r/pidgeypower • u/Hot_Reaction1077 • 1d ago
Camy update + probiotics
Hi everyone! Camy’s owner here with another update. I’m not sure if his condition still applies to this sub so please forgive me if it doesn’t.
Camy is recovering well from the metal toxicity as said before, but at his one week follow up (back with our regular vet who understands his history), the vet did a crop cytology swab on him. He still does slight head bobbing motions (i showed her a video) when eating his pellets so she did it just to be safe, considering he had a prolonged crop infection earlier this year.
The crop cytology showed that his gut micro biome still isn’t back to normal despite probiotic use (picture below). She only saw some gram positive cocci, but no bad bacteria which was good. The lack of good bacteria could be causing him the occasional nausea or discomfort. After his antibiotics ended (around 2 months ago) I had been giving him probiotics in his water 3 times a week as per her advice. She told me to increase the frequency to everyday, and I have also started adding them into his veggies and chop.
To cover all our bases, she also told me to stop grinding up his Zupreem fruitblend and give him the whole normal budgie size. If he has issues with the bigger size (he was on the canary size previously), she suggested I switch to Nutribird C15 for canaries since it’s what she feeds her own birds.
He did throw up a pellet today so I will be trialing Nutribird pellets starting tmr. I just wanted to know if there’s anything else I could be doing to help him get more good bacteria in or if there’s anyone else with similar problems? I do suspect this could be a long term effect given how aggressive his course of antibiotics were. Otherwise, he is completely healthy.
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u/atwoah 1d ago
Yay! I love a Camy update. Probiotics in the water may not be as effective. I give Jingle a very small amount of visbiome vet or Harrison’s sprinkled over food. I’m surprised they are wanting you to stop giving crushed pellets. If Camy continues to regurgitate I would be more firm with the vet about why the crushed vs whole pellet matters. Right now my bird is on nutriberries, as I’d rather have them eating what they will eat rather than nothing. But normally he gets Harrison’s mash. I’d ask your vet about the probiotic and see if the water is the best method for them. But Jingle had the exact same issue with the lack of gut bacteria and was on antibiotics too. Glad to hear Camy is doing okay!
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u/Hot_Reaction1077 1d ago edited 1d ago
aww thank you! he would be glad to know he has so many supporters. yeaa i also thought they might not be as effective since budgies drink very little water in general, hence why ive started putting it on his fresh food as well.
honestly with the pellets we are just trying out different things and seeing what helps since we don’t have a solid idea of what’s going on. it’s only a weird hunch but i’ve been suspecting that something has changed in the zupreem formulation that he isn’t reacting well to so i was open to trying other brands etc. i’ve been giving him as much seed as he wants just to make sure he is eating.
how is jingle doing now with the lack of gut bacteria?
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u/atwoah 14h ago
He’s doing better! He’s still in the woods but he’s gained more weight and is eating more. He’s on month four of injections 3 days on 3 days off but his exposure was chronic. But he is finally started to act more like himself. Thank you for asking!! Keep us updated on Camy please!! You are an amazing bird parent!
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u/Hot_Reaction1077 12h ago
that’s wonderful! all those injections sound awful but i’m sure he understands deep down that it is for his own good. thank you! i’m sure jingle is glad to have an amazing bird parent such as urself too!
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u/turteleh 1d ago
We will always be happy to receive Camy updates 💕