# Lost voice? End of a saga. Bit of a novel, sorry.



## flapster&sparks (Sep 18, 2011)

Our budgie Flapster has lost his voice today. He is singing, but only a croak is coming out.

I know he needs a vet and i will call ours tomorrow (they won't do out of hours for budgies) but i am wondering what this is most likely to be?

Aside from the lost voice he is behaving normally. Active, hopping about, eating, drinking, pooping, all normal. No tail bob and seems to have energy/recovers from exertion in the normal time. As i type he's swinging upside down eating his lettuce from the spherical wire cage feeder i just put it in.

He has a seed-based diet due to being underweight/undersized (on vet's recommendation) but it is enriched with a supplement and he has lots of veggies daily (he won't eat fruit though i do offer it still occasionally), he gets a millet spray occasionally and our pampas seed heads when they're ripe as an annual treat.

We think he's 6 (he's extremely hand shy and stressed by handling so i only catch him in dire need, i'm sure his leg ring indicated he was hatched in March 2010 but i haven't read it in 4 years). We've had him 5 years but he had a terrible start.

Anyway i am wondering if this is more likely to be a lung thing or a tumour? He has an iodine block in his cage which he's obviously using.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I'm glad you've made an appointment for Flapster with his vet. :thumbsup:

In the meantime, you can try putting his cage in the bathroom and running hot water through the shower to get the room warm and steamy.

Another option is to tent the cage with a sheet and place a warm mist humidifier, crock-pot, pot or kettle of boiling water under the sheet where your budgie is unable to touch it and allow the steam to accumulate that way. If you have pure eucalyptus oil, you can put one tiny drop into the water as that will also help to clear the airways and soothe his throat.

The fact that he is active, eating, drinking and pooping normally are all good signs. 
I believe in the power of positive thinking and I'm leaning toward laryngitis due to a slight respiratory infection.

Please be sure to update us on Flapster's condition after his appointment tomorrow.

Best wishes for your little fellow. :hug:*


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

I can't add anything else to what Deborah has said, but I do agree completely. 

However, I do wish little Flapster the very best and hope he feels better soon! :fingerx: 

Let us know how the vet visit goes


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## CaptainHowdy (Feb 9, 2010)

There are lots of things that can cause those symptoms.
A stuck seed, respiratory infection. Aspergilliosis. Tracheitis etc.

Offering a steam treatment will help him breathe better but an avian vet visit is needed asap.


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## flapster&sparks (Sep 18, 2011)

Update!

Thanks to you all!

This budgie, OMG. I have had such a tough time (the saga i alluded to before but didn't have time to write about, basically have lost 2 birds to respiratory infections, one that i treated for over a month and then she died anyway, the other that i thought i heard a strange "kissy" noise one morning, couldn't tell which bird, if it i had even happened as they both looked good and sounded normal when i was looking at them, then that evening one literally fell from his perch onto his back gasping, and died in my hands 20 minutes later, it was awful, and it was how i found out my vet won't attend budgie emergencies out of hours), i was braced for losing him as it feels like the tiniest symptom and then they die.

Anyway i woke up to him singing loudly the next morning. I called the vet anyway and the avian specialist was about to go into surgery so she spoke to me but told me as he was singing again not to bring him in yet, and told me to call back and bring him if he went hoarse again, or started any of the other symptoms budgies can get when unwell. Current opinion is that it was a stuck seed as his voice went completely back to normal overnight. He has been his usual self ever since, so that is that. She did say if it happens again to bring him in as it could be a tumour causing things to get stuck, so i'm hoping that doesn't happen!

For once a happy ending for me in these matters! Many thanks again.


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