# What's wrong with Casper's cere?



## Emryl (May 2, 2015)

Hi, this is my first post on Talkbudgies, so apologies for any errors!

I have a 2 male budgies, Link and Casper, I've had them for just over a year. Casper is roughly 18months old now and has developed a strange growth on his cere.
I've tried attaching a photo of Casper to give you a better idea. I took it on my tablet so the quality is dreadful, I'll try upload a better photo soon. It's not particularly flakey or crusty as growths can be- from what my research into it has suggested. It has developed from the lower cere over the last few months,it's very pale, and it doesn't seem to affect him in any way. It actually just looks like an extension of his cere growing out a bit to a point.
What is interesting is we took him to an avian vet a month or so back for a swollen eye (he had a feather in his eye and had rubbed it sore overnight). The vet did a general checkover of him and said he was in great health, and never mentioned his cere. I was quite upset that he had hurt himself at the time and didn't think to ask about his cere.
I've looked into it and the only thing that has really cropped up is scaly face mites. A lot of people have said the fix for this is rubbing vaseline over his lower cere. Obviously I don't want to be rubbing things in little Casper's face unless I'm sure, so I'm interested to know what you guys think. Should I go back to the vet? It seems like if it was something serious she would have mentioned it on our last visit.

Thanks so much for any advice you can offer  as you can imagine I'm really worried about the lil guy.

Emma


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## nuxi (Oct 28, 2014)

Hi and welcome to TB! Are you sure Casper is a male? Sometimes the cere of female budgies looks like that.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi Emma and :welcome: to Talk Budgies!

Unfortunately, I can't see the growth you are speaking of in the picture you posted. Perhaps when you post another picture it will be easier to see.

I would suggest you take Casper to an Avian Vet to get a proper diagnosis. If there is an actual growth and it isn't scaly mites, then your budgie may have a nutritional or hormone deficiency. An Avian Vet can perform blood tests if necessary to determine what may be causing the problem for Casper.

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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Welcome to TB! :wave: 
Well, surprise, I think Casper is a little girl!  
Since she's not yet in condition, her cere will be whitish-blue until then, so don't worry. From that photo, it doesn't look like anything's wrong with her, but if you post a photo in natural light of her cere, we will be able to tell you better the gender as well as any possible problems there may be! :thumbsup: 
Your two birds are gorgeous, I hope to see more pictures of them soon and feel free to ask us anything!


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## PrincipePio (Jan 21, 2014)

Welcome to Talk Budgies! I agree with StarlingWings, perhaps Casper is a female coming into condition, when the cere will look a little crusty. Some more photos will show if that's the case. Welcome again!


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