# Cheeks is sick



## cheekyfellow (Aug 31, 2014)

hello everyone, my cockatiels name is cheeks. I have 3 other birds but have such a strong bond with this wonderful bird. Ive had him for 2-3 years. we found him but never did blood work because he seemed very healthy and never had any issues. Well now hes been sick for a week, showing signs like lethargic, feathers are fluffed up, sleeping on the bottom of the cage, etc...

Ive taken him to an aviary vet and he did blood work but said his kidneys, liver and blood count all look good. He gave me two medicines one cipro and the other flagyl i think. Hes been on flagyl for 36 hours and cipro for 12. The thing is he has been eating alot still but has been throwing up at night when i put him to sleep. At times he seems better and then the rest he is sleeping. 

I see some people say when the bird is showing signs of sickness that sometimes its too late,but hes been showing signs for a whole week now. Its got me so stressed out i love him so much. How long to see progress from the medicine if anyone has experience with this? Hes still eating and drinking but im giving him pedialyte just incase hes dehydrated. My doc told me to give hiim 6cc's of pedialyte but that seems like too much so ive been giving him 2 because he still drinks water. So should he be ok as long as he eats and drinks right?? Thank you for your help

Hes preening on my shoulder right now which is a good sign. He hasnt been doing that much over the past days.


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## Ftest (May 18, 2013)

I haven't had any experience with sickness yet, but wanted to send you and Cheeks some hugs and well wishes. Maybe it took a little while for the meds to kick in.


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## TamaMoo (Jan 12, 2014)

Sorry I don't have advice either, but want to join in with well wishes, hugs and scritches. As mentioned above, maybe it took a bit for the meds to kick in.


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## cheekyfellow (Aug 31, 2014)

Thank you both, im just trying to keep him as comfortable as possible and hoping for the best. It means a lot to me thank you


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

No no, I think you caught him before it's too late. I think he will be alright. Just keep him on his meds, make sure he is properly hydrated and give him some soft, easy to eat foods. I made mash for mine when they were very sick, it was watered pellets I mashed and chopped up some small, itty bitty leafy greens. Course mine were so sick I held them like a baby to my heart and handfed them. If Cheeks is eating and preening on his own, that's great! Mine didn't preen for at least a good week. I would try some mushy food if he'll eat it. Seeds made Jaid throw up all over me, so that's when I turned to mash.

Please keep us updated :flowers:


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Did the vet do a gram stain? Often throwing up is a sign of a bacterial infection. I'm not really familiar with those medications but in my experience with birds vomiting an antibiotic works fairly quickly and I don't think he should still be throwing up- if it's an infection. Another possibility is the first medicine my bird was on made him throw up and we had to switch medications. Did your vet not diagnosis what was wrong at all? I think I would contact your vet and tell him that your bird is still vomiting and ask if the medicine should be working by now or get a second opinion from another vet.


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## Janalee (Jul 25, 2012)

*Cheeky*

The only thing I would suggest is that it might be good to try to give him the 6cc of pedialyte if that's what the vet recommended. The reason is that pedialyte supplies electrolytes which plain water does not. However...if he is eating and showing improvement, maybe that's not necessary. It is so hard to give them meds! I would check with the vet. 
Hope he's soon completely better!


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## cheekyfellow (Aug 31, 2014)

He threw up again last night late like 2am. he was looking good he was pretty active at night for a few hours straight before i put him to bed. No the doctor really didn't diagnose him with anything. I called the doctor and am bringing him in tomm, i was told to stop one of the medications so well see. I just got home from work and usually he'd be dying to come out of his cage but nothing, he seems sick again and he was looking alot better last night


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## Ftest (May 18, 2013)

Awe sorry to hear. Let's us know what the vet says.


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## cheekyfellow (Aug 31, 2014)

Hey everyone, sorry i didnt update sooner. we ran every test possible and nothing comes up. Cheeks is still doing about the same. Still very lethargic and not himself but he hasnt gotten any worse, if anything i'd say he has gotten a tiny bit better at times. The doc said he is going to start him on a new antibiotic tomm but from here its a guessing game. I hate to put him on more medicine but i figure the doc knows what hes doing and i dont want to risk him getting worse.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I'm sorry to hear that he's not doing better. The gram stain came back negative too? Did they check for yeast too?


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## slugabed (Jul 27, 2014)

Crap, that's the worst, when nothing shows up.  I hope Cheeks gets better soon!


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Aww . Sending well-wishes to you and Cheeks.


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

Yeah. I hope he gets better. I had a sick cockatiel too but that one died pretty soon. The vet is the only thing you can do right now. I hope cheeks will be alright.


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## cheekyfellow (Aug 31, 2014)

Well iv'e got some good news! Over the last two days he has had a lot of progress! yesterday was the first day when i opened his cage in the morning he came running out! This morning also. He's been sleeping on the perch now and is a lot more active. Right now hes on top of my tv eating a millet he found. He looks so much better and hes been off of meds for two days. Finally looking like himself again. Thank you everyone for the support i really appreciate it.


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## SoCalTiels (Oct 8, 2013)

So glad to hear Cheeks is making progress and acting more himself


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## slugabed (Jul 27, 2014)

Yay! That's so great to hear.


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## stevechurch2222 (Sep 25, 2011)

That's great news,glad that Cheeks is getting better.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I'm glad he's doing better!


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## Nimra (Aug 4, 2014)

I am glad he is better. Its not everyone that has a cockatiel who is making progress when its sick. Anyway are you taking him to the vet?


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## cheekyfellow (Aug 31, 2014)

Nimra said:


> I am glad he is better. Its not everyone that has a cockatiel who is making progress when its sick. Anyway are you taking him to the vet?


No, on the day cheeks started recovering i went to the vet and he gave me a new antibiotic to try out but i didnt give it to him because he was getting better and i already tried three of them. I didnt want to risk him start throwing up again and feeling sick. Its now been a week since he got better and he is doing good. I wouldnt say hes one hundred percent but very close. The only reason why i say that is i havent heard him whistle since this whole ordeal. He seems to be doing everything else just fine though.


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## cheekyfellow (Aug 31, 2014)

Hi everyone! I just want to give a little update and show you how well he's doing! I'm giving him a head rub right now, hes doing so good, back to whistling and preening. Hopefully everyone's sick birds will get better, I really hope so


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

Oh he's such a pretty boy! I'm a sucker for ghost pearls


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

I'm so glad that Cheeks is ok now. It's no fun being sick.

He looks adorable! And that bath picture.. :rofl:


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## stevechurch2222 (Sep 25, 2011)

So glad that Cheeks is feeling better,that's great news.


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## Colorguarder08 (Sep 13, 2014)

I am glad cheeks is better. Sick tiels can be stressful.


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