Sudden Death

[jalonzi]

Hi everyone,

Two nights ago I found my very young Parrotlet dead in his cage. I had been playing with him earlier in the day and he seemed really happy and energetic. He was cuddling me and I massaged him while watching a movie. When I put him back in his cage he seemed so normal, and then I went downstairs. About two hours later I went back to my room and when I looked in his cage he was on the bottom, under his water bowl, and had died.

I'm just in complete shock. I started to research his sudden death and apparently a lot of parrotlets are born with birth defects due to over breeding. Have any of you heard anything about this or experienced this? I'm just so shocked and down. He seemed so happy and was really starting to bond with me. I just can't believe he's gone, and so suddenly.

[enborgle]

Oh dear, I'm so sorry to hear this. You must be devastated.
Parrotlets do not seem to be particularly hardy as a species, it seems - I have no idea whether it's due to pre-existing genetic defects or not, although I wouldn't be surprised as many are bred without regard for such things. I'm afraid there's no way to know what happened to your little one unless you send him in for necropsy - it could have been a million things. Please take comfort knowing that in his last hours, he knew he was happy and knew he was loved by his family. You're in my thoughts. Fly free, little one.

[Wuzzoluvr]

First off, I too am so sorry to hear this. How incredibly tragic. I remember when I had begun my hunt for one of these beloved little birds. I spoke to the owner of the petshop as to why they didn't carry them. I distinctly remember him telling me that parrotlets are known to just die for no apparent reason. I never questioned this too much as I still wanted to find one, but quite possibly it has to do with the breeding. I guess there are breeders, and then there are good breeders. Hopefully you will not be scared off by this tragic turn of events as so many on this forum have had their birds for many years. Best wishes, and again, I am so sorry.

[jodeg]

I'm so sorry to hear about the sudden loss of your beloved Parrotlet. We know you must be devastated. Our thoughts are with you.

[Bird Lady]

Ohh, I am so sorry to hear about this. We all understand how devastated you must be. But as Wussoluvr said don't let this scare you off. They are wonderful little birds and worth the time put into them. Again, so so sorry for your loss.

[Jinx n Noodle]

I'm sorry to hear about this! At least his last few momments were happy ones with you.

I haven't heard about birth defects and parrotlets. I did have a p'let that died at 9 months, I sent him in for an autopsy to see what was wrong because he was slightly off for a couple of days before and was hospitalized but they weren't able to save him (I wanted to make sure that the rest of my flock was going to be alright). The results of the autopsy indicated a virus that affected young birds, though they mentioned it usually affected birds much younger than 9 months. But due to the size of p'lets and the amount of tissue they needed to confirm this virus, they weren't able to do it (not enough tissue sample).

[jalonzi]

Thank you so much everyone. I'm just in shock still. It's just so sad how fast everything changed.

[Callie]

The results of the autopsy indicated a virus that affected young birds, though they mentioned it usually affected birds much younger than 9 months.
Polyomavirus was my first thought, as I don't know of anything that will kill any bird more suddenly and faster. It usually does affect young birds that are just weaning but it can also affect older birds. I saw Polyomavirus in action first hand early out in my breeding career and I've only seen it that one time. Once was enough!

Visual telltale signs are bruising under the skin on the chest area or blood in the mouth.

[Tina&Jeremy]

We are so, so sorry to hear this :( We lost our first parrotlet after only two days at home, after we had bonded and fallen head over heels for the little guy. The amount of time you've had them certainly doesn't mean you haven't become totally attached. We opted for the necropsy and were glad we did (just for the peace of mind).

We took the plunge and got a second parrotlet shortly after that (from a different breeder) and we are SO happy we did. Admittedly, we were nervous at first, and very watchful of her every move :) She will turn one soon, and we couldn't be happier.

Very best of luck to you!

[cioci t]

so sorry to hear this. i know it doesn't make you feel any better but at least he was happy until the end and it seems he went quickly and didn't suffer. poor little thing.

[raiven]

So sorry for you loss.