possible beak mites? mycosis? pictures included (tumor)

**awonderfultreat** · 07-13-2007, 10:52 AM

hello,
I hope this post is in the right area, please let me know if it is not. I have tried google and searching the forum, but could not come up with pictures or much information on what might be on my cockatiel's beak

Recently she has had a growth on her beak. At first I thought it was food stuck on her, but it has been there for more then a few days (maybe a week?). It is very odd shaped and seems to be growing straight out on the outside of her beak with little bumps.

It seems like it could be mites or mycosis from what this website said:
http://www.cockatielcenter.zoomshare.com/
"Spongy, Brownish growth on beak, cere(nose), or feet- tiny mites, mycosis of beak"

I also found this post, which I think looks similar:
http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/c...ighlight=mites

She is over 15 years old and has lots of life left in her! If you can share any information on this it would be much appreciated.

If more pictures or information is needed please let me know.
It is on her right side of the beak...the left looking at the picture. It also is so long it seems to go on the inside of her mouth. It is hard to get a picture from the side because her feathers are covering most of it.

**CritterLover** · 07-13-2007, 12:42 PM

Stephanie, I wish I could help you but I've no experience in this area. Yes, you've posted in the right place, and welcome to TF.

Your 'tiel is a grand lady (given how orange her cheek spots are, I'm guessing "she" is actually a "he" but I'm no expert!).

Whatever that growth is, if you're sure it's not food stuck, it does look odd. I'd recommend a quick call to a vet, and probably a visit. Prompt treatment of any infestation is critical. Let us know how it goes!

**Vetar** · 07-13-2007, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by CritterLover

Whatever that growth is, if you're sure it's not food stuck, it does look odd. I'd recommend a quick call to a vet, and probably a visit. Prompt treatment of any infestation is critical.

I totally agree. In "my opinion", the vet must give him the treatment.

**awonderfultreat** · 07-13-2007, 01:49 PM

Thank you Melanie and Yujin. I will go to the vets tomorrow morning, hopefully they are open.

Melanie- I am going to ask the vet if they know if she is a he

**Roscoe's Mom** · 07-13-2007, 02:10 PM

I have no experience with mites, or with mycosis in birds, but I can tell you that mycosis refers to a fungal infection. The word is derived from the root word myco (fungal) + the suffix osis (inflammation).

Judging from the scaly and whitish appearance of your tiel's nares, mycosis does sound like it's plausible. I would suspect it if I was looking at a picture of a human.

Has your bird been on any antibiotics recently? That is one of the main causes of fungal infections, though there are many more.

I wish I knew more about mites, so I could compare the two possibilities, but I don't. I'm sorry.

**CritterLover** · 07-13-2007, 03:22 PM

You're very welcome Stephanie. No matter if she is really a "he" (except maybe for diet/calcium concerns in females) but you got me curious and I looked it up at www.cockatiel.org Here is what they had to say about sexing normal greys:

Normal Grey

Females have mainly grey faces with only traces of yellow around the beak, eyes, and forehead. Their cheek patches appear duller since there is a wash of grey over the orange and their crests are grey. They have yellow spots on the underside of their flight feathers and conspicuous yellow and grey barring on their tails. After their first molt at 6 to 8 months males lack the tail barring and the flight feather spots but have a bright yellow face and 'bib'. Their crests are mainly yellow with grey only at the tip. The cheek patches are a bright orange since there is no grey there to dull them. The white wing patch is immaterial when sexing.

You can read the whole article at this link

I'm so glad your little one is going to the vet. Better safe than sorry, though clearly at 15 you've done a lovely job of raising him. Please keep us posted!

**KristaAnne** · 07-19-2007, 10:13 AM

i know this post is like a week old.. but i just wanted to add that she...looks much like a he to me as well. my jack has nice yellow cheeks like your baby and Jasmine doesnt have much yellow at all.

**awonderfultreat** · 07-19-2007, 07:31 PM

Update

It fell off on Sunday, though I might still take her to the vet just to be safe. Thanks for all the help

Roscoe's Mom: she hasn't been on any antibiotics lately, thank you for the information!

CritterLover and KristaAnne: I was talking to my sister about Gaby possibly being a he and she said that in the past she laid eggs

I completely forgot since it was so long ago and she also used to be my sisters bird oops >_<;;;

**Lovebirdfan** · 07-20-2007, 10:56 PM

Hi Stephanie and welcome to Tailfeathers. Here is some information for you...

http://petcaretips.net/bird-mite.html
http://www.birds-online.de/gesundhei...nbilder_en.htm

I would recommend taking her to an Avian vet as soon as possible just to rule out any infestations or other health conditions.

Let us know what happens. Thanks!!

**KristaAnne** · 07-24-2007, 10:59 AM

hm, well, that would rule out your tiel being a HE. (the egg laying)

**awonderfultreat** · 05-29-2008, 10:00 AM

Hello again

I know this thread is very old, but I wanted to update it with photos and information on what this growth was/is in case this happens to others. I ended up not taking Gaby to the vet because the growth fell off and she was acting fine (wrong choice!), it was also about 1/3 the size it is now. The past week the growth ended up coming back and I took her to the vet. I found out it is a tumor and they are unable to operate on her because her breathing started to become heavy this past week also. They can not tell me exactly what is wrong with her breathing (without blood tests), but it is some type of lung infection so we are trying a medicine now to see if that will help.

here is a bigger picture if you would like a closer look:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2211/...cc2da167_o.jpg

thank you all for the support in the past,
Stephanie

**ellenant** · 06-06-2008, 04:42 PM

Ahhh...

This is horrible!
Your bird also seems to sneeze/ regurgitate because his head
feathers are dirty.
with this kind of disease your bird will most likely develop
a fungal infection in the lungs because the immunity is down.
I hope you can get it under control!!!!
I wish you all the best!