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asterrocI forget if I mentioned (and I"m too lazy to look), but when I came back from going to my reunion, I was shocked to see this:
It's actually a bit worse than it looks in the photos - in person you can see LOTS of bare skin on Peeper's one shoulder, over her whole belly and underside, on top of her back where her tailfeathers are, under her wings... She's been doing damage to herself. :( She's apparently plucking the feathers right out at the root, and some new ones as they come in. She continued to do so Monday and Tuesday after I got home, so it got worse than when I first saw it, but she seems to be tapering off now (ETA) and some feathers're starting to grow back in.
She doesn't have any lice or mites that I can see and I cleaned her cage thoroughly yesterday. I suspect it's b/c I've been away for the past two weekends (and this weekend will be the third), despite the fact that a google search says that in cockatiels it's usually due to a gastro-intestinal bacteria. (Why would that make her pluck feathers? Maybe the same reason crabs dance and ants climb up stalks of grass.) Either way, I've got her a vet appt for Monday next week. When I called to schedule it this past Monday or Tuesday, I didn't have a functional car and didn't know if/when I would, so I couldn't make an earlier appt.
Man, she's so scraggly looking. :( I've got heaters on all over the house to keep her warm in case she really is sick, and b/c without all those feathers she must be feeling a bit breezy. I'm sure she'll be ok. Really.
It's actually a bit worse than it looks in the photos - in person you can see LOTS of bare skin on Peeper's one shoulder, over her whole belly and underside, on top of her back where her tailfeathers are, under her wings... She's been doing damage to herself. :( She's apparently plucking the feathers right out at the root, and some new ones as they come in. She continued to do so Monday and Tuesday after I got home, so it got worse than when I first saw it, but she seems to be tapering off now (ETA) and some feathers're starting to grow back in.
She doesn't have any lice or mites that I can see and I cleaned her cage thoroughly yesterday. I suspect it's b/c I've been away for the past two weekends (and this weekend will be the third), despite the fact that a google search says that in cockatiels it's usually due to a gastro-intestinal bacteria. (Why would that make her pluck feathers? Maybe the same reason crabs dance and ants climb up stalks of grass.) Either way, I've got her a vet appt for Monday next week. When I called to schedule it this past Monday or Tuesday, I didn't have a functional car and didn't know if/when I would, so I couldn't make an earlier appt.
Man, she's so scraggly looking. :( I've got heaters on all over the house to keep her warm in case she really is sick, and b/c without all those feathers she must be feeling a bit breezy. I'm sure she'll be ok. Really.
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Date: 2006-06-09 01:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-09 03:07 am (UTC)I realized a half hour ago that I've double-booked myself for Monday: I have a meeting on campus at noon, and her appt at noon:45, and it takes a half hour to go home and get her and then get to the vet. If I can't make the vet appt a bit later, I'll have to only attend the meeting for fifteen minutes or else not at all. Peeper's health is more important than stupid union crap.