Unusual cere changes in adult male

[knolls]

Hi all, 

Recently, one of my bird's cere has become crusty and discolored. Unusual for adult males. Here's some pics:






What it normally looks like: 



What could cause this? He is in a cage with 6 other birds with no symptoms. Diet is mixture of pellets, sprouted seeds, veg (broccoli, cauliflower, spinach), nutriberries, and dry millet as a reward. Age is 3.5 years old. His behavior is otherwise normal, if a little more quiet (all of my birds are, I suspect due to winter and moulting).

[ariella]

I think a hormonal imbalance can cause a brown cere in males, with testicular cancer a possibility, but there are members on here who have had males with brown ceres who had no obvious illnesses. I’m sure someone with a bit more experience will offer some advice.

[knolls]

I would love to hear what experiences other people who have had this problem with their budgies. Did the problem ever go away on its own (a transient seasonal thing, or maybe dietary?). If it is indeed a cancer, did your budgie pass away shortly after, or did they live a long life?

This may be totally unrelated, but recently Sprout (that's his name) had been letting his mate mount him (Yes, female on top of male!). Was a very strange thing to see, but got me thinking that something hormonal could be going on.

[Hezz]

It can be caused by a few different things, one being the lack of testosterone, either from a tumour, or from the bird becoming submissive, usually to another male. It could also simply be old dry cere cells that haven’t been rubbed off. This is not unusual at all. Testicular cancer will usually cause the whole cere to become crusty brown just like a hen in breeding condition. Sprout is not showing this. So … it may be something, or it may be nothing. You can try giving Sprout the opportunity to bath regularly. Oh, and another thing that could be the cause is an iodine deficiency. A couple of drops of iodine tincture in the water for a week or two should fix that if it is the cause. Many budgies have no interest in iodine blocks that we so diligently hang in their cages, and seed is notoriously deficient in iodine.

[knolls]

Well that's encouraging to hear that it could be something not so serious. I'm still going to get him in with an avian vet ASAP. Sprout has never been to a vet in his life, partly due to my own negligence, but also because I know the risks that come with subjecting these small creatures to intense stress. I don't know how to react if the vet recommends a blood test for diagnosis...

[knolls]

Here's a couple more pics from today.






It's a little less flaky than it was a couple days ago. I'm still debating myself whether it is actually going brown. The impression can change quite a bit just based on the lighting. What is clear though is that it is definitely getting lighter, especially around the nostrils. What it reminds me of actually is the way his mother's cere when she was suffering from an unknown, chronic illness, (and later passed) which had become strangely blue. Found a pic here:



Sprout is also just starting a molt. Vet appointment tomorrow.

[ariella]

Hope Sprout gets on okay at the vets. Please let us know how it goes.

[Marianne Marlow]

I hope Sprout's vet appointment gives a solution to his cere issue.

I have had 3 boys ceres go brown. Eric was an unknown age as I got him from a pet shop, he passed after only being with us 2 months. Basil's cere went brown when he was about 6 years old and he passed a year later (I think). Hector's went brown when he was about 10 years old, he lived to 10 years and 8 months.

[knolls]

Thanks for the kind comments.

So Sprout is back from his vet visit. The short of it is that the vet did not think his cere was something to be concerned about, although it was just a physical examination, no blood work or x-ray, so he couldn't rule out definitively that something more serious is going on. Though he did say if there is a tumor, there's not much that can be done. No lumps were found. Some of the dry cere was scraped off, and it does look a little smoother and nicer now.

He did think it was possible that there is some hormonal disruption, but that doesn't necessarily imply cancer, especially since Sprout's condition is quite mild for now, and his behavior and weight are normal (maybe a little chubby). Also downplayed the idea that it could be dietary since he is on a pelleted diet already.

I'm just going to monitor Sprout's condition for now. I don't know if this is too passive and things could go downhill quickly. Either way, going to let him have some rest since it was quite the stressful morning. There's also a lot of lady budgies who are very happy to see him back!

[Marianne Marlow]

Good news then. He has a good diet, so the only thing you can improve on is exercise if he's a little chubby

[Hezz]

There isn’t much to be done for our little birds, the budgies when it comes to anything invasive. There just isn’t the room to manoeuvre or the blood to play with, so wait it out is all that can be done. Hopefully it isn’t anything dreadful and since his cere seems to be looking better in a few short days, I’d be feeling quietly hopeful.