Hello!

I would recommend that you take the bird to an avian veterinarian. Birds tend to hide any signs of illness because in the wild showing signs of weakness would cause them to get eaten. Because of this a bird doesn't show any signs of illness until it is quite sick and therefore no longer to hide it anymore. Waiting until Wednesday (and the bird not actually seeing a vet until perhaps Thursday) could be too long to wait. The sooner a problem is recognized and treated the better, easier and cheaper it is to resolve.

Is there any way for you to talk to your roommate?

An avian veterinarian would do a thorough physical exam and the determine what diagnostic tests need to be done. These could include blood work (especially at this age), fecal and oral microscopic exams, x-rays, etc. Based on the results of these tests the correct treatment can be determined and started. If your roommate doesn't have a veterinarian for his/her bird yet, you can try to find one at aav.org and clicking on the binoculars on the left side of the page.

In the meantime, if he is appearing somewhat weak, I would recommend keeping him warm and in a quiet location until you can get him to a veterinarian. One good method to keep him warm would be to place him in a tupperware-like container with white towels on the bottom (they will show the true color of his droppings) and covered with another towel to keep in the heat. The entire container can be placed on a heating pad set to low. Check on him every so often to make sure that he is not overheating (panting, holding wings out). Shallow food and water dishes can be placed in there as well.

Another option is to cover most of his cage except the from with a towel or blanket and aim a heater towards him (being very careful not to cause him to overheat) or keep the cage (covered) in a warm room.

I don't know how well you know this bird or know what is normal for him. How long has this been going on? Is he eating and drinking normally? Are his droppings normal in color, size and shape? Is he breathing normally (increased respiratory effort is often seen as tail bobbing and/or open mouth breathing)? Have you noticed any discharge from his nose or mouth? Is he using both legs normally or is he putting more weight on one than the other? Is he holding his head normally?

Has anything changed in the house? Any new air fresheners, cleaning products, aerosols, smokers? Could he have possible chewed on any house plants or has he gotten into anything he normally doesn't?

If your roommate has had this bird for a very long time, I'm sure s/he would greatly appreciate it if you helped it get better. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask, or if you know the answers to any of the questions just above.

Good luck, I hope Pepe feels better soon!

Sounds like keeping him warm (85 degrees) shouldn't be a problem, just make sure he isn't in the path of an a/c vent. Also, it should be fairly to find an avian vet in the area, there are a lot in California.

If you don't want to take him to a vet before your roommate gets home, I would recommend covering his cage as mentioned above and offering him his regular food as well as some extras if he isn't eating very well. You need to make sure that he is eating. You can offer him a variety of fruits and vegetables, small pieces of pancake, small amounts of rice, pasta, etc.

Hopefully he does ok until your roommate gets home, I would recommend updating him if possible and he can give you suggestions as far as what his favorite foods may be. Maybe your roommate can call his vet and arrange for an appointment for as soon as he gets home rather than wait until he gets home to call, since that may postpone the appointment further.