# From blue to... brown?



## Spiriit (Apr 4, 2014)

Sorry this isn't the greatest of pictures. Man, budgies move a lot. LOL

He has always [I think] had a slight brown "edge" on the lower side of his cere, but I was looking at him this morning and I don't think I ever remember it covering this much. When in condition, his cere is BRIGHT blue. But this is a lot of brown...

It's smooth, so I'm not overly concerned about testicular cancer [or tumor], but I'm otherwise not sure what to make of it.

He smack dab in the middle of a moult right now [blown a LOT of feathers, but pins aren't coming in yet], but I don't know if that can sometimes cause the cere to change when out of condition. He's otherwise his VERY happy active usual self. Which is slightly unusual for him when going through a moult [as his energy levels are usually less than usual when moulting].

Should I be concerned? And if it is a hormone imbalance, or other, what can I do? [He's 3]


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Welcome back to the forums! 

A moult will not cause a male budgie's cere to start to turn brown in colour.
Is your budgie boy on a balanced and varied diet?

Given the changes on his cere, it's best to have your budgie examined by an avian vet specialist so that you will get answers when it comes to a diagnosis and a treatment plan.

Best of luck with everything!


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## Spiriit (Apr 4, 2014)

aluz said:


> Welcome back to the forums!
> 
> A moult will not cause a male budgie's cere to start to turn brown in colour.
> Is your budgie boy on a balanced and varied diet?
> ...


Thanks, Aluz! Yes, I try to keep his diet fairly balanced. He is a seed junkie though and doesn't like human food [with spinach being the exception] so we keep pellets in his cage and only offer seeds at night.

I'm not concerned enough [yet] to take him to a vet [no avian vet within 9OOkm from here], so I was hoping for some feedback or suggestions on general health.

Maybe something is missing in his diet that I could try first? It's not a true brown... it's bluish, for sure, but it's still off looking to me.

IS it off looking to you all as well? Is this normal? Not normal?


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## bparakeets (Dec 17, 2016)

No expert here, but I'd keep a close eye on it.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

I think you should plan a trip to an avian vet. I don't mean to alarm you but I had a bird that had the same issue, his cere began to change from blue to brown. In my bird's case it was a testicular tumor that was diagnosed by digital x-ray. He was treated with a series of Lupron injections and Metacam, given orally. Watch your bird closely for any other changes such as a change in activity level or anything that seems off from his usual behavior.


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## mixxie (Dec 10, 2015)

My little rascal jack had that cere a couple of weeks ago but i did not payed attention much...i stopped giving egg food recently and his cere is now royal blue, seems back to normal

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk


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## Spiriit (Apr 4, 2014)

Cody said:


> I think you should plan a trip to an avian vet. I don't mean to alarm you but I had a bird that had the same issue, his cere began to change from blue to brown. In my bird's case it was a testicular tumor that was diagnosed by digital x-ray. He was treated with a series of Lupron injections and Metacam, given orally. Watch your bird closely for any other changes such as a change in activity level or anything that seems off from his usual behavior.


Thanks for your thoughts! As mentioned though, the nearest avian vet is a one hour flight away. I'm hoping there is something else I could try first. Maybe diet?

OT, it looks more flaky today than when I posted the original picture yesterday. Maybe it's just part of the moult?


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*The purpose of this forum is to promote the best practices for the health and well-being of budgies.

It is very important that you get a proper diagnosis and treatment plan for your budgie.
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.

When the cere of a male budgie turns from blue to brown, it is a sign of a serious issue. We have no way of knowing if the problem is due to testicular cancer, a hormone imbalance or kidney and/or liver problems without a diagnosis from a qualified professional.

At the very least, you need to take your budgie to a regular or exotic vet who should be able to consult directly with an Avian Vet for instructions on specific tests to run, etc.

Please be sure to update us on your little fellow's condition.*


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## bparakeets (Dec 17, 2016)

@Cody- I lost one of my flock to the same kind of tumor.


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## justmoira (Aug 29, 2014)

If you truly can't get him to an avian vet, I believe there are several online you can chat with. Also, get him to a regular vet. Call around, see which ones have experience with birds. Another thing you can do is call around looking for bird breeders and ask them where they go for professional treatment of their birds (not asking the breeders what they would do in that case). 
Good luck, keep us updated with what you find.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

bparakeets said:


> @Cody- I lost one of my flock to the same kind of tumor.


Sorry to hear that.


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## Spiriit (Apr 4, 2014)

FaeryBee said:


> *
> At the very least, you need to take your budgie to a regular or exotic vet who should be able to consult directly with an Avian Vet for instructions on specific tests to run, etc.*


I agree with everything you said in your OP, but I want to remind you that this does not exist where I live. There are two regular vets that will take birds, but I feel comfortable saying that I know more about birds than the two of them combined.

I'm asking for general advise [heavy emphasis on general] because I'm not even sure that it IS turning brown. If I could get a better picture of it to post, I will. He's very tame/friendly, but the one thing I haven't been able to do is allow me to grab him from behind to "hold" him. It's more like a thin brownish layer of dry skin... almost like I could pinch a corner and just peel it off. And I need to have an idea of what might be going on before I bring him to the vet and they try to treat him for mites [or something else it's not].

I'm holding him right now and comparing him directly to the image I posted above, and it DOES look like some [maybe a lot] of it has peeled off in the last few days.

I'm going to see if I can get him to sit still enough in better lighting. I might have to take him into the bathroom to get a clear image, but the lighting is FAR from natural.

Will keep trying. It might take me a couple of days though. It's pretty unbelievable how much they move! JUST SIT STILL, ALREADY!! LOL

Edit: I just took about 4O pictures and one actually came out not too bad!! Taken in the mirror in the bathroom [zoomed in and cropped]. You can clearly see what I mean by "flaking". It literally looks like a layer of dry skin that can be peeled off. He's right in the middle of a moult, so he looks terrible... Mind the pins. &#55357;&#56841;


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## justmoira (Aug 29, 2014)

Ooooooooooooh this happens to my Sweetie when he has a very bad moult! His cere is just flaking off old skin. Give him lots of baths and also offer scratchy surface perches/toys (like natural wood) for him to rub his face on. 
HOWEVER!! Look up the sticky that has what you need to set up a budgie first aid kit seeing as though you are so far from an avian vet and get familiar with each item, what it's for, how to use it. See if you can book a trip sometime soonish to the closest avian vet for an annual check up and have that vet go over emergency care treatment and such with you just in case; also ask who they recommend in your area for bird care.


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## Spiriit (Apr 4, 2014)

Thanks, Moira! It seems that most of his moults are bad, some worse than others. He blows a LOT of feathers and just looks TERRIBLE throughout. His last couple have been exceptionally "ugly", but he seems to have much more energy throughout them both [being sleepy though a moult is very common for him].

I wonder if something added to his diet would help? Not sure what?? We do offer him fresh fruits/veggies, but he doesn't seem to eat much of anything. No matter how we offer them. Although he does really like spinach...

I'm going to keep an eye on this thread though for other replies [I'm not assuming it's just a bad moult, but it doesn't appear to be hormonal to me either... or does it?].


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## Spiriit (Apr 4, 2014)

Just an update that whatever it was peeled off and his cere is now back to blue. I'm keeping an eye on it though incase it's a symptom of something more serious, so if anyone has any idea of why this might have happened, please send me a PM [I don't come here often].

I do know that it wasn't dry food...


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