Good day everyone.
So I have a few questions regarding those nasty mites, since I'm starting to suspect a couple of my birds may have 'em. The problem is I've looked for a while around my area and I haven't found any vets that see birds, they're mostly dealing with cats and dogs. So my questions are:
1) I've read around and seen that ivermectin is the active ingredient(?) that's best used for getting rid of mites, but as I don't know where to begin looking for the med for birds, is there a specific concentration of sorts that I should be looking for? If (and I'm thinking just in case) I can't find a specific brand for birds, is there another alternative? Like something that is (IDK maybe) used for dogs or something and would work all the same for the budgies? This next bit may sound dumb maybe but desperate times lol, I've seen that this active ingredient is even used with humans , so assuming you guys can help me with the right concentration and I can find that, would it be suitable for the budgies? (Sorry if that is a plain obvious no, but I really wanna be prepared for all scenarios)
2) If it doesn't turn out to be a case of scaly face mites, is the ivermectin gonna do them any harm? Or can this work as a preventative measure? (I've seen the word 'worming' around a couple of times, could this be what this preventative treatment is? Is it maybe similar or is it entirely a different issue?)
3) my budgies stay in the balcony with two cages all the way on opposite walls. I can only bring them in when the weather outside is really bad (too cold, too hot, or when there's heavy rain or a sandstorm) since me and a couple of family members have pet allergy. What I'm wondering is, could the budgies in the other cage be infected too, will they need treatment just in case? They have no symptoms at all, beaks and Ceres are all smooth, nothing out of ordinary. Also, does them staying outside make the condition better or worse or does that have no effect?
4) Once treatment is started and/or finished, the budgies who originally showed symptoms, should they show improvement straight away or should I expect the scaly appearance on the side of their beaks to disappear as their beak starts to grow and new tissue replaces old one, kind of like in human nails?
5) I've seen few people mention using oils, olive oil for example. Can this work for the birds that show no symptoms but are in the same cage as the possibly affected one's? Does it work like the ivermectin would for the actual cases?
6) Any extra care for the cage itself and the water and food bowls?
7) I've attached photos of the two that I'm suspecting may be affected, the white one tho, Rosie, does this actually look like mites? Could it be some kind of deficiency like calcium? Or could this be normal wear and tear? In addition, the yellow one, Sunshine, her cere is a little more crusty than the other females, can mites do that or is that her just being in breeding condition?
8) Is there a point in separating Kiwi from the rest at this point? I mean they've been together in the same cage for months now sooo...
Sorry for all the lengthy questions and post in general hehe, but since I'll hopefully be able to go out tomorrow morning and look for the meds, I wanted to have all the info I might need.
Thanks in advance for the help, this site continues to be my best friend when caring for my birds ^.^
- Sama, budgie lover
Kiwi, the one that had me first worried:
Sunshine:
Rosie:
If the images aren't clear enough, I'd be happy to take better ones when they wake up.
So I have a few questions regarding those nasty mites, since I'm starting to suspect a couple of my birds may have 'em. The problem is I've looked for a while around my area and I haven't found any vets that see birds, they're mostly dealing with cats and dogs. So my questions are:
1) I've read around and seen that ivermectin is the active ingredient(?) that's best used for getting rid of mites, but as I don't know where to begin looking for the med for birds, is there a specific concentration of sorts that I should be looking for? If (and I'm thinking just in case) I can't find a specific brand for birds, is there another alternative? Like something that is (IDK maybe) used for dogs or something and would work all the same for the budgies? This next bit may sound dumb maybe but desperate times lol, I've seen that this active ingredient is even used with humans , so assuming you guys can help me with the right concentration and I can find that, would it be suitable for the budgies? (Sorry if that is a plain obvious no, but I really wanna be prepared for all scenarios)
2) If it doesn't turn out to be a case of scaly face mites, is the ivermectin gonna do them any harm? Or can this work as a preventative measure? (I've seen the word 'worming' around a couple of times, could this be what this preventative treatment is? Is it maybe similar or is it entirely a different issue?)
3) my budgies stay in the balcony with two cages all the way on opposite walls. I can only bring them in when the weather outside is really bad (too cold, too hot, or when there's heavy rain or a sandstorm) since me and a couple of family members have pet allergy. What I'm wondering is, could the budgies in the other cage be infected too, will they need treatment just in case? They have no symptoms at all, beaks and Ceres are all smooth, nothing out of ordinary. Also, does them staying outside make the condition better or worse or does that have no effect?
4) Once treatment is started and/or finished, the budgies who originally showed symptoms, should they show improvement straight away or should I expect the scaly appearance on the side of their beaks to disappear as their beak starts to grow and new tissue replaces old one, kind of like in human nails?
5) I've seen few people mention using oils, olive oil for example. Can this work for the birds that show no symptoms but are in the same cage as the possibly affected one's? Does it work like the ivermectin would for the actual cases?
6) Any extra care for the cage itself and the water and food bowls?
7) I've attached photos of the two that I'm suspecting may be affected, the white one tho, Rosie, does this actually look like mites? Could it be some kind of deficiency like calcium? Or could this be normal wear and tear? In addition, the yellow one, Sunshine, her cere is a little more crusty than the other females, can mites do that or is that her just being in breeding condition?
8) Is there a point in separating Kiwi from the rest at this point? I mean they've been together in the same cage for months now sooo...
Sorry for all the lengthy questions and post in general hehe, but since I'll hopefully be able to go out tomorrow morning and look for the meds, I wanted to have all the info I might need.
Thanks in advance for the help, this site continues to be my best friend when caring for my birds ^.^
- Sama, budgie lover
Kiwi, the one that had me first worried:
Sunshine:
Rosie:
If the images aren't clear enough, I'd be happy to take better ones when they wake up.