# Breathing Heavy??? Normal??



## Courtwolfie (Jan 14, 2013)

Hello! I had my cockatiel for about 4 days now. He is still getting used to the environment and people interaction. I notice at nite he will start sneezing, but only a couple of times and then stops. I have a sheet over his cage whenever I go to bed. 

But whenever I get close to him (and also at nite) he starts to breath heavy with his mouth open. Is he just terrified right now?? lol! Poor little guy.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

When you get close to him, is he actually breathing heavy or is he opening his mouth to hiss at you? If he's really open-mouth breathing then that is abnormal and you should get a vet check as soon as possible. If he's just hissing, then that's a pretty typical stress reaction from a 'tiel that doesn't know whether to trust you yet.


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## Courtwolfie (Jan 14, 2013)

enigma731 said:


> When you get close to him, is he actually breathing heavy or is he opening his mouth to hiss at you? If he's really open-mouth breathing then that is abnormal and you should get a vet check as soon as possible. If he's just hissing, then that's a pretty typical stress reaction from a 'tiel that doesn't know whether to trust you yet.


Well the hissing is getting better, but after it's been awhile with his heavy breathing, his mouth is still a little open. Normally until he calms down. My boyfriend states that when he was home the other day that it didn't do it at all. That's why I thought maybe its just that he's so scared, it's exhausting him. Cause you can see his chest moving up and down when he's doing that.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

It might be a stress reaction, but if it is then it's a pretty extreme one. I would watch him carefully for any other signs of a respiratory problem. If you notice anything else off, then get a vet visit ASAP.


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## Courtwolfie (Jan 14, 2013)

enigma731 said:


> It might be a stress reaction, but if it is then it's a pretty extreme one. I would watch him carefully for any other signs of a respiratory problem. If you notice anything else off, then get a vet visit ASAP.


Ok i will. Ugh i feel a little bad for taking him away from his nesting buddies where i bought him....i don't want him stressing! lol


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## Courtwolfie (Jan 14, 2013)

Well, it ended up this weekend that my birdie got a little sick. All saturday he just wanted to sleep on the bottom floor of his cage and sounding congested. I went to petsmart and got some respiratory meds (powder stuff that goes in the water). So for saturday and sunday he did eat and drink some. This morning he was actually moving some on his perch. But he is still wheezing some. So, We will see how he is by Thursday (since that's the 5 day mark for the meds).


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Respitory issues are emergencies and should be seen by a vet not treated at home. It sounds like the stress of being moved into a new environment has caused a hidden issue to show itself. I wouldn't wait for those meds to work, I would take him to a vet immediately, birds can go downhill very fast.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

If he is wheezing then it is an emergency and you need to have him seen today. Over the counter meds are not appropriate for birds, and can actually lead to more serious complications if they cause bacteria to become resistant. Please don't delay in having him seen; birds with respiratory symptoms can deteriorate in a matter of hours, and he has had this going on for days now. Can we help you find an avian vet to take him to?


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