# Male budgie beak



## Sofiasourianou (Sep 19, 2017)

Hello! Hope you're all doing well! 
I was feeding my budgie yesterday when I noticed his beak is starting to look a bit different. He was my first male budgie after having 2 females and is the youngest, about 10-11 months old roughly. I'm not sure if males go through any significant changes when they are about to molt compared to females, so I thought I would post these pictures here to see if anyone could shed some light. I will obviously be taking him to the vets anyways, but it's a weekend and they aren't currently open. 

Thanks for reading! 
Sofia


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

He's an absolutely beautiful boy, but he has a horrible case of scaly face mites :upset: 

I'm glad you'll be taking him to the vet, the vet should prescribe Ivermectin, which is the medicine used to treat this illness. One drop between the wings (directly on the skin) will start to clear it up. 

The thing is, mites are extremely contagious to other birds and they can remain in the cage for a long time, so you should keep the cage extremely clean. Take out and throw away any toys with fabric or rope, as the mites will burrow into them. Clean all perches and toys with hot water and vinegar to be sure there are no mites, and for the first few days of the treatment, I might even take the entire cage outdoors and hose it down. If this isn't practical, wipe down the entire cage with hot water and vinegar (put the budgie(s) in a travel cage first). 

If there are any budgies he's been into contact with, all of them need to be treated in the same way, and they also need the Ivermectin. 

Despite everything you need to do to prevent a re-infestation, it's very easy to treat and with the proper care, he'll be back to normal in no time :thumbup: 

Best of luck with your handsome boy, please keep us posted on how he's doing! :fingerx:


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## Sofiasourianou (Sep 19, 2017)

Ahh shoot, that's worrying news  Yeah I'll definitely ring up on Monday and book them in asap. 
I adopted a cockatiel about 2 months ago from a family that simply didn't want him anymore and his beak looked a bit weird so maybe they got it from him. I just assumed cause he is quite old it might have been a bit worn out. 
I'm sick of people not taking care of birds properly. At least i care a lot about them and Im in a position to fix it though. 

Thank you so much for your reply! I really appreciate it! <3


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*As StarlingWings indicated, all the birds in your home will now need to be treated for Scaly Mites.
I'm glad you'll be able to treat them right away! :thumbsup:

I'll keep this thread open and ask that you update us on all your birds' condition with regard to the mites in a couple weeks time.*


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## Sofiasourianou (Sep 19, 2017)

Yes I will be booking all 3 of them into the vets this week and deep cleaning everything/throwing stuff away! 

I have a blanket I use to cover half of my teils cage with when he wants some quiet time, will that need to be thrown out too or is there something I can soak it in, or wash it in the machine, to get rid of the mites?


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Washing it on the hottest setting in your washing machine two or three times consecutively with unscented detergent and fragrance free Oxiclean should kill all of the mites.

Dry it on the highest heat setting in the dryer.

Disposing of the blanket and getting a new cage cover is the other option. *


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## Sofiasourianou (Sep 19, 2017)

Hello! I'm here with an update! 
I took my 2 budgies and cockatiel into the vets yesterday as it was their nearest available slot! They have had their drops and the vet said as I caught it so early, I will only need to give them one more treatment next month and it should all be cleared up! Other than that they are healthy and all is well! 

In terms of the mites spreading elsewhere in their cage, she told me they don't actually do that. What happens is some mites attach themselves to dead skin cells and all the dust that naturally comes off birds, and when that leaves their body they kind of just stay on it hence why it could be in the cage or on the toys. So she obviously advised me to clean everything anyway as I have been doing, however they won't burrow into wood or material so I won't need to throw anything away. 

Thanks again for your replies, I really appreciate it and I'm so happy and relieved that all this has been sorted!


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## Goldenwing (Oct 4, 2017)

Glad your birdies have gotten care. Best of luck keeping the mites away!

Goldenwing


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