CaspersRose

the red area is just his skin, it looks a fair bit redder in the photo than it really is - it's actually pink, like um, i can't think of an example... like the colour of raw chicken ( sorry, yucky example, but all i could think of), perhaps i should have done one with the flash. the little dark dots are the tips of the new little spikes coming through... like i said, he isn't bleeding or oozing at all... will get him checked out though, cos i am confused now.

Mmm... i just got home from uni and am feeling a bit better about Casper. Mums always make you worry when they describe somehting that's of concern, hey?! Anyway, I am pretty sure he is just moulting... he's quiet, but otherwise really happy to be handled, sat on my shoulder, nibbled my ears and hair, is eating normally and isn't puffing up at all. Will still keep an eye on him though, just to be sure. He has moulted heavily around his face before, but last time the pin feathers came through before all of the tiny ones fell out, so he just got all spiky over night, rather than going bald overnight! Here are a couplle of photos of what he's looking like this arvo. You can see the new feathers coming through, and he's not flaky and hasn't scratched himself silly. If you guys recon anything else do let me know, but for now I'm just going to keep an eye on him. And this is last time he moulted around his face, it's a little bit hard to see, but he is very spiky!:

will try to get another photo, am at uni at the moment... i was thinking the same thing... how could he get something if he hasn't been exposed. I think last time he had scaley face he must have had a little bit when i got him cos it was pretty soon after i got him that i picked it up. He doesn't have any crustiness, just the dry skin and his feathers above his cere have all fallen out. I can see where new ones are beginning to come through and while he is scratching, he isn't scratching to the point of making it look all sore and raw. This is what made me hope it is just a heavy facial moult (poor thing... he looks so silly!). Mum sent me an SMS this morning telling me he isn't his usual chirpy self today, just sitting on his perch quietly (but not puffed up), which worries me a bit, but i will see to him when i get home... he might just be feeling embarassed! Is it normal for budgies to get a little weary during moulting?

Hi all, it has been a while since i last posted, and it is a bit sad that my first in ages has to be because Casper is a little poorly right now. Over the last two months or so, i have noticed the little feathers above Casper's cere have been a bit discoloured (a bit like a snotty kid who never blows it's nose!). It didn't seem to be bothering him at all, and he wasn't scratching or rubbing his face at all, so i didn't think too much of it. Now just in the last 24 hours he has begun scratching and has actually lost those tiny feathers above his cere. His skin looks red, but not raw where the feathers have been lost. There are heaps of tiny, fluffy blue feathers at the bottom of his cage, so my assumption is that he has been doing a bit of moulting, but my question is whether or not his manky face could be related to moultin (either entirely or in part) or whether he might have a mite-y problem (as in mites, not mighty as in tremendous!), or perhaps a bit of both. I have noticed a tiny amount of crustiness around the lower bit of his cere where it meets his beak, so have dabbed a bit of scaley face goo stuff on it and on his feet just in case (he had a minor bout scaley face about nine months ago). Unfortunately i don't have a picture of how he looks today yet, but this is how it started about 6 weeks ago:

i recon there might be a market for budgie psychologists!

i recon that was definitely a hello! I've been teaching Casper to say hello too... he can wolf whistle, and every now and then says the first bit of "wotcher doin?" Isn't it funny how budgies all mutter slightly differently? Your's has a really pretty budgie language of his own! Mine sounds like a flock of lorikeets when he's doing his budgie muttering cos he spends so much time outside on the table (in his cage of course!) and we have so many lorikeets in our yard. It's amazing how he can sound like a whole heap of them at once! Sometimes i wish we had lovely singing birds in our yard though, so he'd sound like them... ah well...

yay for Spaz!

you are obviously totally besotted, which is lovely! I'm so glad you are able to enjoy your new budgies as much as you obviously enjoyed your previous one. the pictures are great! Max looks just like my budgie. they look a bit older than four months though... when i got my Casper he was a few months old and still had his stripes on his forehead... but I'm far from an expert so I'll leave any further speculations on that to those who are!. It's fantastic that they are so keen to step up and stuff... it took me months of patience with casper before he even let me put my hand in his cage! now he comes out, sit on my finger and shoulder, but will only tolerate a thumb scratch on the tummy if he's in the right mood. He has become a lot more vocal over the last couple of months though... his repetoire now includes a wolf whistle, varying versions of "hello" and the "wotcher" of "wotcher doin?". I have also recently discovered he has a particular tweet for when the cats are near by (their food bowls are next to his table), which is hilarious cos its really high pitched and obviously hurts the cats' ears!

you have a lovely little baby boy/girl! I love the way baby budgies have such big, dark eyes! They're so cute while their proportions are still a little out (a bit like baby people really, hey?). Petey is very handsome/pretty (choose which one depending on the gender lucky-dip!)!

monster looks like the type of bloke you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, hey? that look on his face says "don't mess with me!" - i suspect he's a big softie on the inside though!

how lovely! It's always great to hear a good-news story like yours!

we should have bit of a dance recital! Does anyone else have budgie dancing videos or pictures? Oooo... i love a good talent quest! Brings back memories of the last day of the year back at primary school! Did anyone else's school do the same thing?

