Nov 21, 2014 5:10:08 GMT
cheep
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 8
|
Post by cheep on Nov 25, 2014 5:00:56 GMT
Hey all, My budgie cyrus (white) has been itching himself alot for over a month now.. and I have noticed a bald spot around his neck (with a few black dots here that look like pepper), and a bit under his wings, which I've read is abnormal for regular molting, but alot of pin feathers have popped up on him in the past couple weeks. I've been spraying him with water, and I have seen no signs of mites. Also his 'breast' appears to be more popped out in comparison to his 'tummy'(lower) (sorry I don't know the proper anatomical terms). I also picked him up to examine a few weeks ago, he struggled a bit but I was worried and wanted to see if there were any mites, and he bled in two spots I brushed my finger over to examine.. I still see some blood stains on his feathers im not sure if thats bad. I was more worried at first when he was just itching like crazy, but when I started seeing the pin feathers I just assumed he was molting.. this has been going on for slightly over a month now i'm not sure what to do, any advice/help appreciated, thanks tinypic.com/r/vyt952/8tinypic.com/r/25p4a6u/8tinypic.com/r/119v0ch/8~meow
|
|
|
Post by OP on Nov 25, 2014 8:46:13 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Hezz on Nov 26, 2014 0:55:18 GMT
I have not had any experience with the nasty little blighters, but it sounds a bit as though he could have feather mites or red mites. Do any of his feathers have pieces out of them? Feather mites will actually eat parts of their feathers. Red mites will feed on the blood until full and drop off, so a way to see if you have red mites is to put clean white paper down on the bottom of the cage in the evening and check it for red specks first thing in the morning.
Either of these mites, as well as scaly and air sac mites, can be effectively treated with 0.1% Ivermectin (that concentration is important), but you will also need to clean everything in the cage and the cage itself thoroughly, particularly the ends of any natural branch perches as the red mites in particular will burrow in the cut ends and can be very hard to kill off - you may prefer to bin them all and start anew.
|
|
Nov 21, 2014 5:10:08 GMT
cheep
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 8
|
Post by cheep on Nov 26, 2014 2:13:19 GMT
Thanks OP.
Hezz, i don't believe so, his feathers seem intact, just that he has some bald patches. There has been white paper on the floor for a while now,and I havn't seen any blood down there or anything that appears to be moving
Also, I did some looking around but I havn't found anywhere I can get Ivermectin 0.1% in Canada, if I do have mites would anyone know where I can obtain some?
Thanks
|
|
|
Post by samwiseg on Nov 26, 2014 8:25:13 GMT
Hi there cheep Getting Ivermectin 0.1% is usually called "Stromectol" in your part of the world I believe so you may be able to find it online
|
|
|
Post by Hezz on Nov 27, 2014 1:17:47 GMT
You may need to see a vet, then.
|
|
Nov 21, 2014 5:10:08 GMT
cheep
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 8
|
Post by cheep on Dec 3, 2014 2:35:45 GMT
I was only able to find two avian vets in my city, both of which had some pretty horrific reviews. The last thing I would want is to take him to a vet just to make his health even worse and pay a ridiculous amount of money I don't really have for it I don't know what to do, I don't have any good vet options, I can't seem to find ivermectin in Canada, and this has been going on for almost 6 weeks now, I feel so bad for my little friend I just want him to get better Also he seems to have gotten really skinny, almost as if hes sucking his stomach in and poofing out his chest.. he seems to be eating fine and hes never looked like this before
|
|
|
Post by milliej on Dec 3, 2014 16:33:24 GMT
Oh dear, I'm no expert but he doesn't look at all well, I don't like the look of his chest/tummy area at all! I do hope you can get help for him This is a pure guess but he couldn't have something 'stuck' inside could he?
