It seems to be spreading. Is this the dreaded scaly face i've heard about?

 

How does one get this virus/disease? Tweeter has never had contact with outside birds.

 

How to treat this?

i'm not sure if it is or not but i would take him to an avian vet. Oscar has got it too and he's never had contact with any outside birds - apparently when they are babies it doesn't show up until they are between 6-12 months. how old is he?

 

edit: Scaly face is caused by a wee mite that buries in the beak, cere and feet!

Edited September 20, 200618 yr by Cheeky

Looks like it. Reason...contact with other birds. Some say it can remain dormant in birds and show up further down the track. I treat mine with invermectin the spot on treatment. One spot between the "shoulder blades at the back of the neck" and that usually fixes it within 2 weeks. I don't believe in the injections as it's kind of "overkill" to inject a bird unless absolutely necessary I think, and some injections have "gone wrong" . I havent had to treat any birds for ages. No reoccurence over 1 year. I automatically treat all incoming birds with the invermectin just in case. I guess if you have a tame bird and its used to being handled then the baby oil or vaseline wiped over cere and feet would do, taking care not to get it in the nostrils.

Cheers karen

Thanks for the reply. I'm quite happy to go to a vet and pick up some medication, i'm hoping someone can confirm what it is.

 

Tweeter is roughly 11 months old now. Gone through his first moult.

 

Edit: Thanks for the reply Bubbles! I'll be off to get some Invermectin ASAP. Never heard of the baby-oil treatment but I believe that with illnesses you should go for the sure-fire way of treating. This way i'll have the medicine there incase it reappears also.

 

Glad I found this forum, without it I would never have heard of scaly face let alone it's treatment!

Edited September 20, 200618 yr by VippiN

sounds like the same as Oscar - he's only about 6 months but it appeared shortly after his first moult. let us know how you get on at the vet.

Thanks for the reply. I'm quite happy to go to a vet and pick up some medication, i'm hoping someone can confirm what it is.

 

Tweeter is roughly 11 months old now. Gone through his first moult.

It does seem to be scalyface as you can see what looks like minute tunnels across the beak and the disruption at the sides of face and beak too. As you said....it's spreading and that is what scaly face does. My vet sell his own scalyface invermectin over the counter....made by himself, an avian vet. I wouldn't go for the injection.

Edited September 20, 200618 yr by Bubbles

no i wouldn't go for the injection after reading about that wee bird that died after it. Oscar got Ivermectin to paint on but i really don't think its working.

It can take a few weeks before you notice any improvement with topical ivermectin. Stress is a big trigger, as some birds immune systems can keep the mite at bay for a little while before you notice symptoms. The only way to get it is to come into contact with it. It is not unheard of for symptoms to not show up for months after exposure...it can depend upon how healthy their immune system is. And stress is not necessarily a bad thing, as there are "good" stresses too.

Looks like scaly face to me too, get it treated ASAP because it spreads REALLY fast. Mention to the vet that you have more than one budgie, all will need treating.

Thanks for the close up picture. I have wondered what scaly face actually looks like.

A very helpful and informative post.

Hey all. For Aussie's out there, i'm trying to get some Ivermectim but apparently it's illegal to get without seeing the bird, which will cost me no short of $60ish. The drug itself is $12.50..

 

Does anyone out there in AU able to secure the drug without consultation?

Edited September 22, 200618 yr by VippiN

I would say it's worth it. I had to pay that amount for a consultation and the ivermectin but a tiny bottle has treated 20+ birds 3 times now with HEAPS left.

Thanks to a kind member on this forum there should be a bottle arriving in the mail early next week.

Pity your not in Perth or I would say drop into the ARC and we could sort you out, we work very closely with the vets at Murdoch University Animal Hospital

I would still pay the fee and have the bird looked at by the vet as ivermectin is very toxic if not applied in the correct dosage. The dosage is normally tailored to the individual bird and there are several factors (like weight) that go into the determination of the correct dosage.

The invermectin in question has been formulated for over the counter use by the best avian vet around, based on one drop per 30 gram bird give or take a few grams.

 

 

 

It seems to be spreading. Is this the dreaded scaly face i've heard about?

 

How does one get this virus/disease? Tweeter has never had contact with outside birds.

 

How to treat this?

 

I Use aristopet, Scaly Face Treatment, It Comes in a 25 ml bottle and containes

75g/l Benzoate

790g/l liquid Paraffin

 

I Apply with a cotton bud once a day to affected area for 3 days, this usualy clears it up, I then follow up with a treatment 2 weeks later just to make sure there gone.

 

I was given a bird recently which had quite a deformed Cere (protruded 10 mm), due to scale faced

(My worse case) This took 5 days of treatment to clear up and teh Cere returned to normal within 6 days.

 

Note: check the birds wing tips as well as quite offten the parasite hides there too (you can see the tunneling if infected).

Update! *HUGE* thanks to Bubbles for the miracle cure via mail. It's been nine days since Tweeter was treated. Tremendous progress. You can hardly notice any of the problem now. Most of the fluff has grown back also.

 

And now, a picture story.

 

Yeah.. You're not getting near me. Seeya!

 

You found me! ARGH MY EYES!?! TO THE CAGE!! *whoosh*

 

Why did you bring him over here? I was happy by myself!! What has he got with him..?

 

He found me!

 

Argh he's coming inside our home! Run!

 

I'll never release my grip!

 

Yeah I was bored. :bluebudgie: Just happy all is well again.

glad to hear everyone is better - great pics!

yay great news!