# Older Budgie



## Shale55 (Mar 6, 2021)

Hi, 
I was just wondering if anyone had a budgie who had been through or going through the same as ours. 
We have booked a vet appointment but due to all the Covid it’s still a little while away when the avian vet is available. 
Our budgie is 6-8 years old, we were asked to look after him about 5 years ago as we already had a budgie who’d lost his partner, (he passed away only a few weeks into having our new guy) and eventually ended up adopting him.
He is a happy guy, who eats and drinks and plays and chats. 
But he has just been through the biggest / longest molt we’ve ever seen in any of our previous birds. since then he has been slightly strange, quieter, his favourite toy is no longer of any interest,(before he would mate with it.) He sleeps longer then he used to. 
The last two days he’s been acting really strange won’t have a bath, throwing all his food and grit all around his cadge, still sleeping more then before and we noticed that he had a large amount of poo stuck to him. Yesterday we cleaned off what we could and made sure his vent was clean. He has already been chirping more, and just seems a bit happier but still not quite right.
I just wondered if the change in character was old age or as a result of his molt, I know there is a chance of illness and hopefully our vet will help. 
Any information or own experiences would be interesting and helpful.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi! :welcome: to Talk Budgies

A budgie's activities can change as he gets older and a long intensive molt can definitely take a toll on the body and energy level.

You mentioned grit - please know that we do not recommend giving a budgie grit. 
Grit is not needed for a budgie to digest its food and can lead to crop impaction. 
The bird does need to have a cuttlebone in the cage and should also have a mineral block.

The fact that the budgie is having pasting of the vent can be an indication the bird may have a nutritional disease but only your vet will be able to determine that for you.

He may be dehydrated so I would recommend you give him either Guardian Angel or Pedialyte.

Guardian Angel//Pedialyte//Pedialyte Recipe

Evaluation of Dropping as an Indication of your Budgie's Health

Poopology 101

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## Shale55 (Mar 6, 2021)

Hi, 
Thank you for your message. He has a cuttlebone and mineral cube too. Sorry I didn’t write this before he has a small amount of grit that he likes and always has; to sit in, we have tried other things and he complains until it’s the grit. 
Sorry I should have mentioned that, he never eats the grit it’s simply something he like to have in his cage and gets very upset when it is missing. But has now taking to throwing it all around which he has never done before. 
As I said he was given to us to look after and had already formed attachments and made his cage his home. 
I’m more worried about his change in behaviour it’s been a few weeks now since the molt and he just seems like that he was his usually self one day, molted for a few weeks the next and now is a completely different bird. We have never experienced this before in any bird and my mums has been around budgies her whole life. 
His vent in clean. We have been keeping a close eye on him and I saw him poop today and his vent is clear and the poo is now dropping, we hope to clean the remaining poo tomorrow as we wanted to give him a break and now knowing his vent is clean, we have just been keeping him warm and comfortable. 
Could it just be he is getting old? Not mating with his toys, Or playing with any of them. He now doesn’t even acknowledge a set of balls that before he wouldn’t stop making a fuss until they were back in his cage, we tried changing things up. He won’t get in the bath, and has to be coaxed out of his cage. As I said he’s like a whole new bird. 

I’ve been reading lots of different sites when I came across your and read lots of different threads.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*It's difficult to say since your budgie has had a complete change in personality. I've had birds slow down gradually as they've gotten older but can't say that I've ever had one that changed overnight as yours seems to have.

Hopefully someone else on the forum can offer some insight prior to your visit to your Avian Vet.

Best wishes :hug:*


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Molting is a time that is challenging for the immune system, especially if it is a severe molt, so as FaeryBee indicated it can take a toll on the body. Birds hide illness very well and a sudden change in personality is to me, a sign that a trip to the vet is in order. If there is something developing internally you want to catch that before it progresses.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi there and :welcome: to the forums!

You've been given great advice and resources above by Cody and FaeryBee. Please be sure to ask if you have any questions after reading through things! You've come to the best possible place to learn even more about the best of budgie care. 

Please keep us posted on how things go for your little one :hug: 

All my best wishes! 

Cheers :wave:


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