# Clogged vent?



## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

I took my budgie to the emergency vet because he had a clogged vent. I am saying he because I was told he was a boy but this is when he was a lot younger. I am not ENTIRELY sure he is a boy for sure though. The vet cleaned his vent and got him unclogged. I told him about how I have been giving him Roudybush pellets along with his usual seeds lately to help improve his diet and he thinks the change in diet could have caused the constipation. I have noticed that my budgie really likes the roudybush and he has been eating mostly that. I just started giving it to him around 3 days ago and then this happened. I was told to stop giving it to him and if it becomes clogged again to bring him back. Even though he cleaned his vent, he still hasn't pooped and it has been almost an hour. I am really worried. What do you guys think?


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi! :welcome: to Talk Budgies

Was the vet an AVIAN vet or a regular vet?

I'd encourage you to give your budgie Guardian Angel or Pedialyte which will help to balance his electrolytes. 
The budgie is dehydrated and not pooping because it's body does not contain enough water. 
The bird may need to have fluids administered by the veterinarian and you should call the vet back and discuss that option.

https://www.talkbudgies.com/article...uardian-angel-pedialyte-pedialyte-recipe.html

https://www.talkbudgies.com/article...aluation-bird-droppings-indicator-health.html

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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

He is a regular vet but seems to have experience with exotic animals like hamsters and rabbits but I am not as sure about birds. The closest avian vet is about an hour and a half away and I would take him but they aren't open until Monday. Since his vent was clogged though I knew I had to take him to at least the regular vet to get that fixed. What do I do now? I am so worried.  Should he be okay until Monday? I know clogged vents are really serious, but I am not sure what about it causes death and that scares me. I read the vent sticky and plan on reading more.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*You have to get the budgie to drink.
Does it like vegetables? Giving it watery vegetables like Romaine Lettuce and cucumber will help. 
What is the bird's name?
Try misting some of the budgie's toys lightly with water to see if it will lick the water off the toys.
Prepare the Guardian Angel or Pedialyte and offer it to the bird. 
If the budgie likes bathing and you offer it a shallow dish of water it will probably drink from the dish before bathing in it.
The most important thing is that the bird stay hydrated. 
If you aren't confident in ensuring that at this point, then call the vet back and ask about having him/her administer fluids to the budgie.*


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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

How much pedialyte do I give him? I need to go to the store anyway so I can pick some up. He is sleeping right now, how can I get him to drink? I put some water on my fingers and he licked a little off, but how will I know if he drinks anything? Just from seeing him drink it? His name is Cuddles. He was my sister's bird and my niece named him. They had him in a really small cage so I kind of adopted him and bought him a flight cage and some toys, etc. How long can he go without pooping? Do you think he is going to die? </3


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## tonic (Nov 13, 2009)

Don't panic about the pooping just yet. You really have no way to know if there is anymore in the system ready to go. It may be that he felt ill from the blockage and hasn't eaten as much as usual, and when the blockage was removed all the available poop was also.

So, do keep offering water on your finger, veges etc, as suggested. There is not a lot more you can do, if the blockage was removed in time he should recover. If the blockage was caused by an underlying issue he may not. 

Best wishes for you and him. Let us know how he progresses.


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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

Thank you so much! He did poop not long after that post. It wasn't a lot but I feel a little better knowing he can actually go now and it isn't blocked. He hasn't eaten or drank anything yet but I think it's because he has been sleeping. He was also pretty rattled up from the vet visit. Lots of potholes on the way there and I had to restrain him while he cleaned the poop off which probably hurt.  He probably hates me right now but hopefully he will thank me later. He acts completely normal though, and is sleeping normally. I just really hope he eats in the morning and drinks his pedialyte and poops more. The vet wants me to call him tomorrow with an update on him so I will do that and will most likely take him to an avian vet anyway just to check him even if he recovers well.


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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

So last night he pooped again after my last post and it was more green and white and slightly more than the last one. He also ate some seeds and some of his millet. Any suggestions on what I should do now? I am still really worried that he won't eat anymore today. He usually does most of his eating in the morning.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I would still give him Guardian Angel/Pedialyte for a day or so. You can substitute it for his water.

Keep an eye on him to ensure he is eating, drinking and pooping. If so, then he'll be just fine. *


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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

Thank you so much for all the help so far!! Sorry for asking so many questions. This is how much he has pooped in the last 20-24 hours. Do they look okay and also how many separate poops does it look like? One other thing is how will I know if he gets clogged again? He does not want me grabbing him right now, probably because of yesterday so I can only really check from a distance. I also was wanting to take him back to the vet so they can check his vent and also clean it more because he won't let me do it. Does that sound like an okay idea? I don't want to stress him out too much but I want to make sure he is clean and okay.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*It looks as though he is pooping just fine now.
I would not take him back to the vet for another cleaning at this time.
He should be able to preen himself and clean himself just fine.

Change the paper in his cage twice a day. That way you'll know if he is continuing to eliminate waste as he should. *


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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

Thank you for your reply! He is still pooping tonight but he has some poop hanging off of his vent. He is also still eating normally. I am off work for the next two days and was wondering if you think I should take him to an avian vet? There is one an hour and 15 minutes from here. Do you think I should take him or just keep watching him? I am not sure how long it would take for that food to stop causing problems if it was that food. I stopped feeding it to him on Saturday so I am not sure how long it would take for his poop to stop being sticky?


