Hello all,
7 months ago a found a nestling baby sparrow that was being tossed around by kids, so unfortunately I had no option but to take it with me, as no nest was in sight, no idea where it came from.
Long story short, he lives with me today and grew to be a very affectionate little boy. He stays mostly in his cage, as I also have 2 cats and I am not able to trust them so that he can have free flight. He seems to treasure his personal space, but enjoys coming out for a few good hours of play.
His diet is based on seeds, spray millet and vegetables (lettuce, baby spinach, green peppers, etc) and occasionally hard boiled egg - usually every fortnight or so. He is only given bottled water.
He is an active and chatty bird, has a great appetite, plays with his toys and is happy to interact with us as much as possible. Still, I am very concerned with what seems to be only aggravating in terms of falling off his perch during the night. This happens every night, since the very begging,
He used to like to sleep initially in his little swinger and I thought that he swings and loses his grip, so I remove the swinger every night.
Still, he falls of his perches - the lower ones are covered in sand paper and the higher one is like a wood twig - the same happens on all of them.
Tonight he fell like 6-7 times in 2 hours and it was the 1st time I heard him upset about it - he usually just climbs back up, but now he started chirping loudly and fluttering around the cage.
When he falls he seems usually "unfazed" - he does not look confused or he does not linger around laying on the bottom of the cage - just goes back up. But tonight it was just kind of worse then usual. To be mentioned, this happens only at night, never in the day.
As I cannot find any specialized avian only veterinarian to help me with this, they all deal with larger birds or parrots, so I am getting really concerned.
The current vet I have says he looks well developed regarding bone structure, strength, interactivity / energy and plumage quality. He says he cannot perform intrusive test on such small birds.
I am hoping for at least some opinions based on your general knowledge and maybe previous experience.
- I have wondered if it's maybe too hot in the house? Usually around 75F
- Could it be that he does not get enough sleep - he goes to sleep late, after 11 pm - maybe I should isolate him in a different room on a strict schedule? Even if it's dark, he does not sleep if he hears me talking in the house
- Should I take him out of the cage and just put him in his shoe box he used to sleep when he was little? so at least he does not fall so much from his perch, as I am always worried he might hurt himself
- Night terrors? - he has a small night light and actually he does not seem scared of anything in general, very used to noises
- Insufficient diet?
- Or worse - like seizures? even though he does not seem to be confused, just that today is the 1st time he behaved differently (loud and fluttering)
- Poisoning? - I have thrown out all Teflon pans & pots from day one, he only drinks bottled water, there is no paint on the cage or toys that he could ingest.
- Molting? - he is molting right now - still, it happens even if he is not molting, but maybe it aggravates it?
- Maybe some birth defect I cannot detect? - his feet look fine, but he always was a terrible flyer, he has terrible direction and usually ends up hitting something or falling in the first 5 seconds. That is not new, it was like that since he started trying to fly. Or maybe I have not trained him enough, I got scared when he fell and did not encourage him a lot, I would put him back in every time he fell.
-Anything else?
Please excuse this long post. I am just scared as I love him dearly and I am terrified that something is wrong with him.
Any advice is welcomed.
All my best and thank you.
7 months ago a found a nestling baby sparrow that was being tossed around by kids, so unfortunately I had no option but to take it with me, as no nest was in sight, no idea where it came from.
Long story short, he lives with me today and grew to be a very affectionate little boy. He stays mostly in his cage, as I also have 2 cats and I am not able to trust them so that he can have free flight. He seems to treasure his personal space, but enjoys coming out for a few good hours of play.
His diet is based on seeds, spray millet and vegetables (lettuce, baby spinach, green peppers, etc) and occasionally hard boiled egg - usually every fortnight or so. He is only given bottled water.
He is an active and chatty bird, has a great appetite, plays with his toys and is happy to interact with us as much as possible. Still, I am very concerned with what seems to be only aggravating in terms of falling off his perch during the night. This happens every night, since the very begging,
He used to like to sleep initially in his little swinger and I thought that he swings and loses his grip, so I remove the swinger every night.
Still, he falls of his perches - the lower ones are covered in sand paper and the higher one is like a wood twig - the same happens on all of them.
Tonight he fell like 6-7 times in 2 hours and it was the 1st time I heard him upset about it - he usually just climbs back up, but now he started chirping loudly and fluttering around the cage.
When he falls he seems usually "unfazed" - he does not look confused or he does not linger around laying on the bottom of the cage - just goes back up. But tonight it was just kind of worse then usual. To be mentioned, this happens only at night, never in the day.
As I cannot find any specialized avian only veterinarian to help me with this, they all deal with larger birds or parrots, so I am getting really concerned.
The current vet I have says he looks well developed regarding bone structure, strength, interactivity / energy and plumage quality. He says he cannot perform intrusive test on such small birds.
I am hoping for at least some opinions based on your general knowledge and maybe previous experience.
- I have wondered if it's maybe too hot in the house? Usually around 75F
- Could it be that he does not get enough sleep - he goes to sleep late, after 11 pm - maybe I should isolate him in a different room on a strict schedule? Even if it's dark, he does not sleep if he hears me talking in the house
- Should I take him out of the cage and just put him in his shoe box he used to sleep when he was little? so at least he does not fall so much from his perch, as I am always worried he might hurt himself
- Night terrors? - he has a small night light and actually he does not seem scared of anything in general, very used to noises
- Insufficient diet?
- Or worse - like seizures? even though he does not seem to be confused, just that today is the 1st time he behaved differently (loud and fluttering)
- Poisoning? - I have thrown out all Teflon pans & pots from day one, he only drinks bottled water, there is no paint on the cage or toys that he could ingest.
- Molting? - he is molting right now - still, it happens even if he is not molting, but maybe it aggravates it?
- Maybe some birth defect I cannot detect? - his feet look fine, but he always was a terrible flyer, he has terrible direction and usually ends up hitting something or falling in the first 5 seconds. That is not new, it was like that since he started trying to fly. Or maybe I have not trained him enough, I got scared when he fell and did not encourage him a lot, I would put him back in every time he fell.
-Anything else?
Please excuse this long post. I am just scared as I love him dearly and I am terrified that something is wrong with him.
Any advice is welcomed.
All my best and thank you.
