# hardly breathing cockatiel



## Raghad (Aug 29, 2012)

Hello. My 4 years old cockatiel nemo is having a trouble in breathing since January. I was traveling and when i came back i noticed that she opens and closes her mouth (not widely) for each breath. U could barely notice it. So i messeged a general vet and he told me to put a powder called new oxyfit in her water for 7 days then she became well for a month and half until i found out that she has mites and my dad took her to a room with no birds and it was very warm. He sprayed her making sure to cover her face. After 3 weeks of the spray she had the problem again but it was so strong she was opening her mouth very widely i got so scared i thought maybe because the room was warm. Anyways so i got her to the vet but they dont know what wrong (they know nothing about birds) thats the best vet in here and no avian. We did bloodtest for chlamydia and viruses and shes clear. They gave her antibiotics for 2 weeks and petcam /animeloxan and she did well but after i stopped it came back immediately. So this week we tried tabernil antiasmatic and i think she did better than anyother medicine but it came back 2 days after i stopped. Please help should i give her the medicine again? I forgot to mentions her signs. Widley opening her mouth and u can hear her breathing. She becomes very itchy. She itches hee nose and her nose becomes very red and she sneezes alot when having the difficulty especially when she itches her nose. And sometimes discharges come out of her nose when she sneezes. She's eating well and active and shes 90 grams please please i knowits long but i really need help. Thanks


----------



## JoJo's Mom (Oct 20, 2012)

Is there an avian vet in a nearby city that you could take her to? Maybe call around to some other vets that are more familiar with birds... she really needs to see a vet. Good luck with her.


----------



## Raghad (Aug 29, 2012)

JoJo's Mom said:


> Is there an avian vet in a nearby city that you could take her to? Maybe call around to some other vets that are more familiar with birds... she really needs to see a vet. Good luck with her.


No actually. There is no avian vet in my country at all. I did take her to the best vet though in here. All the doctors in there are keeping up with her but they dont know whats wrong. Last thing they said that it may be asthma but they arent sure😓


----------



## JoJo's Mom (Oct 20, 2012)

Have you researched it on the web? You might get some ideas to take to the vet. I am sorry I can't be of more help. Is her weight down from normal, or has she always weighed the same?
What kind of diet do you have her on? Are her droppings normal? Does she have any tail bobbing when she breathes? Also, cockatiels yawn sometimes- could it be that when she opens her beak quite a lot? Just asking random questions...


----------



## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

Is it possible to get a picture of her or a video of her behavior? 

For now I would keep giving the medicine. It looks like it is for the lungs and helps the airways. That's a good one to keep her on for now!

I don't know if asthma would suddenly set in so late in her life. If you can hold her to your ear do you hear any noises coming from the nose/throat area or is it more of a crackly bubbly noise coming from the chest?

I think they may have a sinus infection or a bacterial/fungal respiratory infection. If it is a respiratory infection it may have turned into pneumonia.
Since they are itchy around the nose I'm leaning more towards a sinus infection though. It could be air sac mites too. http://www.beautyofbirds.com/airsackmites.html
http://petcareeducation.com/bird/pet-bird-open-mouth-breathing/

How has the weather been? Is she outside? If it is very hot the low humidity will make them have very dry and itchy skin. It can also dry out the mucus membrane in their lungs and sinuses making them more vulnerable to the sinus and respiratory illnesses. Keep her in a warm room, but not outside so she doesn't get more dry air into her lungs and make it worse. Since she is sick I would not bathe her or get her wet. Some more humidity might help a bit though like from a shower room or hot bowl of water in the room to raise the humidity a bit. I read someone put a glass of water on a heater in their apartment once to get some more humidity in the room. 

