Mud butt

[Tracie H]

I just got a female albino last Thursday, July 6th. When I got her home I noticed there was a lot of poo in the little transport box, and her vent was very soiled. As soon as I noticed, I put her into an isolation cage and started her on Ornacycline and kept her on for 6 days. I had bought another budgie from the same cage the same day and he is looking just fine. Since a couple of days after the beginning of the antibiotic treatment, she has cleared up just fine and there is still a little staining of her feathers surrounding her vent, but that seems to be getting lighter by the day, they are no longer stuck together and caked with feces like they were. I don't know if she was sick when I got her (i didn't notice anything at the pet shop, but I'm not sure I saw her undercarriage) or if it was a simple matter of stress. She never did act sick at all and ate and drank and hopped about just like any of the others. I am taking the medication out of her cage today and going to watch her for relapse. I was wondering how long she needs to be kept to herself, and if I have done the right thing by her. I would appreciate any feedback. She can hear the others, and I'm sure she is lonely.

Thank you,

Tracie

[Budgiekin]

Well, in answer to your question about how long she should be kept by herself, the typical timeframe would be 30 days minimum. That time would be long enough for her to show signs of illness if she is in fact ill. The stress of going to a new environment often precipitates an illness that maybe was not apparent in their original "home". Certainly keep an eye on her.

Good luck with her and let us know how she's doing. :p

[abel]

You have to be careful about petshops too. My avian vet told me about a very well known petshop (I won't mention the name), where it is common practice to medicate all animals, across the board, to, temporarily, cover any signs of illness they may have, in order to assist sales.:mad: I was shocked. I'm learning things I never would have thought..

[Tracie H]

OMG, I didn't know that they did that. I'm a frequent browser, so I'll be sure to really pay attention. Some of the animals are there for prolonged periods and I see them over and over again. One of the pet shops I visit is very, very well kept and clean. The other two, not so much. I have walked out of the other two several times empty handed even though they had the birds I wanted but I just wasn't happy with their condition.