Budgiekin
03-26-2006, 10:53 AM
I highly recommend bringing your budgies to an avian vet BEFORE they get sick. There is nothing worse than having a sick budgie that you can't get in to see an avian vet because
1. you find out that there are no avian vets in your area right in the middle of a budgie health crisis
2. the only clinic that is open is one that treats dogs and cats
3. the vet clinic isn't willing to open the clinic for you in an emergency because you have never been there before and they don't know you or your bird
Budgies in fact really should be going to the vet for regular checkups every 6 months (or every year at the very least). Checkups usually involve your vet weighing your sweeties, using a stethoscope to check their breathing (to see if there is any wheezing etc.) and heart rate, using a speculum to open up their little beaks to check inside, and palpating them to see if there are any abnormalities on their bodies (e.g. growths, external tumours etc). Some checkups will involve a fecal gram stain (i.e. taking a fresh poop, smearing it on a glass slide and examining it under a microscope) and a complete blood count.
I can tell you from personal experience how important it is to establish a relationship with an avian vet BEFORE you really NEED the vet. My budgie Apollo got very ill one evening (he was bleeding a lot from his vent). It was a Sunday evening and the vet clinic I usually went to was closed. After unsuccessfully trying to get Apollo into a different clinic, my regular vet actually found out about my predicament (because I guess the person at the other clinic I had spoken to phoned her) so she offered to meet me at the clinic and open it for me so she could see my little sweetie. So, that's what we did; we packed up Apollo and brought him in immediately. Unfortunately, my little Apollo died the next day, but I felt better knowing that I tried to get him the care that he so urgently needed. :upset:
http://i2.tinypic.com/sbqakp.jpg
1. you find out that there are no avian vets in your area right in the middle of a budgie health crisis
2. the only clinic that is open is one that treats dogs and cats
3. the vet clinic isn't willing to open the clinic for you in an emergency because you have never been there before and they don't know you or your bird
Budgies in fact really should be going to the vet for regular checkups every 6 months (or every year at the very least). Checkups usually involve your vet weighing your sweeties, using a stethoscope to check their breathing (to see if there is any wheezing etc.) and heart rate, using a speculum to open up their little beaks to check inside, and palpating them to see if there are any abnormalities on their bodies (e.g. growths, external tumours etc). Some checkups will involve a fecal gram stain (i.e. taking a fresh poop, smearing it on a glass slide and examining it under a microscope) and a complete blood count.
I can tell you from personal experience how important it is to establish a relationship with an avian vet BEFORE you really NEED the vet. My budgie Apollo got very ill one evening (he was bleeding a lot from his vent). It was a Sunday evening and the vet clinic I usually went to was closed. After unsuccessfully trying to get Apollo into a different clinic, my regular vet actually found out about my predicament (because I guess the person at the other clinic I had spoken to phoned her) so she offered to meet me at the clinic and open it for me so she could see my little sweetie. So, that's what we did; we packed up Apollo and brought him in immediately. Unfortunately, my little Apollo died the next day, but I felt better knowing that I tried to get him the care that he so urgently needed. :upset:
http://i2.tinypic.com/sbqakp.jpg