I will try and find some herbs for this, but I have to research it more tomorrow (sorry 5 AM here D: ). I think her taking a aloe detox, carbo vegetabilis, or Echinacea(good for bacteria infections) for now would be good things to look into. I'm thinking the best is aloe detox right now. If it is asthma I'll find some anti-inflammatory things to go with what you are using. Turmeric spice is a good anti-inflammatory and great at killing cancer and tumors.
http://www.justcockatiels.net/liver-and-kidneysjust-some-fyi.html

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww24eii.htm

Scroll down to the bottom for carbo vegetabilis, it is good to have in case of emergency when parrots are having problems breathing. It could help with some of the symptoms or revive them if they get worse: http://www.justcockatiels.net/sour-and-slow-crop-remedies.html


----------



## Raghad (Aug 29, 2012)

JoJo's Mom said:


> Have you researched it on the web? You might get some ideas to take to the vet. I am sorry I can't be of more help. Is her weight down from normal, or has she always weighed the same?
> What kind of diet do you have her on? Are her droppings normal? Does she have any tail bobbing when she breathes? Also, cockatiels yawn sometimes- could it be that when she opens her beak quite a lot? Just asking random questions...


So sorry for the late reply. Had to change my phone. Well i searched in the web and got scared from some diseases. The vet says that we should do an xray to her but he doesnt recomend cuz its dangerous to sedate her. And yes her weight is normal. 90 grams. She has lost i guess 4 grams (she was 94) the first time i started antibiotic for her. But now shes stable. And i just recently started giving her kaytee cockatiel food. And yes she has tail bobbing with each breath. Im not sure about her droppings actually i cant tell whether its normal or not. She does yawn when she gets the breathing problem to collect some air. And she sneezes alot when she has the problem especially when she itches her nose😢 i really appreciate u trying to help. Thank you soooo much💖💖


----------



## Raghad (Aug 29, 2012)

Kiwi said:


> Is it possible to get a picture of her or a video of her behavior?
> 
> For now I would keep giving the medicine. It looks like it is for the lungs and helps the airways. That's a good one to keep her on for now!
> 
> ...


SO sorry for the late reply i had to changey phone. I really appreciate ur help thank youu so much💖
I will send a video of her. I have an old one too when she had the problem for the second time and it was worse than before.
The medicine was working very well at first when she got out from 15 hours of oxygen cage we gave her the asthma medicine in water and 0.1 ml baytril in her mouth and she was better than ever. I gave her for 5 days as the vet said (and the website of the asthma medicine but as soon as i stopped it. After 2 days she got the problem again. So i returned the asthma medicine without the baytril (im afraid about her liver) for 5 days but it didnt work. So now i stopped it. I went to put her in the oxygen cage but the nurses didnt allow cuz the doctor was in a vacation and they needed permission. So anyways i noticed that everytime i take her to the vet. On our way there, she closes her mouth (as she reaches the sun). Kuwait is so hot it reaches 47°C. But seems like the sun helps her breathe well for a short amount of time. Lets say a day. Om always afraid to give her a shower or to let her outside. I have a big anxiety that she might catch a cold although its hot in here. Silly me lol but i cant help. So anyways, i thought about respiratory infection as when she gets the problem she sneezes alot and her nose becomes red and itchy. But i gave her baytril for 14 days and it didnt work. Doesnt that mean that its not bacterial? Doctor told me that we need xrays but cant do it cuz we have to sedate her and its dangerous. When the problem reaches the top i think i can hear a clicking sound from her lungs. But im also not sure if its bubbly sound. Maybe it is. Im bad at such stuff 😢. I will try to put her in humidity for a while. Im afraid its cancer but i hope not. Thank you so so sooooo much for ur advices and time i really appreciate it 💕💕


----------



## Raghad (Aug 29, 2012)

Kiwi said:


> Is it possible to get a picture of her or a video of her behavior?
> 
> For now I would keep giving the medicine. It looks like it is for the lungs and helps the airways. That's a good one to keep her on for now!
> 
> ...


For some reason whenever i try to upload a video if doesnt work. Because its mp4. I dont know how to convert it to something else!  os there anyway i can send u the her video? Sorry to bother


----------