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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

I took him to the avian vet and she said that Cuddles is a girl and she has a bacterial/yeast infection. She said that it was probably already there and when I changed the food, it stressed her out some and made the symptoms worse. She is keeping her until Friday to make sure she gets her antibiotics properly. I hope she does well at the vet for that long. I am going to miss her for the next few days.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I'm VERY glad you took Cuddles to the Avian Vet and got the proper diagnosis for her. Well done! :urock:

I didn't think it was likely that eating pellets was what caused the entire problem she was experiencing.

I'll be looking forward to your update on her condition in this thread.

Sending lots of healing energy, positive thoughts and prayers for your little girl.

Blessings*


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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

So it has been a bit since I picked her up from the vet, and she is acting well. She is playing with her toys, eating, singing, and being active. However, ever since she got back from the vet she has been regurgitating. At first, it was only one seed at a time but the last few days it has been maybe 5-6 seeds that are clumped together with clear liquid surrounding it? There is no staining or wetness on her face and her poops and vent look great. I called the vet and asked what I should do and they told me her main vet is off work on Wednesdays and will be back tomorrow. Do you think I should take her back to the vet? I am anxious that she might have AGY because I am not entirely sure if she is regurgitating or vomiting but she hasn't been passing seed in her poop or anything. What do you think? She does the head bobbing thing and then seeds come up and she aims them toward the floor of the cage. She does this maybe 4 times a day?


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

It sounds that she may be regurgitating especially since you say it is after head bobbing and it sounds like she is controlling the act. If she is doing this 4 times a day, if she was vomiting I would expect her to be feeling quite poorly but you say she is active.When a bird vomits it is generally an uncontrolled motion and the head will move around in an effort to fling the vomit out of the mouth and it usually goes everywhere, you will see it stuck to the cage bars and everywhere else in the cage and sometimes stuck to the face. Did the vet say that they found AGY in the droppings? In any case when your vet returns I would give him/her an update just to be safe.


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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

Thank you for the reply! She told me she found bacteria and yeast in her droppings with yeast up to her throat. She didn't say what kind of yeast though. She is on ACV in her water for 2 weeks because she told me that all of the bacteria was gone, however, there was still some yeast left and the ACV should take care of it. Here is a pic of the seeds after they hit the floor. (I usually have paper towels but ran out)

I feel like her poops look good, but is the amount of white okay?


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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

Okay, so the vet wants to keep her over night to keep an eye on her. If she was/is sick, would they be able to tell in one night? They have an emergency night staff for if someone needs something in the night or if the animals there need medicine at night. So I guess that is who will be keeping an eye on her.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

If someone can catch her in the act of spitting out the seeds they will be able to tell if she is vomiting them up or not.They will also check in the morning to see if anything has been spit up and where it is because if there are seeds stuck to the cage bars all over then it is most likely from vomiting. They will also be looking for how much she is eating and what the droppings look like as well as her overall condition. They may also do a throat swab.
Hope everything turns out ok.


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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

They called me back to give me the results of gram stain (I think that is what it's called?) the one where they check her droppings. She said that all of the yeast is gone now and she hasn't regurgitated at all since I left so if she still hasn't by morning then they think it is hormonal and has something to do with either me or the fact my room is light a lot. I can pick her up in the morning and I was told to only give her 10 hours of light a day for two weeks? She said to cover the cage with a dark blanket but I am unsure of what times to cover it? It gets dark here around 7 and then gets light again around 6am. I have a lamp that I would prefer to keep on if I can that I turn off when I go to sleep which is random times. How exactly do I cover the cage enough to make sure the lamp isn't disturbing her? Also, she said the yeast type was candida. If it were AGY, would she most likely have more symptoms than just regurgitating? Sorry for all the questions, I am just worried as to why she regurgitates randomly.


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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

The good news is they said Cuddles is healthy and went all night last night without regurgitating and all day today. What worries me is she still regurgitated once I put her back in her usual cage. She did it while I was at work so I don't think it's anything I am doing. I also took her toys out to see if it was any of those and she did it with no toys in the cage. If she is healthy and shows no signs of sickness should I be worried? As long as it never looks runny or splattered all over the cage or stuck to her face. What would you guys do if you were me?


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Follow the vets advice of decreasing the daylight hours by covering the cage and see if that makes any difference. If it is hormonal that may help.


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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

So Cuddles has been doing really good the last few days and didn't regurgitate at all but then tonight while I was at work she regurgitated three times. 😞 she is acting completely normal though and her droppings look normal as well. Should I be worried? I still haven't been able to tell exactly what is making her do it.


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## Astrobunnies (Sep 30, 2018)

I was going to post a new thread for this question but couldn't figure out how to word it while including all of Cuddles's past vet visits. I called the vet and told her about how Cuddles is still regurgitating sometimes. She told me as long as it's pretty spaced out and the fact that she didn't regurgitate for 3 days that it's okay and it's most likely hormonal. She told me to keep an eye on her crop and if it seems swollen or weird at all to let her know. So my question is, how do you tell what a swollen crop looks like? Is it pretty obvious most of the time? What is the difference between a swollen crop and a full crop from food? Sorry for all the posts, I am just not sure how to word all this into a new thread.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Type in "Swollen Crop in Budgies" in your Google Search and chose "Images".
You will see pictures of what a swollen crop may look like.

Problems with phone emojis when posting
*


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