Amazon Panting

Question
Have an amazon parrot I aquired a couple of months ago.  Went to vet for anitbiotics a month or so ago.  Got better, not acting sick per se, but suddenly sneezing and panting.  Went to vet on Tue came home on Wed. Was better now panting again.  Lives with an African Grey.  Vet gave no meds or tests at this time.  Have you seen this before? Any info is appreciated.


Answer
Your Amazon may have an underlying disease causing the lung infection to come back, but he may also just have allergies. African Greys are dusty birds and it's common for another bird in the house to have allergy issues. Panting is very serious, so he does need to go to the vet, but why not have the vet do some allergy testing? Getting a HEPA filter for the room where the birds are usually helps, too. This is usually seen in Macaws being housed with a Cockatoo, but it can happen with other species of birds. You can also have the vet flush out the nares with some saline to see if that helps the panting. Sometimes a bird pants because they have a "stuffed" nose and if that's the case, it's probably just allergies.


Follow-up:
I'm glad that he's on some good antibiotics. Baytril is usually very effective. I use it every time one of my birds gets sick because about 90% of the time, it works. The thing to watch out for with Baytril is that yes, it takes care of the infection, but if it's a drug-resistant "bug" you'll see symptoms again in about 2-3 days. If you see no symptoms for 2-3 days after the medication is done, he's cured. If you see symptoms after the 2-3 day mark, he probably got sick again because birds on medications have a weaker immune system. You may want to give him a dose of "bene bac" each day (you can get it at the pet store). It's not a real medication, but it replaces the natural bacteria and enzymes found in the bird that the medication kills off along with the infection (this is why medications cause immune system problems). I wish you the best of luck with him and please let me know if you need help finding a HEPA filter (I've done lots of research on this) or anything else!