Anybody seen any of these symptoms in their budgie?

[rach1984]

Hi all,

Hope everyone is well during these strange times.

My budgie Rey has had some odd symptoms for about 9 months now, and our avian vet has tried lots of different tests and medications with no success.

Wondering if anyone here has seen these things in their budgie and knows what is causing it?

The main symptom is that she is mouthing and chewing as though there is something in her mouth. It's definitely not the happy behaviour of beak grinding, this is definitely an irritation to her.

So every few seconds she will start chewing away, and this is sometimes accompanied by dry wretching which can go on for several minutes.

She also seems to have an extremely itchy face when she is doing this mouthing thing. She rubs her head on everything she can get close to and scratches her face a lot.

She sometimes has violent sneezing fits along with it, which again can go on for a few minutes.


This went on for months while we had her in and out of the vets, and she ended up with a bad sinus infection, seemingly as a result of whatever else is going on with her.

We treated the infection with Oxymav B, so she has completely recovered from that now, but the mouthing / wretching / itching thing is still there.

Tests and an x-ray so far have all come back negative for the usual issues, such as mites, chlamydia etc. The vet even tested for a few more of the rarer viral and bacterial infections.

Medications and supplements we have tried are:

• Vitamin A
• Avipro Probiotic
• Baytril
• Metrobacin
• Ronivet
• Nebuliser treatment with F10

The only good thing is it hasn't stopped her eating or drinking. And since the sinus infection cleared up, she is back to her normal, noisy, playful self.

So it's not impacting her health badly, but it's clear it is very irritating for her.

Has anyone ever had a budgie with these issues before?

Thanks very much.

[Hezz]

None of this brings anything immediate to mind, but a thought ... has your vet actually taken a good look inside your budgie's mouth? Perhaps she has a growth that she is trying to swallow, is the slit on the roof of her mouth (choana) slightly different to a normal budgie's - maybe food getting caught in it (might have been part of the sinus issue). There is also a disease that birds can get, I can't remember what it is, where they do develop sores/scabs on the inside of their mouths.

Sorry I can't help specifically, and your vet has probably covered all this ground, but worth mentioning, maybe?

[Marianne Marlow]

Do you mean trichomoniasis Hezz? I think that is what the Ronivet was for?

[rach1984]

Jun 18, 2020 20:33:05 GMT Hezz said:

None of this brings anything immediate to mind, but a thought ... has your vet actually taken a good look inside your budgie's mouth? Perhaps she has a growth that she is trying to swallow, is the slit on the roof of her mouth (choana) slightly different to a normal budgie's - maybe food getting caught in it (might have been part of the sinus issue). There is also a disease that birds can get, I can't remember what it is, where they do develop sores/scabs on the inside of their mouths.

Sorry I can't help specifically, and your vet has probably covered all this ground, but worth mentioning, maybe?

Hi Hezz, thanks for your reply.

Rey was put under anaesthetic for an x-ray in February, so the vet used the chance to have a good look inside her mouth and couldn't see anything.

He was keen to try a little camera to look down into her throat, but the smallest they had was for a cockatiel size bird.

It's definitely an irritant in the throat and nose area, we are starting to think it's some kind of sores or scarring from whatever she has had and she will be stuck with it forever now 😞

[rach1984]

Jun 18, 2020 21:48:54 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

Do you mean trichomoniasis Hezz? I think that is what the Ronivet was for?

Hi Marianne, thanks for your response too.

Yeh the Ronivet and metrobactin were in case she had the trichomoniasis mites, even though they hadn't been detected on swabs.

From what I have read online about trichomoniasis, it seems to make the bird really ill and is quickly fatal - can birds live a full 6 months or so with untreated trichomoniasis?

If she has had that and the mites have left sores in her throat, is there anything soothing I can give her to help heal the sores and five her some relief?

Thanks.

[Hezz]

Jun 18, 2020 21:48:54 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

Do you mean trichomoniasis Hezz? I think that is what the Ronivet was for?

Sorry, yes, that is what I was trying to think of, but my brain just wouldn't go there. And you are right, Ronivet it the drug of choice.

Trichomonas isn't a mite, it is a flagellated protozoa, but regardless, it does sound as though Rey is carrying the scars of whatever it was that has brought this on. I guess all you can hope for is that her symptoms lessen as she continues to improve. Hopefully she will stay happy and healthy for a long time to come.