# bubbles in poop



## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Last nite when I was putting sunny to bed I thought I saw bubbles in his poop. Checked this morning and ame thing. He is eating and playing this norning like normal. But I know bubbles aren't good, right? The vet he is supposed to go to doesn't have weekend hours. Do I need to take him to 24 hour vet place today?


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Ok. Now when I went to show my boyfriend the bubbles his poop looks normal. Would it do that if he were sick? Bubbles and then no bubbles,


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i would bring him in just in case. my budgie toby had bubbles in his poop and he had an infection of some sort and needed medication.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I think I should too. Do you think I should try to take him today or call the avian vet he was supposed to see on mon. His office is closed but he does have on his answering machine a number for another vet for weekends.


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## morla (Aug 15, 2011)

I hope he's ok!


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Does the 24 hour place see birds? If you do take him, it's important that he be seen by someone who can actually give you the right info. 

I've read conflicting things about bubbles. Some people say they always mean infection, others say occasional bubbles are okay. It's good that its not happening every time. However, when you put this together with your concern about him sleeping more, I do think it's worth checking out. Plus I also think it'll make you feel better. You've been debating taking him to the vet for a while now. Just go and get your peace of mind.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Also, could you post a pic of the droppings? It might help us help you. It also might help someone in the future if you go and get a diagnosis from the vet and have the pic for reference.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

do they look like this? these are dried bubbles


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

The bubbles don't look like the pic. I will try to post a pic next time it happens. We just got back from the vet. I'm not sure who is more upset, me or Sunny. Sunny was in such a good this morning, playing etc. that I really debated about taking him. We did find a pet hospital that treated birds and they said we should bring him in. Part of me wanted to wait to see my first choice doctor. However, that wouldn't be until Monday at the earliest, and with work I thought it be better to be able to spend today and tomorrow with Sunny.

Anyway, I will say they were nice. However, they didn't run any tests or anything. The doc looked at his poop and said it looked normal and that there would be bubbles everytime if he was sick. He said he looked healthy and great for a bird his age. He felt his keel bone but didn't weigh him. He trimmed his nails (they were long) and wanted to trim his beak because he said it was sharp. I said no. I also said no to his wings being clipped.

They took him in the next room to do his nails. He screamed the whole time. I've never heard that noise. I was in tears. When we first got him home he kept closing one eye like it hurt. It seems okay now. And his little foot is raw where his band is. He seems so sad. He won't let me pick him up. He will let me give him scritches. I just feel like a horrible mom. Am I over-reacting? Is this normal for a vet visit?


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

The good news is that they said he looks good.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Awww, I'm sorry to hear that. Please don't feel like a bad mom, you did a good thing taking him in. Kids don't like getting shots at the doctor either, but it's necessary. Birds react differently to vet visits, and it's hard to say without having been there whether they did anything unusual. It does sound like they could have been more gentle, but I also don't think it sounds like they did anything horribly out of line. He's probably just stressed and tired. Give him some treats and some quiet time, and I bet he'll be back to normal. 

Are you planning to keep your appointment on Monday still? I think it would be good to get a gram stain done, just be sure. What do the bubbles look like? Are they tiny? And are you sure they're new, or is it possible you're just noticing things you haven't seen before?

ETA: The screaming with the nail clipping was probably just because he was being restrained, and scared of the nail clipper or whatever they used. Both my Sunny and Roo scream like you're killing them if they have to be restrained, but they forget about it a minute later.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Thanks. I didn't mean to imply that they did anything wrong. I just wasn't sure if something more should have been done. But I guess if there wasn't a need to do more... I just hate to see Sunny upset and his leg is red and his one toe but I'm sure he wasn't a cooperative subject. We don't have an actual appt. for Monday. I was just calling on Monday to see if they can get him in. My plan originally was to schedule a check up for after Thanksgiving. I check his poop every day and yesterday and today were the first bubbles. However, they didn't look like the posted pic. Sunny finally went back in his cage and I'm going to let his rest awhile. I keep telling myself I should be happy because the doctor said he looked great. So that's good. I know it's silly to be upset that he's still so upset but it was our first vet experience..... And I do think he liked the car ride which is good to know.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

I think it's perfectly understandable that you're upset. His leg and his toe will be okay. If you're concerned about soreness, you could make some cayenne pepper paste and put a thin layer on his skin. But that might stress him out more at this point, so leaving it alone is probably also fine. 

