***Warning: Some gory photos are included in this post.***
Two years after the drama of Perry’s abscess, he has developed another one. There was speculation on the last vet visit (6th December) that a newly balding lump on his belly could develop into an abscess, so it was not entirely a surprise.
It was on the morning of the 28th of December that I noticed some blackening on his belly lump. It looked suspiciously like the previous abscess. I sent some photos to the vet & she agreed it could be the same thing developing. The only options at that point were:
- Do nothing & wait for it to burst,
- Soften the black ‘scab’ area with warm water & try & squeeze it gently to see if anything comes out or
- Surgical intervention under anaesthetic.
I opted for the first one. A week later on the 4th January, I sent more photos to the vet & she thought it looked less inflamed & ‘nice & clean’. Not that this suggested we were out of the woods. Over the days & weeks it has gradually changed. The area is quite large, & seems to be developing at different rates. Part of it is under his feathers, so more difficult to monitor.
On the 19th of January, I noticed a patch of blood on a rope perch in Moriarty’s cage (Perry often sits in there during the day). There were no other spots or drops which made me think it may have been some ‘leakage’. There was no noticeable blood on Perry & he seemed fine, though in the following days he appeared restless during the day but extra sleepy in the evening. I felt like something was brewing.
On the evening of the 28th of January, around 7pm, I noticed a small piece of the ‘scab’ hanging by a thread. When Perry jumped on my finger it fell off. If I had not seen it dangling like that I probably would not have noticed it fall off, or even see it on the floor. It looked very similar (albeit much smaller) to the gross scab that peeled off him two years ago. Hopefully this was a sign of healing.
There was a small bleed on the 1st of February, that left blood on two places on the perch. Perry was actually eating millet when I noticed the fresh blood, so he clearly did not seem too affected by it. Again, there were no signs of blood on his feathers, so the burst was pretty much contained. The ‘wound’ has been relatively stable, albeit un-pretty(!), since then.
With the ongoing drama of the abscess &, unfortunately a return of Perry’s seizures, I decided a vet visit would be appropriate. This will be detailed in my next post.
Puddings & Toyboys 