to fix things, to do 'something', I'm the same way. It is so frustrating to do nothing, but at times that's the kindest thing to do. I would let him rest, enjoy the sunshine and his fav foods and let nature take it's course.

Good luck to the little guy.

~Elana~