I know what you mean about feeling bad despite being given good news. I feel like that happens every time I take Roo in. You just have to try to focus on the positive. Do the bubbles look foamy? If you're still seeing them on Monday, I do think it would probably be a good idea to go to the regular vet and ask for a fecal exam/gram stain. You might also try giving him some probiotics this weekend (plain yogurt is fine). If he has a slight imbalance of the gut flora, that will help.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

The bubbles don't look foamy. More like bubbles in soda. I wish I would have thought to take a pic at the time. I thought it happening last nite was a fluke but then they were in his first two poops that I saw this morning too. Then it stopped. I will definitely keep watching for them. I will try the yogurt too. Thanks for being so supportive! Sunny and I appreciate it.!


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

It may just have been a temporary upset. If you don't see it again, then there's nothing to worry about. If it starts again, take him in and ask for a fecal exam/gram stain. It's noninvasive and at least in my experience, not terribly expensive. I hope you can relax a little this afternoon.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Awww poor birdie! Don't you hate it when you go with your gut and then afterwards you think you should've waited? I would just keep an eye on his poops..if they continue to be bubbly then I'd take him into his normal doctor. You can never be too sure that nothing's wrong.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Thanks. I'll keep watching.He has really been out of sorts since I brought him home. I feel really bad. And now I'm worried because we're taking him on his first trip with us for Thanksgiving. I was supposed to be spending today and tomorrow working on him with his travel cage. Instead we went to the vet. I'm now afraid I've made the trip to my parents' even more stressful on him. And I was worried to begin with. Should I be rethinking this?


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

See how he is tomorrow and then decide. Try to relax for tonight.  

How is acting now?


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

He took a nap when we got back. Later, I opened his cage and he came out but wouldn't step up. He just wanted to sit on top of his cage and preen and have me give him scritches. It took some coaxing but I got him to eat eventually. He loves "talking" on my cell phone. So when a friend called he did climb on my arm to talk on the phone and then got down and played for about 10 minutes before going back to his cage. Then same thing- preening and scritches. He went back in his cage and his eyes were getting droopy. So I just covered him up about 10 minutes ago. Which is early for him. I hear him doing a few chirps so I'm not sure if he was really ready for bed or not.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

That doesn't sound too awful. How do his droppings look? My birds will sometimes get really watery droppings for as much as 12 hours after a vet visit, from the stress. The first time I took Roo, I ended up calling the vet in tears a few hours later because she was so quiet and her droppings looked so bad. But he told me to just keep her quiet for the rest of the day, and it was fine. Giving him an early night is good. Preening and scritches are also good. He may also be a bit off balance from having his nails trimmed. It's not unusual for my birds to fall for a few days after a nail trim, because they're not used to have less of a grip. I promise it'll be okay. And you'll never have another first vet trip now, so the hard part is over!


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

From what I can tell his poop seems normal. (He somehow managed for most of it to land is his water dish while he was on top of his cage. :wacko He does seem off balance and I did think it was because of his nails. Thanks for confirming. I'm so glad I told the vet no on the beak. He really wouldn't have been having issues wiht moving. (The only reason the vet wanted to do it was because he said it was sharp if he would bite me. He doesn't bite me. So I'm not worried about it.) He's still softly chirping though. So I'm not sure if he's trying to put himself to sleep or really just wasnt ready for bed yet. Thanks for talking me through this.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

No problem. 

It's also possible he be a little sore, if he struggled enough to make his leg raw. Poor guy. Roo and I are sending him good thoughts. Trimming a beak because it would make biting less painful is really dumb. They need their beak to be sharp so they can crack seeds etc. Good for you for refusing that. If he's still chirping in a little while, you may want to look in on him and see what's going on. If you're not sure whether he's sleepy, you could try partially covering the cage, or leaving it uncovered but in low light for a while. That might be more comforting to him if he's he's still stressed.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

THanks for the good thoughts from you and Roo. He ended up going to sleep after I last wrote. He is still very unhappy though. I'm going to write about it under bonding though. As I think he's lost trust in me which makes me sad. (I agree about the beak. I was a little horrified when he suggested it.)


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i hope he's ok. he may be a bit stressed for a little while. vet visits can stress out any bird. give him some time and try to give him lots of extra treats that he likes. it might help him


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Thanks. He's done so well since he's come to live with us. I feel like this is our first big set back. What makes me even sadder is how he still wants scritches from me but seems afraid to actually come to me. At least he still wants the scritches, so that's a good sign, right?


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

That's good  It's always good when they beg for scritches. Just let him go at his own pace until he's back to normal.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Thank you all. He seems to have recovered from his vet trip and is back to being chirpy and playful. I'll continue to watch his droppings and go from there.


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## stevechurch2222 (Sep 25, 2011)

That's great to here,he seems to back to his normal self.


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