# Is my budgie sick?



## Nass (Jul 13, 2014)

Recently my budgie ( green one ) has been fluffed up and his Cere and feet do not look normal and look crusty. If he is do you know what this might be and how he could have gotten it as my other budgies seemed to get this aswell. He is still eating and drinking.


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Hi there and welcome back to the forums!

Unfortunately, your male budgie has an advanced case of scaly face and leg mites.  
You will need to apply an Ivermectin based treatment to clear the mites, since this is a severe case, it's best that you take your budgie to an avian vet specialist, so that he is properly checked in terms of general health and for the correct dosage of treatment to be prescribed. 
It's very likely that he will need multiple treatments and after each treatment it's important that you thoroughly wash and disinfect the whole cage and accessories (perches, toys, food/water containers, etc) as well as all the areas your budgie is in while having out of cage time. 
This is done in order to prevent the mites from reinfesting your budgie. All the birds from your flock will need to be treated for mites.

I hope you will soon be able to eradicate the mites from your flock and your budgies (especially your male in the photo) feel better. 
Good luck with everything!


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## Nass (Jul 13, 2014)

Thanks aluz. I will get an appointment with the vet and my bufgies are not tame and get scared very easily and always fly around when I open the cage door. Thanks for the help


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi Nass!

I'm sorry to say your budgie has a very advanced case of scaley face mites and both birds must be treated _right away_. Scaley mites are highly contagious and spread easily, so you should clean out the cage thoroughly, including perches, toys and food dishes, and rinse them well with hot water or vinegar to kill any mites present on them.

You should purchase Invermectin, a drop-on treatment, and treat both birds daily. It is a small drop applied between the wings and directly onto the skin.

Ideally, you should ask your avian vet for the recommended dosage. Please let us know how things go! It's important to get treatment right now as if this gets any worse it could slowly suffocate them 

Poor things, they must be very uncomfortable! Hopefully with the treatment, they will begin to feel better very soon.

Please keep us updated on their progress, I hope they're looking better in no time :fingerx:

EDIT: Oops, Aluz and I were posting at the same time! I'm glad you'll be taking them to the vet right away :thumbsup:


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## Nass (Jul 13, 2014)

Thanks for the help and yes I will do


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Looking at your past threads, this isn't the first time you have faced this particular ailment and by now you should have known your present budgies were afflicted by the mites and what measures need to be taken in order to prevent the case from getting worse.

http://talkbudgies.com/your-budgies-health/217873-help-please-she-sick.html

http://talkbudgies.com/your-budgies-health/218177-help-me-face-mites.html

I truly hope you will be successful in treating all of your budgies and to prevent a future re-infestation.


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## Therm (Aug 2, 2015)

You stated in one of your posts 'Help please, is she sick' that the cost to see the vet was a bit much, so did you ever get treatment, or did you leave it as you did not feel you could afford the cost? 
Whatever happened, your male budgie now had really bad mites. His feet are very bad and it's so sad to see an animal like this when there was no reason for this to happen as you already asked about mites and treatment and have failed to follow through on advice given. 

If you had followed through the first time you noticed this, you could have saved a lot of discomfort and pain for your budgie. 
You would also have had a much easier time treating your budgie. 

Now you *have* to take them to an avian vet. No matter how far it is, you need to take them for treatment straight away. 
You made a commitment to looking after these sweet birds when you purchased them and they deserve to have a very simple and treatable issue taken care of. The mites will not go away without you treating them. 

Also, if you got these birds from a pet store, you should inform them that the birds had mites, if you notice the mites shortly after bringing them home. 

Please don't delay a vet appointment any longer than you already have.


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## Nass (Jul 13, 2014)

Hi, that was another bird and it died the same day it was meant to go to the vet. This is another bird that I purchased and will be taking to the vet asap


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## Therm (Aug 2, 2015)

You stated in your previous post thread you had two birds. 
As the female died, if you did not get treatment for the male, despite being told that all birds would need treatment, then his case of mites has grown since you last posted and he has infected the new female. 

If you had followed the advice you were given previously to treat *all* birds and clean the cage thoroughly, you could have avoided your poor boy suffering as he is.


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## Nass (Jul 13, 2014)

I might have made a mistake but I had a male and female. The male died and the female flew away. I got two new ones which look the same as the old ones. The new male I recently got just got mites now and the female I have now looks fine. If I still had the ones with mites from before I would have treated them but these are new birds and I just noticed these mites.


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## Therm (Aug 2, 2015)

Did you use the same cage that you had the others in? It's possible that they got mites from the cage if you didn't clean everything up. 

Or the petshop and/or breeder that provides birds for the pet shop is awful. I would avoid that pet store if you could and if you go to buy birds in the future, don't get them from this place. 

Please make sure you follow aluz's advice given earlier to have both birds and cage treated thoroughly or you will just be stuck in a cycle of not helping the birds.


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## Nass (Jul 13, 2014)

My friend has asked to take the female from me so I can take care and keep the one with mites on its own. My friend also has budgies and they are trained. Is this better as I can separate them now before the other one catches mites.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

The other one already has mites  As soon as one bird has mites, all others in the home have it, too, so all birds must be treated. Even if they aren't visible, they are in the beginning stages and should be treated right away. It's easier to treat in the early stages, so your blue budgie should recover soon if you start treatment now. 

The green budgie is so afflicted it may take several dosages to fully treat him, so the sooner treatment is started, the better his chances for surviving this infestation are.


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## Therm (Aug 2, 2015)

Yes, sadly you can't just split them up and treat only the one with very visible mites. 

Both need treating. 
The cage needs to be completely cleaned- everything in it must be thoroughly cleaned. 

If you just treat the male, when the female comes back she will just reinfect him and have it herself. 

If you treat them both but don't clean the cage properly, then they make clear up a little but will likely just come back again.


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## Nass (Jul 13, 2014)

Thanks for the help I'll make sure to take them to the vet and call the vet now


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*The goal of the forum is to promote the Best Practices for the health and well-being of budgies.

As owners, it is our responsibility to ensure our budgies receive the best care including necessary treatment from an Avian Vet when necessary.

Avian Vets have special training to determine the cause of symptoms resulting from illness or trauma. This is important as "regular" vets will often overlook symptoms that are quickly obvious to an Avian Vet.
When you rely on anyone who has not had training in Avian diagnosis and care, you may be delaying effective treatment. This can prolong suffering that may be avoidable.
The bird will often require a more intense, prolonged treatment with a poorer chance of full recovery than it would have if you seek prompt professional diagnosis and treatment at the first sign of illness.

Distinction between an Avian Vet and a Vet that "Will See Birds"

I urge you to follow the suggestions you've been given and take both your budgies to an Avian Vet for the proper treatment.

http://talkbudgies.com/articles-budgie-disease-illness/340426-common-avian-parasites.html

Additionally, you will need to thouroughly clean and disinfect the cage, perches, toys and dishes.

It is important that members learn as much about budgies and their basic care as possible in order to give them the opportunity for a long and happy life. Please take the time to read the stickies at the top of each forum section as well as the Budgie Articles.

FaeryBee (Deborah)
Talk Budgies Administrator*


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