Welcome on board! A special welcome to Casper (that's my budgie's name, and i believe there is another well-named lad around here too) - she's just as handsome as my one!

My camera came with this nifty, fairly easy to use program for editing the video files. Pretty cool hey?

Hehe... i caught Casper having a great time the other day with his new "friend" and managed to catch it on video - the quality's not great though (sorry, only used my little digital camera video function so its a bit average) but you can still get the idea. he's been doing it regularly ever since! The Video: Hope it works... this is my first video post... am a video virgin!The Dance

casper will spend hours outside his cage, sitting on his play gym thingy on top, then ill turn around to do something else and when i look back he's inside again! He climbs around the outside too. Am yet to see him go the other way... come out of his own accord when i open the door. He will usually just get on my finger for me to get him out.

every time is see your signature i can't get over how similar Merlin and Casper are! I even have a photo of Casper in almost exactly the same stance!

that is so sad... but htey have flapped their way to birdie-heaven now, so they'll be happy there. Cheer up Bea! :angel1:

Just wondering if this smudgy area above Casper's nostrils is anything to worry about. He has had it there for about a week and a half, but doesn't seem to be behaving any differently. He is scratching his head and face on his perch, but not any more than usual. The only thing i can think of that might be relevant is that he had just gone through a fairly spiky period with pin feathers all over the place about a week before i noticed it. He doesn't have a runny nose or anything either. Do you guys recon its just a mere blemish, or could it be something more sinister? Just noticed, looking at the picture that his beak and cere are a bit dry-looking... could this be it? Are there any natural "budgie-moisturisers" that anybody out there uses to clear that up?

we have always had cats and budgies and have never, ever had a problem. i think by making sure we always give the animals equal amounts of attention, nobody begins to get jealous of the other, so there is little attention-seeking mischief. As for the cats' interest in the budgies... well, they just seem to consider them as other members of the family, just like the other cats, us, and any other pets we have had over the years and therefore just don't even contemplate having a go. Casper's cage is on a table right next tot the cats food bowls! that said, it is in the nature of cats to chase birds, of course. you need to really know your cat's temperament and personality. I never let Casper out to fly if the cats are in the same room - i am 99% certain they wouldn't do anything, but i don't want to tempt that innnate part of their genetic make-up. I posted this picture on th pictures section, but i thought it might be a good one to put here... the ultimate display of self-control on Benjii's (the cat) part! he didn't even raise a paw!

I took this picture on the weekend. I was doing some study outside so i brought Casper's cage out with me, and made a sandwich to settle down to the books. Next thing i knew, Benjii, our fat and very cuddlesome cat was on the table sussing out my lunch... he didn't even batter an eyelid at Casper sitting there in his cage... then casper wolf-whistled! Poor Benjii was so confused, then, seeing caspers cage decided to check it out... and Casper gave him an absolute earful - skwarking, whistling, "hello"ing, dancing, flapping... the lot!! It was so funny! Poor Benj didn't know what to think... he probably felt a bit of a failure to the cat world - being put in your place by i budgie! How embarassing!

hehe! I love the way at the end they all (well, most of them) seemed to get over it and the chatter dropped from raucus to just conversational! hehe, they're just like little people!

Over the last few weeks i have been pondering gettting a playmate for casper... it is still just a thought, and i haven't gone "window shopping" yet, but if i do decide to find a friend for him, would it be best to get another boy, or a girl? Would two males get a bit testy and blokey and end up not geting along? or would casper get a bit hormonal and never resign himself to being "just friends" with a female friend? I don't have an aviary or breeding boxes etc, so they would just be pets/companions. Casper is in a fairly large 2-3 bird cage byhimself at the moment so there would be plenty of space, but i just want to make sure i make the right decisions! Any suggestions? Here's a picture of Casper's cage... not the best shot, but shoes how much space he's got. Its fairly wide, with enough space for him to have to flap to get from perch to perch, and high enough that theres enough room for perches and platforms at different levels (in case one needs it own space!!) .

haha! i love the funny thing they have for hair ties! the one where ozzie has it tangled around his tail is hilarious... i was in stitches watching him with his bum in the air trying to get himself untangled!! yay for blinks to come along and help!

hehe! at least he likes his greens! casper is a bit fussy in that department... he will only eat snow pea sprouts and summer ggrass stalks... have tried tempting him with other stuff, but even his favourites don't elicit as much excitement as greens to for your Goofy!!