Cecil is a diabetic.......

[parrotntn]

I know I’ve made two posts already about Cecil’s illness, but I wanted to let everyone know about what happened so that you can look for this and know the signs.
Today, Cecil went home to the river to a normal, hopefully, life again. I met him and the owners at the vet and we had a discharge planning session for him.
He saw me and started jabbering, went to my shoulder and started nuzzling my ears. It felt good, real good considering I had left him droopy winged and eyes closed, thinking I might now see him alive again.

So, here’s the scoop.

Cecil’s bloodsugar was 606, normal for birds is 130-350. This explains all the drinking, he drank constantly! Even though he was lethargic, he drank water constantly.
The liver enzymes were normal.
The Cholesterol was very high.
His stools are clear of the old blood they think was from a stress ulcer from being sick.
No regurging
Eating pellets some, but he likes the pretzels better. 

The vet said that he was a diabetic now. Although I could have fed him better, this could have happened no matter what he ate. (One of the owners swears it was the chili, but he told me to feed him “table food”. CHILI is table food). Amazons, she said, are particularly prone to diabetes.

She speculates that he’ll be ok now, and to keep him on the Zupreem with a few treats a week, even peanuts are ok. NO FRUIT, as it has high sugars.

So, I found out that they’re river house is close to where we camp occasionally so we can visit.

This, among so many other things, is what I’ve learned from a big green bird this summer who is now my
“stepbird”.

So, at least for now, the Cecilsaga has ended, but much was learned.
Mark

[Doyle'sMommy]

Well at least they have an answer and some ideas on how to keep him healthy! I am so glad he is going to be okay!

[stepht25]

Aww..I'm so sorry your time with Cecil is over. Do you think his owners will try to interact with him more? I'm glad the vet was able to figure out what was wrong with him.

[Valo's Moirana]

i'm also glad that you found out what was wrong with him - at least now adjustments can be made... i hope cecil will be as happy with his owners as he was with you, now that he's back home.... it's sad though, isn't it - we get used to those buggers so quickly (pita's going home in a week, and though i'm glad for his mommy since she'll be sooo happy to have him back, it's sad since i've gotten used to him)

[ROYJOY]

God bless all you step parronts.

[kensbuns]

See I told you what you fed him for that little bit of time was not the cause. I just knew it. I also should have recognized the signs of diabetes, I have diabetes. Also you want to tell the real parronts, to watch carbs, not just fruit. Carbs break into complex sugar. Pellets, in my opinion are not a good idea, made with alot of grains.

[catschair]

I'm so glad he is ok....and REALLY glad that the Fates worked it out so that you were still fostering him when he started to show signs -- sounds like his "real" parents might not have followed up as quickly as you did.

[parrotntn]

Yea, me too. HE is a grand bird and we miss him. But..when we took him in, we knew that it was temporary and it was a test really to see if we wanted a big bird.
Found out, despite the pitfalls of them...
we do!