Lice

[jessicabirdie 0]

Hi All,

I'm hoping for some advice on dealing with mites. I have a young male budgie named taco. I spoke to the vet this morning about Taco itching non-stop and he said it was mites. He suggested a spray. My question is, is spray the only way? Can you treat mites with a spot topical treatment more effectivly? Does such thing exist for birds?

 

Thanks in advance!

Jess and Taco

[robyn 0]

It's a wonder the vet didn't give you the right spray for this. There are sprays available in pet stores but vet. supply would be better. If it is mites when you get the spray, place bird in temp cage remove all perch's etc from cage clean everything including wire cage then spray the whole lot. When dry spray your bird as directed then put him back into clean cage. The mites are so tiny they hide in every little crevice they can find, I think they mostly feed off the birds blood at night, thus the itchy behaviour.

[Finnie 0]

You spoke with the vet on the phone, or did you take the bird in? There are different types of mites, so I suppose the treatment depends on which kind you have. I think Robyn is talking about the red mite. There are also feather mites, quill mites and scaly face mites. I think bird lice is something else altogether.

 

Ivermectin is a spot topical treatment for scaly face mites. It is also effective for intestinal parasites. I don't know if it works on anything else.