Sick Sun Conure

Question
Hi Jan,
I have a very sweet sun conure of about 1 1/2 or two  years old. I adopted him from a pet store and he is my first and only parrot.
I believe he has a neurological problem and I can't find any information in the internet that can give me an idea of what I am dealing with.
On May I moved to a new apartment and around the same time, probably even before now that I think about it, I notice some changes in his behavior.
He became unusually quiet (he was quite a screamer before!), he'd sleep most of the day and lost the interest in being with me when he used to be very, very affectionate and would demand constant attention from me. When he would fly he started to step on our heads instead of our shoulders like he used to do.
At that moment I attributed those changes to the fact that we have moved. I thought that probably he was stressed and needed time to adjust to our new place.
But about two weeks ago I noticed that he was clearly loosing his balance. This change was very sudden, not as progressive as the other ones.
He cannot perch, or even walk without loosing the balance. Sometimes he tries so hard to get what he wants that he ends up very tired, with labored breathing and with his legs shaking.
I took him to the vet yesterday and he mention that it could be something neurological, but he obviously needs to do some tests to find out. He inyected him an antimflamatory to see if that would work, and told me that if it doesn't improve anything we should do the tests.
At this point I'm heartbroken and the worst part is that I can't afford a vet.
So if it is possible, I would really like to know what are the chances that my conure's health will improve with treatment(if any available)or if the fight is already lost...
Even just an opinion of the situation would be a great help!
Thanks a lot in advance!
Estela  

Answer
Hi Estella,
  I wish I could help you diagnose your birds problem but unfortunately, I cant make any determination here as to what is wrong. My gut feeling when I first started reading your letter was that there is some sort of toxin in your new apartment that has affected your bird. Is there brand new carpet perhaps? Has there been a pest control person coming in and spraying while your bird was there?  I just can't shake the feeling that he has been poisoned by something like that. Unfortunately, I am also afraid that if this has been going on since May that it could be permanent damage at this pount.

 Your bird should live to be 20-30 years old and the behavior you describe to me is not normal at all. Vet bills are hard to afford, especially for some of us but please don't give up on saving this guy or on at least giving him the best chance at survival. I don't know what country you are in but I would call around to some of the animal welfare organizations, as many as it takes to see if they or someone they know has funds to assist people with emergency veterinary treatment. There are organizations like that, you just have to find them. And make sure you have a vet who is skilled in avian practice. Before anyone can advise you on what to do to save your buddy, tests will have to be done.

 The only other thing I could suggest and I would do this as a last resort, would be to move him to another home to see if his conditions improve by not being in your apartment. The problem with that are that it will be another stress for him and may be more than he can handle.

 I hope you are able to find some help in helping your bird. Please make those phone calls to find help and if all else fails, see if you can find someone willing to adopt him who can provide for the vet care. That will be much easier for both him and you than having to watch him suffer.

I wish I could help you more but I will be keeping you and your bird in my thoughts and prayers.

Jan