Got up this morning to find one of my zebras very lethargic with laboured breathing, I was able to reach into the cage and carefully pick him up which i'm not normally able to do so he is very ill.

I dont know how old he is, i've only had him about 18 months but he was one of two in the shop that I think someone had given to them as he was in a different cage with his friend, so he could be a few years old, the shop staff never told me.

I've left him sitting on the bottom of the cage & have filled a shallow dish (empty vaseline tin lid - very shallow) with water and sprinkled fresh food around him so he doesn't have to jump up to the feeding pots as I don't think he is able to. I've covered the top, back and 2 sides of the cage so it's dark and quiet for him but have left one side slightly open for fresh air and a bit of light mainly for the other finch. I don't have a spare cage otherwise he'd be in there but my other finch seems fine & isn't picking on him.

Anything else I should do, or is there anything I need to give him? I am working till 4pm so have to leave him for now but will come back on here for advice if he's still with us when I get home

he's such a sweet little bird I really hope he doesn't die but it's not looking good

Is there

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R.I.P Buster - Causing mischief over the bridge, sleep tight soldier

Heat...get the temperature up to mid 80s F...If you use a heat lamp position it so the bird can move away if it gets too warm.This often works, but I'm afraid your bird does sound pretty poorly.Try to borrow a cage to put him on his own though.

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Thanks for the advice, he had died by the time I got home

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R.I.P Buster - Causing mischief over the bridge, sleep tight soldier

I'm so sorry to hear about the death of your zebra finch I had a chick which died at 6 weeks old then the mum had the same symptoms. We took advice from an online bird vet and thankfully she survived but since then has had a repeat of the symptoms. We've kept her warm each time with a fan heater and fed her sugar water from a spoon. She's survived about three times now, but we're wondering why she keeps getting sick like this. She's in a cage indoors with her mate and they are constantly breeding, but we want to stop this happening as we haven't got room to breed them. Does anyone have any advice?

cages are not the best of pleases to keep zebra finishes it stresses them out don't think there is a lot you can do but just what and hope for the best

to put it bluntly its cruel to keep a bird in a cage

The only way to stop zebras breeding is to seperate the sexes.They will breed to exhaustion if you let them.Glucose in the water is better than sugar for energy when a bird is sickly.
If you seperate the hen I'll bet she would stay healthier without the constant egg production taking all her energy.A small amount of grated hard boiled egg added to the diet might help.

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