|
|
|
Post by Hezz on Dec 4, 2014 0:46:30 GMT
Seriously, this bird needs a vet! A little research on-line tells me that Vetafarm's "Scatt: may be more easily acquired in Canada, try this link: www.jedds.com/-strse-957/SCATT-50-ml-%28Vetafarm%29/Detail.bok That comes from a look through some N American forums and hunting around. If you have any farm produce places near you, or any pigeon clubs etc these could be where you will find someone in the know. But seriously, if he were my bird, he would be at the vet asap. He may also have a tumour .......
|
|
Nov 21, 2014 5:10:08 GMT
cheep
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 8
|
Post by cheep on Dec 4, 2014 1:59:01 GMT
I'm going to try to make an appointment for next week, I found an avian vet thats not too far away. until yesterday I thought he was just molting or may have ticks, but now it seems like it may be something else it's starting to worry me.. that vet is known to be very expensive, I don't know how much treatment I can afford but I'll at least take him and see what they say I've never taken one of my budgies to the vet before, so i don't really know how all that works, I've just heard some horror stories and I wouldn't want them to make his condition any worse any idea how much it typically costs to treat a budgie? also is it okay to transport him in a shoe box?
|
|
|
Post by Hezz on Dec 5, 2014 0:38:40 GMT
You are better off having him in a small carry cage as this will make it easier to get him out and give him somewhere to perch on the trip, but if you don't have a small cage, how about the cage he is in? I think a shoe box, while safe enough, may be rather stressful for the little fella.
|
|
Nov 21, 2014 5:10:08 GMT
cheep
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 8
|
Post by cheep on Dec 5, 2014 4:52:27 GMT
I don't have a carry cage, the current cage he's in is huge, its like a victorian style fancy cage but its really hard to move around I don't want to stress him out either, I want to make him as comfortable as possible but I don't know how
|
|
|
Post by OP on Dec 5, 2014 8:29:59 GMT
When I brought Joey home the proprietor of the pet shop put him in a purpose made cardboard box. It wasn't much bigger than he was. There was a hole in one end covered by a flap that was secured closed. Of course there were breathing holes. The idea of a smallish box was that if he did try to falp there wasn't room to damage his wings. The covered hole made it a sinch to get Joey into his cage. He was on the passenger seat of my car lightly fastened down with the seat belt. I must say I never heard him move until I came to take him out of the car. It is my thinking that he was calm and unfazed in the box for the short journey. So maybe if your shoe box was not too big it would be OK for Cyrus for a short journey. Just make sure there are breathing holes, not too many, and preferably in the side and not so big as to allow him to be frightened by things going past. Of course it would be much, much better if he was in a proper cage. But if needs must my suggestion is worth a thought, maybe.
|
|
|
Post by milliej on Dec 5, 2014 22:08:26 GMT
I've taken mine to the vet (not these two the ones I had before) in a box shaped ice cream container with holes I put in with a knife! Fortunately the vet isn't far from me! I would get that poor little dear to a vet a.s.a.p. though he looks very sick!
|
|
Nov 21, 2014 5:10:08 GMT
cheep
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 8
|
Post by cheep on Dec 7, 2014 1:25:08 GMT
UPDATESo I took him to the vet today, apparently he has a genetic disorder called polyfolliculitis which makes him grow two feathers in a single follicle which is why he's been itching, she said the tumor looking things on his neck and near his bum were fat, seems strange to me but im no expert, I got him pellets now and am changing their diet from seeds to that The condition doesnt affect his health, nor is it painful, it's just irritating and itchy.. this comes as mostly good news to me, but there's no way of treating him for it, the vet just recommended I pull out the the double feathers when I see them.. she pulled out a couple and showed me how to do it, and he's seeming much less itchy today, and he's got that peaceful im a happy puffy budgie look.. he's still itching some spots though, one issue I need some advice on is he doesn't like being held now so it's hard for me to find his 'double' feathers to pull, any suggestions on how I should go about doing this? Thanks all for your replies, it's a big relief knowing he's not sick or in pain Also: apparently he's a girl.. this comes as a surprise to us all.. I seem to have a thing for picking up sexually confused budgies lol
|
|