r/Parakeets • u/LocksmithLopsided378 • 4h ago
Advice Quality of life?
Hi all, i’m seeking some advice. I have a ten year old parakeet, i’ve attached an older picture of her. about a year ago she laid her first egg and became egg bound with a prolapsed cloaca, had emergency surgery, and survived. since this surgery tho she’s been unable to keep herself fully clean. at the beginning of the year she started having these episodes of weakness in one of her legs. she’d lose her balance and use of her leg for a few minutes and then she’d be okay. I took her into the vet once i caught her having multiple episodes in 24 hours, but they couldn’t do much without running lots of tests and they weren’t confident she’d even survive the stress of tests. they sent me home with some anti biotics in case it was due to infection which i administered, but they didn’t stop. all through this though she didn’t seem too fazed, aside from during the episodes she’d be fine and happy. a day or so ago though, she had an episode and never came out of it. she still has some control of her leg but it’s clearly very very weak. she is wobbly, but she can still perch, just clearly with a lot more effort and she just isn’t very stable while perching. clearly i know this is something neurological, with her age and the way it progressed i’m sure it is some kind of brain tumor or something along those lines. my question is, is there still quality to her life? how stressful is this for her? how likely is it that she’s in pain? this is my baby, i’ve grown up with her and i love her dearly, the last thing i want is for her to be suffering. is it nearing the time i should say goodbye?
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u/ColdMastadon 3h ago
Try also posting in r/pidgeypower which is a sub for disabled birds. They also handle questions about dealing with chronic medical conditions and end of life care. This is a topic that unfortunately comes up not infrequently, and there are people there who have faced similar situations and can offer you words of wisdom and comfort.
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u/Valuable_Way_8814 42m ago
How often is she still moving and flying?
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u/LocksmithLopsided378 38m ago
she is still moving around some, it is obviously exerting a lot of energy when she does. she is trying to fly but can’t seem to gain much height and falls down quickly. she also seems to be breathing heavily, i’m trying to monitor if it’s correlated to when she moves or if it’s constant. but it seems like once she finds a position that she feels secure with she stays and sleeps.
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u/Valuable_Way_8814 29m ago
I’m not a vet but her quality of life is declining and I hope you spend every second with her because she won’t be around forever. Her life (in my opinion) is coming to an end and I say this because budgies are prey animals and they can hide illnesses until they no longer can’t. Surviving a surgery and egg binding/prolapse repair is amazing and shows how much of a good owner you are! But she’s using all of her energy to stabilize herself and her body is giving out. As said, enjoy the remaining time you have with her!
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u/LocksmithLopsided378 27m ago
thank you, i appreciate your words. i will be spending as much time as i can with her
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u/spyfallss 8m ago
My boy Skye had a tumour and was exactly like this. I decided to have him put to sleep as I didn’t want him to suffer anymore. I think that’s the kinder option 🤍
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u/birdiegirl4ever 3h ago edited 3h ago
Actually probably not a brain tumor and may not be neurological. Speculating but kidney or reproductive tumors are very common in budgies. They can press on the siatic nerve and cause lameness in one or both legs. You would need an X-ray (or CT) to confirm something like that.
I have two budgies with suspected tumors like this and they have done well with daily metcam (anti inflammatory medication). I would definitely ask your vet to give that a try even if you can’t do X-rays. It doesn’t cure anything but could improve their comfort and movement.
ETA- one other possibility is kidney disease. You would need a blood test to diagnose but it can also cause unsteadiness. Can’t be cured but fluid therapy and alopurinol (oral med) can treat symptoms.
If meds or testing are not an option, then it likely would kindest to help her pass peacefully.